The Art of Doing: How Superachievers Do What They Do and How They Do It So Well

by Camille Sweeney, Josh Gosfield, Ashley Present (Reading)

What really separates the best from the rest?
We all know that it takes hard work, dedication, and the occasional dose of luck for someone to make it to the top of their chosen field. Yet, we also suspect that it takes a little something more-but what? The Art of Doing asks today's most successful celebrities, businessmen, and iconoclastic achievers, "How do you succeed at what you do?" Illuminating, surprising, and profoundly inspiring, interviewees include:
Zappos' CEO Tony Hsieh

New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz
Style commentator Simon Doonan
Actor Alec Baldwin
Foodie god David Chang
And many, many more

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Personal Development, Productivity, Leadership, Psychology

Audiobook

First published January 22, 2013

About the author

Camille has known she wanted to be a writer since she was 5. She’s written for The New York Times and other publications. She is a MacDowell Arts Colony Fellow and writes fiction in her spare time.

She wrote "The Art of Doing" with her husband, Josh Gosfield.

Together (and separately!) they have learned a lot from their collaboration and the superachievers they interviewed for their book.

To find out more about "The Art of Doing," please visit The Art of Doing Blog.

Reviews

[Cindy (BKind2Books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're expecting life-changing advice, this is not the book you seek. FInd another Yoda. There are interesting tidbits about the life and times of high achievers and they will outline 10 key points to success in whatever they are known for, be it growing good weed or sailing around the world. It's uneven and random. Mind candy for the bathroom reader.

[Derek Neighbors · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by this one. I expected it to be a bunch of science around how to get more done. Instead it was a collection of thoughts from successful people about what made them successful. The variety of people, all at the top of their field, was inspiring.

The interviews give a taste of experience, wisdom and perspective about what makes the best tick. It was inspirational to hear many of the stories. I really enjoyed Tony Hsieh, Yogi Berra and Martina Navratilova (I mentioned the diversity of the interviewees right?)

A theme that seemed relevant to me. Self-Awareness. To be great you have to be hyper aware of who you are, what you want and your surroundings.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book, loaded with brilliant ideas, methodology and common sense. Each chapter was written by an expert of sorts who gave us trade secrets to their success. I certainly didn't read all the chapters - let's face it, I don't care about being a game show prodigy or finding aliens, but my favorite chapters were about creating a company culture (the amazing Tony Hsieh of Zappo's), how to be a bestselling writer (Steven Dubner of Freakonomics), how to create crossword puzzles (Will Shortz, NY Times), porn for women (Candida Royalle), how to online date (guys from OK Cupid, sorry Brute :(, how to win friends & influence people the Guy Kawasaki way.
Highly recommend this one.

[Jack Goodstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short chapters in which so-called superachievers tell how they managed to super achieve--put it on the table next to the commode.

[Katie]

hahah, this is not who I am anymore.

[Sherah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick notes: someone recommended this book to me, but I can't remember who now. I thought the title was a bit eye-rolly but its format was intriguing: each chapter covers a person who has achieved high success in their field, and shows you what they think are the reasons for said success. In many cases this is interesting, but after a while the patterns emerge and it feels repetitious. It was an ok book for light reading. No surprises: be lucky, work hard, keep going, stick to your passion, be a decent person. You'll achieve. On the upside: some cool tidbits from industries I know nothing about. "Takeaways" sections that are mantra-worthy.

[Jay French · Rating 2 out of 5]

This came across like a series of articles on achievers in different walks of life that would have been at home in a general readership magazine, like the AARP magazine, or Parade. The book starts with a chapter introducing the cast of achievers, but with a level of detail that I thought when I read the actual article about the achiever I already knew a big part of their story. This was a little too repetitive. The articles themselves consisted of a brief bio, some points about either how the achiever did his thing or advice they would give, then some background trivia about the person and their area of endeavor. The articles were very uneven. Some seem to be based on interviews of the subject, some, like Dale Carnegie, based on high school paper-level research. The achievers chosen were a mixed lot, and I found the selection the most interesting part of the book. What the achievers said, the 10 points they provided, were all over the place. Some were very specific to how things are done in their particular industry, some were generic advice. Almost all of the points brought up were summed up in a simple phrase, many commonly used. Because these 10 points illustrated different things for different achievers, you never really got into what the authors were trying to do here. There is not a consistent purpose that really would have helped this collection. (And as another reviewer noted, that was one of the points of advice on writing by one of the achievers!) The bits of trivia at the end of each section were entirely unnecessary and made these articles appear to have been written initially for publication in general readership magazines, where they would appear in boxes within the article. Generally these were good for magazine articles, but they didn't hang together well in book.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun series of articles by people in a variety of field who excel at what they do. There's something for everyone in this book, that's how varied the articles are. There's also some articles that might offend readers, which is why this is a well balanced collection of wisdom regarding success.

What I most appreciated is that there is wisdom to be gained from an article that is far removed from what a reader may do for a living or for sport everyday. My favorite pieces were about building baseball parks and about teaching inner city students. I'm not surprised that I liked the story about the inner city students being that I am a librarian in a public library and often collaborate with teachers. I was surprised to find myself rereading sections of the baseball park article; I'm not even a big fan of baseball! It just shows how well written these pieces are and how well the book achieves its purpose.

The formatting for each article remains consistent throughout the book. Each writer is introduced in a paragraph, they provide 10 tips that have contributed to their success, followed by fun facts about both the writer and the subject they wrote about.

