Aina Kanatkyzy's Key Ideas from Barking Up the Wrong Tree
by Eric Barker

Success is not about being perfect. It is more about knowing what you're best at and being properly aligned with your context

Getting good grades in school and graduating the top of your class doesn't guarantee success in life.

Academic grades have almost no correlation to intelligence.

To leverage your intensifiers, you have to first know yourself and then choose the right field to play.

When you choose your pond wisely, you can best leverage your type, your signature strengths, and your context to create tremendous value.

Ass-kissers aren’t the only ones who thrive in society. Rude people do too.

According to Wharton School professor Adam Grant, there are three kinds of people:

• The Givers: those who are consistently looking for ways to help others
• The Matchers: people who try to keep an even balance of giving and take
• The Takers: people who selfishly always try to get more and give less.

The level of your success in life is directly related to the stories you tell yourself.

What determines the kinds of stories you tell yourself is largely your outlook on life, whether it's optimistic or pessimistic.

By thinking positively, optimists persevere and end up creating more opportunities for themselves.

When you shift your explanatory style from pessimistic to optimistic, you feel better and you become grittier.

The reason why confidence is such a powerful element is that it gives us a sense of control.

When we think we know everything, we stop looking for answers.

To develop self-compassion, start by talking to yourself. Talk to yourself nicely, gently.