Much of the advice we've been told about achievement is logical, earnest...and downright wrong. In Barking up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker reveals the extraordinary science behind what actually determines success and, most importantly, how anyone can achieve it. You'll learn:

Why valedictorians rarely become millionaires and how your biggest weakness might actually be your greatest strength
Whether nice guys finish last and why the best lessons about cooperation come from gang members, pirates, and serial killers
Why trying to increase confidence fails and how Buddhist philosophy holds a superior solution
The secret ingredient to "grit" that Navy SEALs and disaster survivors leverage to keep going
How to find work-life balance using the strategy of Genghis Khan, the errors of Albert Einstein, and a little lesson from Spider-Man

By looking at what separates the extremely successful from the rest of us, we learn what we can do to be more like them - and find out, in some cases, why it's good that we aren't. Barking up the Wrong Tree draws on startling statistics and surprising anecdotes to help you understand what works and what doesn't, so you can stop guessing at success and start living the life you want.

Listening Length

9 hours
Author

Eric Barker
Narrator

Roger Wayne
Audible release date

May 16 2017
Language

English
Publisher

HarperAudio
ASIN

B07665H3FP
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	9 hours
Author	Eric Barker
Narrator	Roger Wayne
Audible.ca Release Date	May 16 2017
Publisher	HarperAudio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07665H3FP
Best Sellers Rank	#19,199 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #386 in Social Psychology & Interactions (Books) #724 in Personal Success in Business #815 in Social Sciences (Audible Books & Originals)

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4.6 out of 5

2,987 global ratings

5 star		72%
4 star		18%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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J. A. McLachlan

Entertaining and enlightening

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 7, 2022

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I don't usually read non-fiction, but this book by Eric Barker is entertaining, filled with his lively wit, and very informative, backed by research and studies. I read it avidly and it has changed the way I think about a lot of things. I highly recommend it.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Interesting and fun

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 4, 2022

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Seriously, you can get.this book for ANYONE. It is just interesting and well written. It begs to be read in little bites. Or read it for hours, it doesn't slow down. It doesn't pretend to educate you but you feel smarter when you read it.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

An excellent read with good practical applications.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 11, 2022

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An engaging writing style and I love the practical suggestions in each chapter.

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Gary G. Labute

This is an excellent book!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 13, 2020

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Makes you think about some things in a different way, to say the least!
Are pirates really good guys lol. It changes your view about a lot of things.
Valedictorians are often not successful. Because they toe the line in school doesn't mean they'll
make it in the business world. It's a whole different animal out there. It will change your view
of how you should go about things. It asks you to consider what "success' truly is! I highly recommend
Eric Barkers work!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Ellie

Just read it!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 9, 2017

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I've been following Eric's blog for a while, so when I saw that he had written a book, I HAD to have it and he did not disappoint. Even as a self-proclaimed introvert, his humanity comes through in his writing and he makes all of the fascinating science something we can actually use to improve the quality of our lives. I especially loved the piece about self-compassion being the healthiest form of self-esteem and this is something I definitely try to nurture for the clients in my health coaching practice. Invaluable stuff here if you want a better life and you want to learn it with a laugh. Thanks Eric!

One person found this helpful

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Delaney King

Barking Up The Right Tree With This Book!!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 28, 2017

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This book has been one of the best reads in a long time. I always enjoy reading a book that has quick anecdotes or lessons that I can share with others and Eric Barker hits the nail on the head with this book. It was surprising to find out how everything you thought is actually wrong but what I enjoyed is that Barker presents both sides of the story. He approaches the subject, such as a positive self-talk to taking things to the extreme, with real-life examples. I have recommended this book a hundred times over and would recommend it to you for a great read.

3 people found this helpful

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Stewart Adams

An interesting read

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 7, 2021

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Well researched, enjoyable writing style, some genuinely funny parts, and ultimately inspiring. Excellent value for the money spent. Would buy again.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

Great mix of smart and fun

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 26, 2017

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This is a really fun read about some pretty deep concepts. More than once I closed the book to absorb what I'd just read, and many times, I laughed out loud. It's akin to Gladwell in that it's full of interesting ideas and research to back them up, but it's just a little more forceful in terms of taking it the step further to how those ideas can be applied to your life. And I should add, I hate self-help books, which in a way, kinda sorta, this is. But, with the depth of the ideas and the research behind them, you just feel like you're getting good, evidence-based advice, from a guy who seems like he'd be a great road-trip buddy.

11 people found this helpful

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The Salary Coach

9/10: Thought provoking book that has given me a new perspective on work life balance and happiness

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 19, 2017

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This book uses science to explore what makes us successful.

Even self-help haters will find this book interesting as it dispels some common misconceptions around success and takes a holistic approach with sections on work life balance and relationships that I found particularly relevant personally.

