This book is written by Scott Adams, a famous cartoonist and a chronic failure. Before creating Dilbert, his hugely successful comic strip, Adams failed way more often than he succeeded: he got fired countless times, started a business that quickly went under and created a bunch of unsuccessful patents.

But he used all these failures as material for his comics and, in the end, came out on top. If you take a page from his book, you may find that your failures are merely the cobblestones on the path to success.

The key message in this book:

The path to success isn’t necessarily straight and narrow. Instead of setting goals, you should use systems, take chances and explore many different options. This will give you the opportunity to learn from your failures and develop a broad range of skills. Once you figure out what your special skills are, manage your energy levels with a healthy diet and exercise, and surround yourself with creative, supportive people who inspire you.

One of the things the author encourages is to research what successful people in your area of work do and what types of systems they use. Then, test out what they’ve done and combine it with what works for you.