How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure in Life, Work & Everything: 44 1/2 Steps to Lasting Underachievement

By Steve McDermott

How to be a Complete and Utter Failure turns the concept of self-improvement on its head. It brings together 43 and a half leading ideas in personal and business development, and offers a total... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0138138109
• ISBN13: 9780138138103
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Ft Pr
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 3.0" x 2.0" x 2.0"

Customer Reviews

A funny look at serious issues

What a delightful book. McDermott has wit on par with Monty Python and insight on par with Tom Rogers. Using reverse logic, McDermott provides a treasure trove of solid advice under the guise of comically telling you how to fail. This makes the reader think about the actual point being made, and that process aids in remembering. McDermott also helps the reader's memory by including pithy quotations. The book weighs in at 196 pages, and consists of 44 short chapters (chapter 44 is labeled 44 1/2). Each chapter addresses a specific step to take if you want to ensure you are a complete and utter failure. These include such things as: * Don't do things on purpose. * Don't spend any of your time on the future. * Don't involve other people. * Don't commit to lifelong learning. These are precisely the things that differentiate successful people from those who merely glide along (or worse). By assuming the position of wanting to be a failure, McDermott has some fun while also bringing up issues all of us should take seriously. Each chapter starts with a relevant quote, such as this one from Chapter Five: "Never let your memories be greater than your dreams." (Doug Ivestor). In keeping with the "how to fail" theme, these are designated "Quote to Avoid." McDermott talks about how you can avoid whatever it is that chapter advises you against. In doing this, he addresses the excuses people use for not doing those things (as if these are the correct reasons), resources to avoid, steps not to take, habits not to form, and so forth. He sums up each chapter with a box called "Action not to take." Of course, if you do the opposite of all this you will be a success rather than a failure. The text also contains instructive anecdotes from people who have succeeded (McDermott cautions you not to do whatever it is they did) and those who have failed (follow their pattern and do what they did, McDermott advises). Like many self-help or self-improvement books, this one is light reading. But that's not because it lacks substance. It's because the author uses plain language and writes clearly, and the book is not quite a couple hundred pages. If you're into reading these kinds of books, this is a good one to add to your collection. You may want to read one chapter a day for 44 days. The effort McDermott put forth to serve the reader is evident. This isn't a fluff piece for selling on McDermott's rubber chicken circuit. The book stands on its own as easily worth its price. And there's something more that puts this book in rare company. McDermott is a speaker and author in the U.K., so he doesn't have the bad American author habit of lacing a "nonfiction" book with unrelated personal political views. Missing also is the now common presentation of disinformation as fact. At one time, the absence of these things was unremarkable and expected. Today, the absence is both remarkable and pleasantly surprising. This is the kind of writing that helps build a book-read

Excellent humorous motivational guide to "success"

This book is a guide to self-improvement and personal success, presented cleverly in a humorous manner as a guide on how to fail... e.g., telling you what things you would NOT do if you want to succeed at failing! There are lots of good stories and examples and thoughtful quotes shared in this book. The style that guides this book helps engage the reader, since it comes across as novel, funny, and NOT just another self-help guide to success. For example, the book provides advice such as "don't talk and think about what you want" and "don't get even more feedback, don't be flexible." Our subconscious, of course, does NOT hear the don't and instead gets the positive message. This approach bypasses any cognitive barriers that may arise in people who are tired of reading motivational books and not achieving the success that they read has come about for others. I found the way this book teaches self-help principles to be impressive and I would recommend this book to others who want to inspire themselves toward enhancing their lives while enjoying the reading experience. McDermott has truly failed in teaching us to be failures, which makes this book a veritable success!

Excellent resource for failures of all levels and ambitions

Steve McDermott has achieved a significant accomplishment in his book on How to be a Complete and Utter Failute etc. He presented the age-old truths about motivation and success in a new, stimulating style that works. If you have read your number of self-help, motivational, goal-setting types of books, you will recognize the principles in this one; however, you will still be stimulated and rewarded by the writing in this book and it will be well worth your reading time. If you haven't read many motivational types of books, this is a great one to start with and to follow. McDermott shows readers both how to fail and succeed as he shows exactly what to do to avoid success. This approach combined with his cheeky, sometimes jolly voice (he is English after all) is effective in making his points for each of the 44 1/2 steps. Thankfully, McDermott ignored his editor's advice to remove personal anecdotes from the book (I don't know what the editor was thinking). Many personal and professional anecdotes help McDermott illustrate his steps. This book is not just for the sales professional or business owner. It has many good points that can be helpful for parents, spouses and all types of workers. Best of all, McDermott makes his points and is entertaining...a great combination. Reviewed by author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

Simply brilliant!

Firstly, let me `fess up. Steve McDermott has had a positive influence on me way out of proportion with the material of his that I've been exposed to. His one-hour audio helped me realize that as a Life Coach I can help people improve their lives and actually have fun at the same time. How cool is that? When I get people to laugh it becomes so much easier to then help them implement change because their whole physiology changes and the brain is much more open to learning. Not only that, but it anchors a sense of enjoyment to change, thus making it even easier next time. McDermott's book is fabulous. His wit may not hit as hard as when delivered live, but he still made me laugh out loud on occasions and that's good enough for me. Not only that, but several times he had me scuttling for my highlighter pen worrying that I may forget some nugget of information if I didn't make an instant note of it. That's something I rarely do these days. `How To Be A Complete & Utter Failure In Life, Work & Everything' pulls from some of the greats of the self-development industry and then spins it. McDermott explains that to stay as you are and not improve the quality of your life don't consider setting goals, evaluating your beliefs, managing your time, visualize your success etc. It's a snap, and you can easily achieve previously undreamed of levels of failure and lack of fulfillment by doing just that. On the other hand, you could always disregard his advice, do the exact opposite, and take your life to the next level. A lot of books on Life Coaching and self-development are a slog to get through, but this one isn't. It has great quotes, easy to follow advice and the pace is just about perfect. It can be read in 2 or 3 hours if you really wanted to, but I'd hope that you'd take longer than that and really absorb the wisdom. At the very least you'll have fun reading it, but potentially it can help you transform your life for the better. In fact it may even be as good as my own book!

It's not working...

The title says it will help me be a failure, but it seems not to be working - I think I'm more aware of how to be successful now! OK that was weak, but the book is not. For 7 Habits readers, much of the ground here will feel familiar, but the approach is different and for some of us that will be helpful. Seeing something that has become familiar with fresh eyes is a good thing. This Berenstain Bears approach to advice giving (remember "The Bike Lesson"?) is not for everyone - my wife doesn't seem interested in reading information presented this way - but I find it engaging. And there's a certain fun irony reading about how the key to failure is to repeat negative statements to yourself...in a book of negative statements. I expect to be re-reading this book almost immediately after I finish digesting all the steps to failure once, and I imagine returning to it again and again. If you're intrigued enough to be reading this review, I suspect you will find the book worth your money, both for the enjoyment of reading it (the bit about comfort zones and saying "mine's big enough" is but one "tiny" example) AND for the awareness it will bring about all the ways we already know how to fail without really trying.