Andrew Eborn's BOOK of FAILURE (R) with foreword by Mike Read.: *****How to turn FAILURE to SUCCESS & PREDICT THE FUTURE *****

XMA Header ImageEver since I received this book in the post, I have been obsessed by it. It is a series of articles written by Andrew Eborn, International Lawyer, business consultant and Gold Star member of the Magic Circle. As you can tell, his mind is open to almost anything and is able to treat serious subjects with joy and a sense of fun. The book is extremely personal and is a clear dissection of his own personality. He is a great believer in self exposure believing it is the only way to stop yourself going mad. He believes we should get better at learning from failures, not just ignoring them, pushing them under the counter, pretending they never happened. As Winston Churchill said “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm, “ Whatever you may think of Winnie, he had good words to say. Andrew Eborn says “If necessity is the mother of invention, Failure is the Father of Success” He studies people. By taking into consideration what people say and how they look when they say it, he makes predictions about what will happen next. The Magic Circle is dedicated to deceiving the eye and interpreting the vagaries of the human mind. So his experience there makes sense. One of the articles is about the film of cats, which has probably been the most failed film of last year. The question is “What do you get with classic poetry, a record-breaking musical, a gang of A list theatricals, an Oscar winning director and a humungous financial budget? How could it fail? The answer? A brilliant Christmas present to the army of film critics. “Please wipe this film from my memory” “A monstrosity” “A descent into madness” they chortled with glee. Every critic in the country – and in the US criticised it most harshly. It was a gigantic failure. Despite the huge stars, Judi Dench, James Cordon, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift and so on: a brilliant choreographer and top-class dancers schooled brilliantly into every form of dance. Ballet, jazz, hiphop, and tap. And yet? An enormous failure - but Andrew predicts that Cats will be the movie you will never forget, no matter how hard you try. Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story. We are drowning in a sea of information, most of which is rubbish. Anyone can be an expert. There is evidence to support any view however outrageous. We all know about how politicians lie, but it’s not only the lie, it is the way it is spoken. Manage the brand – says Andrew – The fear card, for instance, is very successful. The threat is clear. If you don’t vote for us, we will fail, and it will be Your Fault. Slogans get votes. “Britain deserves Better” got Tony Blair elected. “Make America Great Again” Oh yes, we all remember that one. Andrew explores the Politicians biggest talent Avoiding the Question, the Art of Question dodging. Like Giving a nonspecific answer to a specific question and the Thatcher favourite “Attacking the interviewer” Media manipulation. “Only use people who are friendly to your cause and ban all the others. Finding someone to blame. Blaming the media is a terrific way to explain anything that goes wrong –and so is blaming the general public – (being used constantly as we speak). Would it be a help to us all if Politicians would embrace the truth? Who would believe them? Andrew is a believer in questioning everything, not just your own point of view but the others as well. I have gone into some of these stories carefully, but there is so much more to enjoy, to make you laugh, or be angry or say, “Wow I never thought of that” He goes on to explore Brexit of course, predicting the current situation = but didn’t everybody? No they bloody didn’t, otherwise … He speaks about what he calls the Global Gorillas. Google, Facebook, Twitter who all have a huge role influencing voters. “pushing absurdities to billions of people” Opinion polls are a device for influencing public opinion. Lies, damned lies and statistics. (Attributed to Mark Twain and approved by Eborn because of the Magic power of Three) Opinion polls are covered by this. Just tell the public that something is top in some poll, and that makes them think they must be the best. Any piece of publicity works as an incitement. Polls are no exception. “Domestos kills 99 percent of all household germs. Can this be true? The article about Google Glass, the company that built hope in technological devices and became a target of ridicule. (The worst product of all time”) Now, after a year or two as the most ridiculous device, It has been introduced under the name of Glass. “The birth of Glass shows the merit of failure” Then comes an article on Harley Davidson. Andrew’s sister spent her honeymoon on route sixty-six on a Harley Davidson so it is a subject he knows well and admires. However, Harley Davidson perfume, he says, Stinks. The most exciting chapter is of course, Trump – the Game where he puts into focus the actual reason trump was elected. For goodness sake buy the book and find out for yourself. I‘m needing a cup of coffee. To sum up. He lays out some of his truths about life. To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. OK Question everything. Try to understand everybody’s point of view. Everyone deserves respect. Finish that unfinished business: Clarify that misunderstanding Build that bridge, Make that phone call Say how you feel Say sorry Say I love you Today might be your last opportunity y. Carpe Diem. Andrew is a talented interviewer. He is a joy to work with. He asks tough questions without being tough, he asks the questions the viewer would like to ask. Brilliant, buzzing. And loads of fun. Read the Book.