The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong with Eric Barker

In this episode we ask what really produces success by looking at what separates truly successful people from the rest, we examine many common and conflicting “success maxims” and look at what the data actually says really works, we dig deep into the vital importance of knowing yourself and your own strengths, look at the power of aligning your work with your environment, and discuss the dangers of constantly overcommitting your time with Eric Barker.     Eric Barker is the creator of the blog “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” - with over 290,000 subscribers.  His work is syndicated by Time Magazine, Business Insider and he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and more. Just recently, his new book Barking up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong was named a Wall Street Journal Bestseller.    The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed How Eric took a myth-busters approach to success maxims and figured out what really works Vital importance of knowing yourself and your strengths Why you need to align with a context and environment that rewards your skills What really produces success? What separates the very successful from the rest of us? We take a lot of the common maxims we hear that conflict about success and look at what the DATA actually says about them What are intensifiers and why should you know about them? When are negatives positives? How can you know when it’s important? Context really reveals when and how these maxims work or not Do nice guys really finish last? What does the science say? Why, in some contexts, being a jerk can pay off (and when it can backfire) Strategies to improve self knowledge and know yourself more deeply Pursuing your passion doesn't always lead to happiness, but pursuing what you’re good at more frequently does lead to happiness Research is clear - focus on what you’re good at - and find a way to compensate for your weaknesses.  Understanding your strengths allows yo