The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People

By David Niven
HarperSanFranciso, $11.95
ISBN 0062517716

Buy or borrow this book! Support your local independent bookseller Find it in a WorldCat library Compare prices at major online bookstores

Send this review to a friend

A scientist who can't keep secrets

In the course of their research, scientists sometimes uncover morsels of truth that could help us lead happier, more productive lives. These findings used to end up gathering dust in libraries, until author David Niven decided to translate the stuffy research into how-to books of the best sort. He pored through thousands of journals to create his bestseller, The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People, and the just-released follow-up The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People. Each of the 100 entries shares the findings of a scientific study and a related, real-life anecdote, all written "so that everyone can understand it, use it and benefit from it." If you want to master the secrets of success, Niven suggests reading five entries at a time, dog-earring meaningful pages as you go.

Was there any study whose results surprised you?

I was surprised by the consensus on the value of volunteering ("Volunteer to Work Harder," entry #26). I had known it to be a positive factor in happiness and self-worth, but I was surprised to see the direct effect that giving some time away to a worthy cause had on improving job satisfaction and work ethic.

Did your study inspire you to change any of your own behaviors?

One of the entries concerns people's tendency to base too many decisions on what worked in the past ("Don't Keep Fighting Your First Battle," entry #9). I've applied that finding to my teaching, which has encouraged me to look at things from a different perspective, and not be limited by past outcomes.

As you approached number 99, were there any recurring themes?

One theme that comes up in a number of different contexts is the matter of perspective. Much of our perception of success and failure is based on comparisons with the people we immediately see around us (friends, neighbors, coworkers). That means two people with the same job and salary can have wildly different feelings about their level of success based solely on whether they compare themselves with their rich cousin or the clerk in the mailroom. Being successful involves not just the success, but the capacity to recognize it. It is truly eye-opening to consider that some of history's greatest heroes, such as Winston Churchill, considered themselves failures because of the impossible standards they set for themselves.