Why do some people achieve incredible success while most others struggle? Why do some reach their goals while others give up within days of setting them? Why do some people make WAY more money at work while others are stuck in the mailroom for 40 years? Those topics, among many others, are the focus of today’s episode of The BiggerPockets Podcast, where we sit down with Eric Barker, author of the WSJ bestseller Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong. Eric spends his life exploring the science and psychology behind what actually makes an individual successful, and today we explore those often-surprising truths as they relate to real estate, business, and all areas of life!

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In This Episode We Cover:

• Eric’s background
• What you should know about his book
• How to align yourself with what you’re good at
• The issue of grit
• The “3 Ps” (personal, permanent, and pervasive)
• The secret to forming habits
• How to create external accountability
• A discussion on systems vs. goals
• What you should know about introverts vs. extroverts
• How financial success can serve as a great defense
• Tips for not taking the day for granted
• How to become a super connector
• What makes somebody successful at work
• What “work-life balance” truly means
• The 4 metrics of success
• And SO much more!

Links from the Show

• BiggerPockets Forums
• BiggerPockets’ Low Budget (Youtube Series)
• BiggerPockets Youtube Channel
• Stickk
• Fincon
• Noah Kagan
• Marginal Revolution
• Ryan Holiday
• Tim Urban’s Wait but Why?
• Josh Kaufman
• The Vietnam War
• Icarus Netflix Original
• The Armstrong Lie
• Command and Control
• The Bomb
• Gym Pact App

Books Mentioned in this Show

• Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker
• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
• The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
• Deep Work by Carl Newport
• The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman
• Drive by Dan Pink
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Give and Take by Adam Grant

Tweetable Topics:

• “The single most motivating thing is the feeling of progress.” (Tweet This!)
• “The importance of the habit is consistency.” (Tweet This!)
• “In the end, it’s generally better to set up systems as opposed to goals.” (Tweet This!)
• “There is no fear with boredom.” (Tweet This!)

Connect with Eric

• Eric’s Blog

Today, we sit down with Eric Barker, author of WSJ bestseller Barking Up the Wrong Tree, to learn why some achieve incredible success while others struggle.