- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall; 1 edition (10 Jan 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0138138109
- ISBN-13: 978-0138138103
- Product Dimensions: 17.9 x 17.8 x 0.9 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 966,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Really want to know how to fail? Consistently? Massively? Irrevocably?
Steve McDermott’s spent years studying the world’s greatest failures: those extraordinary individuals who’ve spectacularly underachieved in every walk of life. They all use the exact same skills and strategies--and you can learn them, too. (Maybe you know some already!) In this quick, incredibly practical guide to failure, McDermott brings together dozens of state-of-the-art techniques guaranteed to help you crash, burn, and disappoint everyone in your life. In just minutes, discover how to fail at...
• Leadership • Relationships • Personal growth • Achieving happiness
• Teamwork • Planning • Goal-setting • Careers
• Financial security • First impressions • And so much more!
DANGER: Do NOT attempt to reverse these techniques. If performed in the opposite fashion, they may cause spectacular success. The publisher and author will not be held responsible for wealth, happiness, or career achievements resulting from the use of these skills and strategies in reverse.
From the Back Cover
Really want to know how to fail? Consistently? Massively? Irrevocably?
Steve McDermott’s spent years studying the world’s greatest failures: those extraordinary individuals who’ve spectacularly underachieved in every walk of life. They all use the exact same skills and strategies--and you can learn them, too. (Maybe you know some already!) In this quick, incredibly practical guide to failure, McDermott brings together dozens of state-of-the-art techniques guaranteed to help you crash, burn, and disappoint everyone in your life. In just minutes, discover how to fail at...
• Leadership • Relationships • Personal growth • Achieving happiness
• Teamwork • Planning • Goal-setting • Careers
• Financial security • First impressions • And so much more!
DANGER: Do NOT attempt to reverse these techniques. If performed in the opposite fashion, they may cause spectacular success. The publisher and author will not be held responsible for wealth, happiness, or career achievements resulting from the use of these skills and strategies in reverse.
Inside This Book
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91 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
the gimmick gets old after the introduction chapter
16 July 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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Hardy har har, how witty indeed, a self-improvement book that is written as a manual to achieve failure. The tongue-in-cheek approach to this mediocre self-help book gets old after a few pages. It's irritating that the author points out readers, frequently, to "do the opposite", as if the readers are seriously in risk of making the advise of following the book's golden rules to failure. This hand guiding is as irritating as a stand-up comedian explaining his own jokes after telling them. All the gimmick aside, the opposites of the author's "instructions for failures" are not even that impressive. I suppose this book is okay for bathroom browsing, and that's where the book currently is in my household.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Flipping the positive and negative mindset helps to make you think a bit more...
8 July 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Yes, I like self-improvement books as it only takes one or two ideas to radically change your approach and effectiveness in life. But if you read enough of them, it's a bit too easy to skim over certain things thinking "heard that, done that." Steve McDermott throws a curve ball in the genre by writing a book titled How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure in Life, Work & Everything: 44 1/2 Steps to Lasting Underachievement. Obviously, you know you're going to get improvement tips, but the framing of them in the negative helps to slow you down a bit...
McDermott's book consists of 44.5 chapters, or "steps", on how to continue along the same path of failure that the vast amount of people tread on a daily basis. So you start out with things like "Don't decide what you want. If you do decide what you want, don't think about why you want it. And if you do decide why you want it, commit to believing you can't have it." "Don't have any goals" is a pretty common theme for the less-than-stellar achievers in life, as is "Don't stop being an unthinking dog." Each step contains the negative exhortation, followed by a quote to avoid, details on why it's important not to do this particular step, and ending with actions not to take. The simple act of flipping the dominant idea from "do" to "don't" is enough to make you think a bit more about what he's actually telling you to do. Couple that with his very humorous writing style, and this book is not only useful but fun.
The only thing I found a bit strange/odd/difficult was the constant changing from the negative to the positive tense. Most of the chapter explains why that opposite reaction is used to accomplish greater things and be more effective. But he often changes from a "this is why this works" to a "so don't do it" so quickly that it makes for a difficult narrative flow. I still like the overall negative/positive angle, but you do have to work at some of the transitions to avoid thinking that you perhaps really *shouldn't* do what he's telling you not to do.
A fun read, well worth working through, especially for those who have an aversion to these types of books. At least if you fail, you'll have someone to look up to now. :)
McDermott's book consists of 44.5 chapters, or "steps", on how to continue along the same path of failure that the vast amount of people tread on a daily basis. So you start out with things like "Don't decide what you want. If you do decide what you want, don't think about why you want it. And if you do decide why you want it, commit to believing you can't have it." "Don't have any goals" is a pretty common theme for the less-than-stellar achievers in life, as is "Don't stop being an unthinking dog." Each step contains the negative exhortation, followed by a quote to avoid, details on why it's important not to do this particular step, and ending with actions not to take. The simple act of flipping the dominant idea from "do" to "don't" is enough to make you think a bit more about what he's actually telling you to do. Couple that with his very humorous writing style, and this book is not only useful but fun.
The only thing I found a bit strange/odd/difficult was the constant changing from the negative to the positive tense. Most of the chapter explains why that opposite reaction is used to accomplish greater things and be more effective. But he often changes from a "this is why this works" to a "so don't do it" so quickly that it makes for a difficult narrative flow. I still like the overall negative/positive angle, but you do have to work at some of the transitions to avoid thinking that you perhaps really *shouldn't* do what he's telling you not to do.
A fun read, well worth working through, especially for those who have an aversion to these types of books. At least if you fail, you'll have someone to look up to now. :)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
How to Succeed at Failing
12 July 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Step 27: "Don't think about the first four minutes." First impressions are everything and difficult to change. So the aspiring failure should not pay attention to first impressions. One of 44 1/2 steps to succeeding at failure presented by Steve McDermott, a step he obviously didn't follow, as his book title certainly captures your attention and may make you wonder why anyone would strive to fail.
But, should we judge a book by its cover? In this case, perhaps we should. Through paradoxical intent, McDermott leads us through well established guidelines for success. Drawing on personal experience, mythology, and research, McDermott presents his guidelines with humor and insight.
If you are looking for the silver bullet, the one piece of advice that will propel you to success, you might or might not find it in Failure. What you will find are brief, well crafted humorous reminders of the mistakes we make as we try to reach our goals. And, if you have the opportunity to attend a McDermott motivational speech I suspect you will find an engaging and entertaining speaker with a novel take on standard advice.
But, should we judge a book by its cover? In this case, perhaps we should. Through paradoxical intent, McDermott leads us through well established guidelines for success. Drawing on personal experience, mythology, and research, McDermott presents his guidelines with humor and insight.
If you are looking for the silver bullet, the one piece of advice that will propel you to success, you might or might not find it in Failure. What you will find are brief, well crafted humorous reminders of the mistakes we make as we try to reach our goals. And, if you have the opportunity to attend a McDermott motivational speech I suspect you will find an engaging and entertaining speaker with a novel take on standard advice.
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