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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Fail Fast, Fail Often summary
Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz
How Losing Can Help You Win
4.4 (115 ratings)
18 mins
9 key ideas
Audio & text
What is Fail Fast, Fail Often about?
Fail Fast, Fail Often reminds us that our fear of failure can keep us from having new experiences, meeting new people, and creating our own happiness. By embracing failure we can lead happier, more successful lives.
About the Author
Ryan Babineaux earned his M.Ed. in psychology and human development from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in educational psychology from Stanford University.
John Krumboltz is a professor of education at Stanford University. He has written over 200 books, including Luck Is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career.
Table of Contents
Fail Fast, Fail Often
summarized in 9 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 9
Fulfilled, joyful people make things happen rather than waiting for them to happen on their own.
Do you feel dissatisfied and bored with your life, of the same old routine of going to work, coming home, and watching television? Then why don’t you make a change?
For most of us, the reason is fear.
Many people think that in order to achieve their goals they need to have a perfectly formulated action plan. But such a plan is unrealistic and, failing to achieve one, many people are afraid to take action.
This outlook on life is known as the not-yet approach: we want success and happiness, but we’re so afraid of failing due to the lack of a perfect plan that whenever it’s time to say action, we say “not-yet.”
However, we should reverse this mindset: we should find happiness in the present moment, not wait for a future event to bring us happiness!
For starters, we should start doing small things to make ourselves happy; we will likely see positive results.
Consider a Cornell University psychology study in which doctors who cheered themselves up by eating candy before talking to patients were more productive and performed more accurate diagnoses and treatments. Even this little pick-me-up resulted in a marked performance improvement!
In addition, we must realize that success does not come from planning; it comes from seizing opportunities when they appear.
Clif Bar, one of the most successful powerbar brands is a case in point. The founder, Gary Erickson, didn’t start the brand thanks to careful planning; the idea came to him one time after cycling when he felt sick from eating other powerbars. He decided to take action, and designed more flavorful, natural ones that became a huge hit.
So stop waiting for things to be better. Go create something better, instead!
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Best quote from Fail Fast, Fail Often
No matter how trapped you may feel in your current life, there are positive actions you can take and new experiences to be had.
—Ryan Babineaux and John Krumboltz
Who should read Fail Fast, Fail Often
- Anyone who finds it hard to get up in the morning
- Anyone who’s afraid of failure
- Anyone who desires a happy, fulfilling life
Categories with Fail Fast, Fail Often
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