Who is the author of Surrounded by Setbacks?

The author of Surrounded by Setbacks is Thomas Erikson.

Personal Development

Surrounded by Setbacks Book Summary - Surrounded by Setbacks Book explained in key points

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Surrounded by Setbacks summary

Name: Surrounded by Setbacks
Rating: 4.5 (387 reviews)
Author: Thomas Erikson

Thomas Erikson

Turning Obstacles into Success (When Everything Goes to Hell)

4.5 (387 ratings)

20 mins

Brief summary

Surrounded by Setbacks by Thomas Erikson is a self-help book focused on providing practical tools to overcome obstacles and challenges. The author draws from his own experiences, and encourages readers to embrace failures as opportunities for growth and development.

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Self-Help Success Goals

Table of Contents

Surrounded by Setbacks
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Learn how to conquer setbacks and relentlessly pursue your dreams.

For 20 years, Thomas Erikson tried to get publishers interested in his books. And for 20 years they ignored him. In fact, he has a thick file full of rejection letters. But he kept going, reworking his texts and taking all the feedback on board. Finally, his first book, Surrounded by Idiots, was published. That book went on to sell over three million copies.

Most people, faced with so many years of demoralizing rejections, would have thrown in the towel. But Erikson persisted. What allowed him to keep working in pursuit of his dreams for so long? And what secrets can you learn that will allow you to do the same?

That’s what you’re about to discover in these blinks.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why radical overnight life changes will always fail;
the secret to Netflix’s success; and
how to stop complaining about your life and start taking action.

It’s time to wake up and take full responsibility for your life.

What are the complaints you re-hash with your colleagues every Monday over lunch?

We all have things we’re concerned about; things we wish were different. In fact, we become so used to our complaints that it becomes like a background soundtrack that we don’t even hear anymore.

There’s nothing wrong with worrying and complaining. But don’t fool yourself that it’s going to change anything in your life. As the saying goes, talk is cheap. And, unfortunately, good intentions are too. The only thing that’s going to change your life is action. More, specifically, your actions.

The key message here is: It’s time to wake up and take full responsibility for your life.

Most people live in a cozy place called Laterville. It’s a comfortable suburb, where everyone plods along, punching the clock at their jobs, and doing okay. Nothing ruffles the status quo, and no one sticks their heads out too much. People talk about wanting to start their own companies, or write books, or change their relationships with their children. Sometimes they even have elaborate plans for how to make that happen. But no one ever does anything about it. After all, there’s plenty of time. Why not start tomorrow?

You probably also live in some version of Laterville. You know you want things to be different, but you don’t actually take the steps to make it so. You allow yourself to be distracted by your phone, or sucked into a friend’s drama, or convinced to work overtime again. Before you know it, months have gone by and you’re no closer to reaching your dreams.

You can blame being stuck on your boss, or your friend, or capitalism, or any number of things. But the truth is, the only person who’s really responsible for your life is you. You’re responsible for your decisions, 100 percent of the time – both the actions you take and the ones that you don’t.

And you’re also responsible for the way you react to things that happen to you. That’s something you should find empowering: if you’re responsible for your life it means you don’t have to wait around for someone to come and make it better. You have the power to change it. Right now. No matter what cards you’ve been dealt.

But first of all, you need to learn how to face your fears, and deal with any setbacks that come your way.

Face your fears and confront problems head-on.

Have you ever had a gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach that something was wrong? Perhaps your wife began acting weirdly when you asked why she’d been coming home late. Or you noticed that your boss stopped giving you demanding assignments, and began micro-managing your work. Maybe you’ve been worrying about your physical health.

Most people have well-honed intuitions that can pick up on potential problems quickly. Unfortunately, most people also have a well-honed ability to deny what they don’t want to see.

Big change comes in small steps.

Meet Harry. Harry was a college football player who used to be fit and healthy. But for the last 20 years, he’s spent most of his free time on the couch, surfing the internet and gorging on junk food. Harry usually wakes up feeling foggy and exhausted. He shows up at work and goes through the motions, but he can’t concentrate on anything.

One day, Harry catches a glimpse of himself and realizes something needs to change. He looks old and worn out, and bitter. So, he embarks on a radical life makeover.

Understanding your personality type will help you identify any weak spots in your approach to problem-solving.

When a crisis hits in your life, what causes you to react the way you do? Why do some people go into problem-solving mode, while others try to hide or run away from their problems?

One explanation is that we all belong to different personality types, with different motivations and needs. A model, called the DISC model, argues that there are four main personalities and we all fit into one or two of them.

Build a great support network by using other people’s strengths to bolster your weaknesses.

It's never too late to start living your dreams. Take the example of Swedish media personality Dagny Carlsson, who wrote her first blog post at the age of 100 and made her film debut at 104!

Carlsson’s story should inspire you to start working toward your goals today. But before you dive in, let’s flesh out those DISC personality types with a little more detail. In particular, let’s take a look at some of the weaknesses you might struggle with.

Success isn’t about what your life looks like on Instagram.

Everyone wants to be successful. But what does that really mean? In the old days, a successful career was defined as staying with the same company and rising slowly through the ranks, having a nice house, and enjoying an early retirement.

Today, success is much harder to pinpoint – and achieve. You don’t just need to make money, you need to have your dream job. And a soulmate. And keep fit. And go on fabulous holidays. And change the world. And, of course, it all needs to be captured in beautiful technicolor on social media.

Stay the course to achieve your dreams.

Imagine for a minute a pilot flying a passenger plane from Miami to New York. She starts off perfectly, it’s all going well. But then, a minor error: almost imperceptibly, her steering drifts the plane off course by one degree. In the moment, the mistake is hardly noticed, and yet, the impact is huge. After a few hours, the plane has veered so far off its flight path that the passengers have to land not at JFK airport, but in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!

When you’re pursuing your dreams for success, it’s easy to start off strong and then very subtly drift off course until you’ve lost your way entirely. After all, change is hard. And the pull of familiar comforts is strong. In order to stay on track, you’re going to need to cultivate persistence and adaptability.

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What is Surrounded by Setbacks about?

Surrounded by Setbacks (2021) is a practical guide to achieving your goals despite the obstacles you will inevitably meet along the way. We all experience setbacks in our lives. Some of them will be minor and fixable, while others will be completely outside of our control. But by learning to manage your responses to all kinds of adversity, by taking complete responsibility for your life, and being stubbornly persistent in your approach, you can achieve your dreams.

Surrounded by Setbacks Review

Surrounded by Setbacks (2021) by Thomas Erikson is a book that explores the challenges we face in life and how to overcome them. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It provides practical strategies and tools to help navigate setbacks and turn them into opportunities for growth and success.
With real-life examples and relatable stories, the book offers insights that can be applied to various areas of life.
It offers inspiring perspectives and encourages a proactive mindset, helping readers to embrace setbacks as stepping stones to greater achievements.

Who should read Surrounded by Setbacks?

Determined dreamers ready to achieve their goals
Disappointed career professionals wondering why their hard work hasn’t paid off yet
Restless renegades who want to stop living according to society’s expectations

About the Author

Thomas Erikson is a behavioral expert and best-selling author. His first book, Surrounded by Idiots, has sold over three million copies worldwide and has been translated into 42 languages. Erikson is also a sought-after public speaker and has delivered lectures and seminars at major companies including IKEA, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Volvo.

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Personal Development

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