Megan McArdle has written The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success
The premise of the book is counterintuitive: to truly succeed, fail well. Avoiding failure is obviously preferable, but how we handle failure (and we will all eventually fail at something) sets the tone for how we overcome obstacles. It’s deeper than just learning from our mistakes — it’s actually overcoming our mistakes. McArdle looks at this from a personal, corporate, societal and political perspective.
For a lot of people in a lot of situations, it is great advice. The book’s premise gets into a wide range of topics, from bankruptcy to business, from employment benefits to medical issues. Each time McArdle points out how learning from mistakes and handling then the right way puts you in a position for success later. But handling the early failures poorly just makes future success even harder.
McArdle shares her own story of doing all the right things — attending college, pursuing advanced degrees, seeking internships, etc. — and still not finding a job. She talks about her failed dating relationships and is remarkably transparent about what SHE did wrong, never pinning blame on others. It’s a vulnerable book and I admire her for that.
This isn’t rocket science, of course, but I like the way McArdle lays out her arguments. It’s a good read for anybody who has failed. Which, of course, is all of us.