It’s hard to criticise this book but self-help connoisseurs might recognise a lot of the concepts here from other books. With that said there is plenty of original content that make this book very valuable.

Here are some of the ideas that I took away from the book:

On playing it safe
• School grades are very good at predicting self-discipline and ability to go along with the system but not very good at predicting success and riches
• The same attributes that make some people objectionable can enable them to be very successful
• There is a similar concept for investing in companies. Just because a company has good products, a good team and customers doesn’t mean it will be very successful. Companies with one massive strength can dominate and make do with weaknesses in other areas
• Be aware of your own strengths and find environments that complement them

On being a jerk
• Effort is a poor predictor of success
• Work hard but be sure to keep your boss(es) happy instead
• Making sure you’re noticed does not require you to act like a jerk
• Be a giver to foster good relationships and trust

On ‘Grit’
• Be optimistic with positive self-talk to improve your ‘grit’
• Don’t perceive bad events as being permanent, pervasive or personal
• Develop your own meaningful purpose in life.
• Create games when completing tasks to increase grit and reduce stress
• Eliminate time wasting people and activities

On people
• Know yourself
• Don’t network, make friends and check in often
• Help other people to build a network
• Show gratitude often with other people.

On work life balance
• Track your time to make sure you’re spending enough time on stuff that will make you happy. You will be shocked at how much time you waste!
• The problem with many high achievers is that they don’t spend enough time on relationships.
• Healthy relationships are the strongest predictor of happiness and focusing too much energy on careers and making money may come at a great cost if left unchecked
• Try and split your time between enjoying, winning, giving and extending
• Allocate specific times for achieving these goals and the rest of your to do list
• Schedule blocks of time for deep work, the early mornings work well because it is typically free of distractions

On success
• Success is alignment between where you are and where you want to be combined with healthy relationships and a personal positive story about the whole that keeps you going through tough times
• You should also choose the right career and company to work for that matches your personality and level of introversion or extroversion
• Lastly, understand the huge importance of relationships, they are correlated to your success

98 people found this helpful

Marie

Interesting read but the main points get a bit lost

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 12, 2017

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I purchased this book because I liked the content and format of Eric Barker's blog articles. I found the numbered points, and the short summary at the end of the article very useful. I guess I was expecting something similar from the book.

This book does contains alot of interesting stories, information and tips. However the chapters can be very long, and the main points can become a bit lost. There is no real summary or breakdown give at the end of each chapter, or even the end of the book to bring it all together. I learnt alot from this book, but there is no easy way for me to quickly refer back to this at a later date without re-reading it cover to cover.

21 people found this helpful

M Steven

Everyone should read this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 22, 2018

Verified Purchase

Ever been to a book shop and felt there are so many interesting books you want to read but you don’t have the time? Regardless of what you do in your life, read this book. It will make you happier. He gives you a summary of the latest research in what can make life better for you and for everyone around you. It’s an easy and pleasant read (with the audible & kindle set I swapped between listening while driving/walking or reading), he’s funny. Even when he seems to be staring the obvious (eg working hard will help your career) he does surprise you with new information and ideas (all backed by good science) and twists the way you (or most of the world) think. Can’t recommend enough. Having had a career which I’m proud of (engineer, MBA, consultant) and now raising kids, I feel that this book is important for everyone: the young starting out, those who are happy where they are but not sure where to focus next (or wondering if they can improve), parents (your children will benefit from it), or even if you are about to retire. I bought copies for my husband, my parents, siblings and friends. Waiting a bit to buy for the kids as they are just learning to read...

10 people found this helpful

Mr. Andrew Baillie

Great book, the text is way too small!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

I'm struggling to read this book - not because of its intellectual content, but simply because the paperback version is small - 18 x11cms, and the font is tiny. Not sure why this edition was created in this format, as it's almost impossible to read unless in very good lighting.

The content itself is very good, and makes a lot of good points, as well as directing you to source materials and references.

So, to summarise, I would say buy this book, you will learn a lot from it. JUST DON'T BUY THE MASS MARKET PAPERBACK!

(sorry to shout!)

10 people found this helpful

Aybulat A.

Never ever purchase "Mass-market" version of this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

I ordered mass-market version because it was cheaper, and I was like "Wow, great!".

But then, when it was delivered, I was unpleasantly surpised by the quality of the so-called book: it was half the size of a normal book (probably A6), very poor quality paper (kind of a cheapest rough toilet paper quality), very small print, and the quality of the print was also bad - difficult to read. To provide such a product to readers without warning them first about the quality is a discgrace, really. I do believe that Amazon should take this book out of its marketplace - it's not a book, it's something that looks like a book, but in essense is not.

If authors respect readers and themselves, they should take out this version off their site, too. Otherwise, a possibly great content is spoiled completely by this mockery of a book.

7 people found this helpful

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Barking up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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