“How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big” by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) is a book that is part self-help and part autobiography. His approach to success is to maximize energy, use systematic approaches rather than specific goals, and maximize your chances of success.

His foundation is to optimize for energy and to take care of your own needs first. Your priorities in life should follow this order: Individual, friends and family, and finally community.

Perception and attitude are discussed. He encourages to foster your awareness and your ability to reframe situations. Pattern recognition and humor are other abilities that he deems important. Affirmations were an important tool in his success. With affirmations, you can reprogram your thinking.

He argues that you should learn multiple skills rather than focus on one. Odds are that a combination of skills will bring you success in life. Learning many increases your odds of finding the right combination. He specifically suggests that everyone should acquire the following skills: public speaking, psychology, business writing, accounting, design, conversation, overcoming shyness, second language, golf, proper grammer, persuasion, technology, and proper voice technique.

Finally, he discusses his recipe for happiness: a flexible schedule, imagination, diet, exercise, and sleep. Once you have those, he warns you may suddently feel a sense of sadness. At that point, you should devote yourself to helping others.