Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

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.

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 important—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. 

“In this compulsively readable, brilliant kaleidoscope BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE, Barker is your rollicking guide through the science of success. You’ll discover what pirates and inmates can teach us about honesty and generosity, how to network like the world’s greatest mathematician, and much, much more. - Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive and To Sell is Human

“Delightfully puckish, evidence-backed and full of insight, this book answers questions about success that have puzzled us for far too long.” - Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

“This book is compelling because Barker’s irreverence is so consistently on-target, relentlessly puncturing the wisdom balloons that most need bursting.” - Robert B. Cialdini ,New York Times bestselling author of Influence and Pre-Suasion

“Barking Up the Wrong Tree is a masterpiece. Whether you are a connoisseur of self-help books, or despise them, you won’t be able to resist this recipe for living a better life. Eric Barker’s compelling stories, his uncanny ability to unearth the best evidence, and, above all, his warm and wise voice will keep you smiling, nodding, pausing to absorb a lovely surprise now and then, and turning page after page because you can’t wait to see what’s next.” - Robert Sutton, Stanford Professor and bestselling author of The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt

“BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE is a masterpiece. Whether you are a connoisseur of self-help books, or despise them, you won’t be able to resist this recipe for living a better life.” - Robert Sutton, Stanford Professor and bestselling author of The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt

“In this compulsively readable work, Barker is your rollicking guide through the science of success. You’ll discover what pirates and inmates can teach us about honesty and generosity, how to network like the world’s greatest mathematician, and much, much more. - Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive and To Sell is Human