Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail

The 6 Enduring Principles of High Achievement

By: Rom Brafman

Narrated by: René Ruiz

IN COUNTLESS STUDIES, PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED A SURPRISING FACT:

For decades they assumed that people who face adversity - a difficult childhood, career turbulence, sudden bouts of bad luck - will succumb to their circumstances. Yet over and over again they found a significant percentage are able to overcome their life circumstances and achieve spectacular success.

How is it that individuals who are not “supposed” to succeed manage to overcome the odds? Are there certain traits that such people have in common? Can the rest of us learn from their success and apply it to our own lives?

In Succeeding When You’re Supposed to Fail, Rom Brafman, psychologist and coauthor of the bestselling book Sway, set out to answer these questions. In a riveting narrative that interweaves compelling stories from education, the military, and business and a wide range of groundbreaking new research, Brafman identifies the six hidden drivers behind unlikely success. Among them:

• The critical importance of the Limelight Effect - our ability to redirect the focus of our lives to the result of our own efforts, as opposed to external forces
• The value of a satellite in our lives - the remarkable way in which a consistent ally who accepts us unconditionally while still challenging us to be our best can make a huge difference
• The power of temperament - people who are able to tunnel through life’s obstacles have a surprisingly mild disposition; they don’t allow the bumps in the road to unsettle them
• By understanding and incorporating these strategies in our own lives, Brafman argues, we can all be better prepared to overcome the inevitable obstacles we face, from setbacks at work to challenges in our personal lives.

©2011 Rom Brafman (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Advance praise for Succeeding When You’re Supposed to Fail: “From the business world to the battlefield, this book will take you inside the moments that differentiate success from failure. One of the most engaging books I have read in the last decade.” (Tom Rath, author of Strengthsfinder 2.0)

“Some ‘high risk’ kids who are supposed to fail instead turn out to shine with success. The secret of this amazing resilience has been scientifically investigated by psychologists. Now Rom Brafman brings you the three secrets of resilience in the stories of these amazing people who ‘tunnel through adversity’ and into success. Now these secrets can be yours. This book will change lives.” (John M. Gottman, Ph.D., coauthor of The seven Principles for Making Marriage Work)

Critical Acclaim for Sway: “A provocative new book about the psychological forces that lead us to disregard facts or logic and behave in surprisingly irrational ways.” ( New York Times)

Simple, adaptable, concrete!

Liked the simple and concrete way of telling things. I work as a coach and find this very useful in my work.

Good, Quick Audiobook

I listened to the book and it was nice and quick. A lot of the ideas or events he talks about i have heard in other "be successful" books, but overall I enjoyed the book and I recommended to others.

Enjoyable listen and so interesting

Many years ago I read this book and found it to be so interesting. Years later, after going back to college and receiving my degree in social work for mental health therapy, I wanted to listen to the book again to see if the relevance was still there (as I never forgot the term ‘tunnelers’). And it was still relevant! Textbooks and teachers taught about ‘locus of control’ while I was in school but this book still makes it understandable. I highly recommend it.

Easy to understand the points

What did you like about this audiobook?

tangible examples

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

n/a

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

His enthusiastic voice

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Successor attitudes

Do you have any additional comments?

n/a

Cut to the chase!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There were some salient points brought up by the author such as meaning/purpose, dealing with problems by addressing them head-on and realizing that you always have options for effectively dealing with issues/problems. However, the book is way too long!

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have made this book more concise.

What three words best describe Rene Ruiz’s performance?

Very, very long!

Did Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail inspire you to do anything?

I was not inspired to do anything, after I read the book, because the research and topics were mainly taken from cognitive psychology. If you really want to learn how to adopt the methodology that the author espouses, read the Feeling Good Handbook by Burns.

Outstanding!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail takes a close look at people who had everything in life stacked against them, and yet somehow succeeded. By looking at not only the stories, but years of research, the book examines six characteristics these people share.

It's inspiring and life-changing.

Brafman describes these people, who can seemingly tunnel through the chaos that is their lives and come out the other end, as

Discovery of Paradigm for business survival

If you could sum up Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, succent, provoctavie

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Service to making life better for the people they service.

Any additional comments?

It will probably take 50 years for the principles to be widely accepted. In the mean time, you can take advantage of the principles outlined in the book, make wise investments in your time and efforts and profit from them.

Great information

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this book. The reason why is the format is easy to listen to and the information is easy to follow.
The information is researched based, but practical. Too many books focus solely on the psychology that it's almost not practical, let alone applicable.
The research that was referenced in this book seemed to have been done in more of real life settings with the intent on why one group of individuals do one thing while others react the way they do. Not in lab, but in real life situations.
The one thing I found that made this book worth it was the suggestions at the end. Following the flow of the book, the suggestions were real and can be implemented into life. I don't feel I need to see a professional to decipher the information and implement.
Great book!

Story inspiring, Narrator great

The story was inspiring. Overcoming the odds is always inspiring to me. I particularly loved the narrator's gentleness as he told the story. So many narrators seem to be talking AT me rather than just portraying the story, but Rene Ruiz isn't like that. I'm going to check out more of his books.