what i wish i knew

What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 - Tina Seelig

Finished it just now.  Preachy.  Might be better in the original language (I read the Jpn translation).  Last chapter worth reading.

Message: Think outside the box.  Allow yourself to question common sense.  Do not fear to take risks.  Do not fear to choose a path no one has ever taken.  Not knowing what comes next will make you anxious.  Unpredictability, however, is what makes life amazing.  Do not make excuses - you can only blame yourself for the lack of effort.  But be tolerant of mistakes (both yours and other's).  Do your best in everything.  You have only one life.  You can't rehearse it.

I think the reason the whole book sounded a bit preachy was because it didn't have enough anecdotes on failure.  The writer is obviously a very rational, intelligent, successful woman and naturally, people around her (the people she writes about) are the same.  I understood that everything she said was a necessary condition to succeed, but at the same time, I'm sure there are people who did the same, or almost the same and still didn't succeed.  I wanted to hear more of those stories and compare (by myself instead of her explaining) what was the slight difference between people who succeeded and those who didn't.