How Successful People Win: Using Bunkhouse Logic to Get What You Want in Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Bunkhouse Logic is easy to follow if you understand where its name comes from..." (more)
Key Phrases: Bunkhouse Logic, New York, Lesley Anne (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While the cowboy life is basking in the Brokeback spotlight, Stein (How to Ruin Your Life) believes the mindset of these romantic figures-the cowboys' "bunkhouse logic"-is the ultimate guide to fulfillment in life. But don't let the stature of this breezy book fool you: Stein dispels wishful thinking and exhorts readers to figure out what they want and then to ask for it. Unlike most entries in the self-help field, Stein's writing is dark, funny and devoid of sunny aphorisms: readers should accept that life is a series of potentially debilitating blows, forego "illusions that anything will work out in a just or decent or proper way," realize that "constant ass-kissing is so demeaning to the ass-kisser and the ass-kissed that it cheapens life" and always "dream your biggest dreams." Stein's bunkhouse thinking revolves around realizing the stark facts of life and then acting accordingly, so associating with lucky, successful people is good, but choosing perfection over persistence is bad. Readers may be disheartened to read Stein's flip affirmation of their fears about how the world works, but this guide to playing the game will help those feeling hogtied.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

       How Successful People Win is a serious self-help book using as its central metaphor the life of the cowboy and his behavior as he leaves his bunkhouse. Based upon a lifetime of observation of the successful and how they got that way, Ben Stein suggests that you imitate the determination, inner mobility, activity, flexibility—and the refusal to indulge in self-pity—of the cowboy in order to get what you want out of life.

        The idea is that if you never indulge in making excuses, refuse to let other people’s hangups get in your way, and move deliberately toward clearly thought-out goals, you will get where you want to go. Just as the cowboy refuses to allow himself to get sidetracked by trivia, so can you refuse to allow life’s inevitable challenges and distractions mar your own success and happiness. The choice is yours.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: New Beginnings Press (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561709751
• ISBN-13: 978-1561709755
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only person who can make your dreams come true is you. Here's how..., May 24, 2006

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Rules for life are necessarily general in nature. Imagine if I gave you instructions on driving such as, "drive forward 320 feet and stop at the stop sign, wait for the yellow Dodge pickup truck on your left to go through, then proceed for a quarter mile". These instructions are so specific that they might never apply to any real world situation and certainly not one you will ever face. However, if I told you to stop you car at stop signs and proceed when the intersection is clear, you will be able to handle a great many different situations at four way stops (but not all). So, a handy book like the one Ben Stein provides here only seems simple because it is so concisely and clearly written. The proof that living is not very simple is how many lives are full of troubles. Yours, too?

The author begins a story about when he was most miserable and uses that as a point of departure to help us end the misery in our own. The basic idea of this book is to use the idea of the American cowboy as an example of how one gets control of one's life and acquires what one really wants from life. The cowboy is active, decisive, and focused on his purposes and goals. The cattle must be rounded up and driven to the city were they will be sold. There are no excuses, no alternatives, and no one else will come in and do the work for him. Nor would he want them to.

The book is in five parts. The first part introduces us to Stein's story about his own life and the Spirit of the cowboy. Part II frames what Bunkhouse logic is and what it is not. Part III provides some basic thoughts about life, but really makes an argument that anything worthwhile in life is going to involve risk. That is, you might experience actual loss and pain in pursuit of your dreams. Frankly, you almost certainly will experience loss and pain. But the pain makes the eventual success so sweet. These first three parts take only the first fifteen pages.

The fourth section contains discussions of three propositions that we need to accept in order to even get started with Bunkhouse Logic. They are: 1) Decide What You Want, 2) Ask for What You Want, and 3) You Can't Win If You Aren't At the Table. These seem simple, but the hardest and most fundamental part of achieving a goal is setting one that is worth fighting for, but still achievable. And one that matters enough to arouse your passions to keep you in the fight once it is begun. Overcoming fear and asking for what you want also stops a number of folks. However, the most important person to ask for help in achieving your dreams is you. And then you need to get into the game and play to win.

The fifth section, and the bulk of the book, discusses ten rules for success that are all good and helpful. You can read the book in a few hours, but you will be better off reading a section or a single rule and then meditating about it for a day or maybe even two to really think through what you believe about it. It is easy to dream and easy to make excuses. It is much tougher to accept responsibility, as a cowboy would, and take on the task as a serious activity and then go after it, accepting all the risks, failure, and pain that you must endure and overcome to make your dreams a reality.

This is a good and helpful book for you, for your loved ones, and anyone who wants to rethink where they are and where they are going. The discussions are mostly about material things, frankly because that is what most people think they want to be happy, but the same rules apply to other kinds of goals as well. Really, this book is not only entertaining, but can also provide good food for serious thought about your life.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but the bunkhouse logic analogy gets a little old, September 19, 2006

By	Edward Durney (San Francisco) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How Successful People Win gets a five-star review from me, even though I tend to be a little stingy on the stars. Self-help books in particular usually don't get my attention. Seems like almost anyone can write one, and does.

But Ben Stein does do a great job of distilling valuable life lessons into teachings we can all benefit from. Frankly, I quickly tired of the analogy of life to a cowboy herding cattle. Seemed quite strained. Nonetheless, I never tired of the book. I even read it through, cover to cover, twice in two or three days. Can't remember the last book I did that with.

I've read some of Ben Stein's other books -- How to Ruin Your Life and its ilk. Those were entertaining, but more fluff than substance. How Successful People Win definitely gives you a lot more to chew on.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quck and Fun read, August 7, 2006

By	William G. Ryan "Uber Book Nerd" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I remember when i was reading the introduction, Mr Stein mentions that many of the observations have probably occurred to you but he's synthesizing them into a overal philosophy. True indeed.

This book presents the basic rules of life, and rules of success. You can love them or hate them but you can't ignore them because they are contsants. The book is a very quick read, interesting, keeps you wanting to read more and is just a good book. After I bought this I want and bought his other two books on How to screw up your life and how to ruin your financial life.

Well worth the price