Eric Barker – Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Book Review & Audio Summary

Book Info

• Book name: Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong
• Author: Eric Barker
• Genre: Nonfiction, Self-help, Psychology, Business, Personal Development, Science, Productivity
• Pages: 307
• Published Year: 2017
• Publisher: Harper Wave
• Language: English
• Awards: Wall Street Journal bestseller; translated into more than 20 languages; notable endorsements from Daniel H. Pink, Adam Grant, and Robert Sutton

Audio Summary

Synopsis

Here’s the deal: everything your parents, teachers, and that annoyingly successful uncle told you about making it? Mostly garbage. Eric Barker-former Hollywood screenwriter turned science blogger-spent years digging through research to figure out what actually separates the winners from the also-rans. Spoiler: it’s not your GPA. It’s not playing nice. And it’s definitely not following the rules everyone else follows. Barking Up the Wrong Tree is a 300-page argument against conventional wisdom, packed with studies, stories, and enough contrarian takes to make your career counselor cry. The core promise? Stop doing what you think you should do. Start figuring out what actually works for someone like you.

Key Takeaways

• The Big Idea: Success isn’t about following rules-it’s about knowing which rules to break and when to break them.
• The Controversial Point: Nice guys can finish first OR last, but rarely in the middle. The same traits that make you successful can also tank you.
• The Actionable Part: Align your efforts with your natural strengths instead of forcing yourself into someone else’s success template.
• The Hidden Gem: Valedictorians rarely change the world-the obsessives and rule-breakers do. Your ‘weaknesses’ might be your secret weapons.

My Summary

Look, I wasn’t gonna read another success book. I really wasn’t. My shelf is already groaning under the weight of productivity porn and hustle manifestos that all blur together after a while. But Barker’s blog had been sitting in my bookmarks for years, and when someone with a screenwriting background writes about science, you get something different. You get someone who knows how to tell a story.

The Cold Open: Everything You Know Is Wrong (Probably)

Barker kicks off with a gut punch: valedictorians don’t change the world. A Boston College study tracked 81 of them post-graduation and found-well, nothing revolutionary. They settled into the system. They became successful, sure, but not transformative. Because here’s the thing: being great at school means you’re great at following rules. And life? Life doesn’t have a syllabus.

This sets the tone for the whole book. Barker isn’t here to give you a neat 5-step plan. He’s here to mess with your assumptions. And honestly? It’s kinda refreshing.

The Writing: Surprisingly Not Terrible

Okay, here’s where my author-brain kicks in. Barker writes like he’s explaining things at a bar-fast, punchy, with enough jokes to keep you from checking your phone. His Hollywood background shows. The guy knows pacing. Each chapter builds around a central paradox (nice guys finish first AND last, confidence helps AND hurts), and he ping-pongs between research and real-world stories without losing you.

That said-and I’m gonna be honest here-some chapters feel a bit bloated. Like he found three more studies than he needed and couldn’t bear to cut them. The emotional intelligence section in particular felt like it was running on fumes by the end. But overall? The prose is tight enough. No academic jargon. No insufferable self-importance. He’s not trying to sound smart. He’s trying to be useful.

The Meat: What Actually Works

The book breaks down into chapters that each tackle a success paradox:

Rule-breakers vs. Rule-followers: Barker makes a convincing case that the most successful people aren’t the obedient ones-they’re the obsessives. The ones who found their weird thing and went all-in. 58 people on the Forbes 400 either dropped out of college or never went. And they’ve got double the average net worth of the Ivy Leaguers.

Nice guys and the finish line: This one’s nuanced. Jerks can succeed short-term but tend to burn bridges. Nice guys can get walked over-OR they can build networks that pay off for decades. The difference? Strategic kindness. Knowing when to cooperate and when to compete. (Game theory nerds will love this section.)

Confidence: Here’s where it gets interesting. Confidence helps, but delusion helps more-sometimes. The line between visionary and crazy person is basically just whether you were right.

Every chapter follows this pattern: conventional wisdom → research that complicates it → stories of people who did it their way → practical takeaways. It’s formulaic, but it works.

Real-World Applications

So can you actually DO anything with this book? Yeah, actually. Barker’s not just throwing studies at you and walking away. Each section ends with what he calls ‘What Works’ summaries-bullet points of actionable stuff.

The big meta-takeaway: know yourself. Seriously. The strategies that work for extroverts will destroy introverts. The hustle that makes one person rich will burn another one out. Success isn’t one-size-fits-all, and Barker keeps hammering this point. Find YOUR game. Play THAT.

(I know, I know-‘be yourself’ sounds like a poster in a middle school guidance office. But Barker backs it up with enough research that it actually lands.)

Where It Falls Short

Nothing’s perfect. And I’ve got bones to pick.

First: the book is very individual-focused. It’s all about YOU succeeding, YOU optimizing, YOU winning. There’s almost no discussion of how these strategies play out in teams, organizations, or-you know-society. Some readers flagged this, and they’re right. It can feel a bit solipsistic after a while.

Second: a few of the chapters feel like they’re stretching to fill pages. The research is solid, but did we need that fifth example? Probably not. Barker’s an engaging writer, but even he can’t make every anecdote essential.

Third: if you’re looking for spiritual depth or meaning-of-life stuff, wrong book. This is practical, science-first advice. Which is fine! But don’t come here expecting existential revelations.

The Verdict

Here’s the thing-I’ve read a LOT of these books. Most of them are forgettable. Barking Up the Wrong Tree isn’t. It’s got enough contrarian punch to make you actually reconsider stuff, enough research to feel credible, and enough storytelling chops to keep you turning pages.

Is it life-changing? Depends on where you’re starting from. If you’ve already done the self-help circuit, you’ll recognize some concepts. But Barker’s framing is fresh enough that even jaded readers (hi) will find new angles.

Worth your time? Yeah. Especially if you’re tired of being told to just work harder and follow the playbook. Barker’s message is essentially: the playbook might not be written for someone like you. Figure out your own game.

And honestly? That’s the most useful thing a success book can tell you.