Overall, this is a quick read that's inspiring, entertaining, and informative. It's formatting would be appealing to readers who read more magazines than novels.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be pretty uneven. I first heard about it from an excerpt (or it might have been an independent piece by the authors) in the New York Times a couple of months ago; I don't remember any more what that piece consisted of, but I was intrigued. This isn't what I expected--it's a series of vignettes of author-proclaimed superachievers. Some of them are interesting and admirable, and have learned or stumbled upon life lessons that are broadly applicable. Others are too specific to the field to be very interesting to me, and many are of doubtful "superachiever" status. There's also not much in the way of "meta", about what all these people have in common, which is what I was really interested in. And the profile of the guy who runs the National Enquirer--who seems to believe that people have a right to see paparazzi photographs and read invasive details of celebrities' lives, and that his paper has the responsibility to provide that--is despicable.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice vignettes from 36 highly accomplished individuals of eclectic backgrounds: athlete (Martina Navratilova), chef (David Chang), teacher (Erin Gruwell), neuropyschologist (Richard Restak), erotic film maker (Candida Royalle), activist (Constance Rice, who is totally unlike her sister Condi), entrepreneurs (Tony Hsieh of Zappos and Bill Gross of Idealab) and many more. I felt as if the book did not hold together as a whole, since the path to success is always meandering and the 36 people dispense contradictory advice. That said, these people are doers par excellence, and reading their accounts is a shot in the arm for those who could use a dose of inspiration. Also, the short interviews contain a lot of condensed wisdom from world-class performers. The one from Richard Restak on brain science was particularly good, as was the one on hostage negotiation.
If you're hungering for exposure to a pleasant potpourri of fascinating information that you may not have otherwise sought on your own, this is a fun book to read. But if you are looking to improve your performance, the two indispensable books are "Peak: The New Science of Performance" by K. Anders Ericsson and "Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success" by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness.

[Fatima Mohammed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had a bit of everything, success stories of people from all walks of life, making magic happen in things from blogging, writing successful books, directing acclaimed plays, walking on wires, sailing around the world, starting a dating App, dominating tennis, blending neuroscience with psychology, surviving Steve Jobs, launching startups…
Some stories stood out more than others, some people had more thought provactive approaches to life and to seeing things that I jumped on the chance to seeing their faces and knowing more about them, even downloading their own books.
Success can be ‘a daunting’ pursuit that everyone dreams of yet remains skeptical in their ability to make things happen. When you read how some of these individuals were once just like you, young, uncertain and yet full of dreams that they chased beyond all doubters and obstacles, it hits you that you, too, can do it, can do anything, and you may just start right away, there’s no time to waste.

[Ehsan Misaghi · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might not be or want to be a writer or a race car driver, but every single one of the people the authors have interviewed have something to say that will most probably be relevant in multiple situations in every reader's life. I would definitely recommend this book. I'm also happy I got the audio version of this book right when our subway station went under construction (and I had to commute a bit more to another station, thus had more time to listen to the book) and I'm done just a day before our station is going to become operational again!

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like one of those books where publishers try to capitalize on a hit blog. Every chapter was too short to have much meaning, and there was no real conclusion to wrap everything up. There was a good summary or "what we learned" section in the beginning, but it wasn't analysis, just a condensed version of the book, so as I was reading it felt like I had already read everything. Neat concept, but overall poorly executed.

[Kristine R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book centers around a single idea: the authors wanted to meet famous people. They came up with a book idea that would allow them to do that. The book is an eclectic buffet of thoughts and advice from the famous and semi-famous people who deigned to say yes to the request. For each one you get 10 thoughts or areas of advice. It’s a quick read, and there are interesting tidbits, but there is little attempt to draw connection or commonalities across the chapters.

[Nayad Monroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains mini-biographies of interesting people, so it’s worthwhile to read for glimpses into success in a variety of pursuits. It doesn’t offer much depth or generalized advice for the reader. Most of the people featured are obsessed with one area of interest, and driven to become THE BEST in that area, so if you have those traits then you’re on your way to becoming a superachiever! Unless someone else has those traits even more.

[McKayla Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. Every section as something to take way from, even if the "How to[...]" isn't something that you're interested in. Credit is correct, extra facts about the person, the writing style was easy to read. I never had to go back and reread to understand what they meant. The tips and background is 10/10. I'm for ever thankful for the author and people who actually did these things.

[Kimberly Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really really really wanted to love this book. In the end I feel like all the stories boil down to 1. You can’t do it alone and 2. You are the only one who can do it. I personally felt like I didn’t gain a lot from reading this book. I’m glad I read it because it was on my to read list, but I won’t be reading it again.

[Basima Sibai · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives multiple perspectives which I really enjoyed, not every chapter was that interesting for me at least bu that's what I liked I learned many things even if I didn't relate to the person they're talking about

Would recommend as in between book when you need to read something different but informative.

[Hasanah HM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book of 36 interviews with selected successful people from various background. Each of them shares their ups and downs and how they became good and successful at what they are doing. There's definitely a set of patterns as to what made them successful and Persistence is one of them.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's chief appeal also feels like its weakness: the ten points from each interviewee are breezy and entertaining, but they did leave me wanting more depth. Excellent roster of "superachievers" though, very impressive. Good mind candy.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to see differing perspectives but not very practically helpful for me.

[Christine Magdalena Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of inspiring stories and useful tips from professionals.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and changing topics. I liked all except the ones from the sports players and the race car driver.

[Paulius Ja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good compilation of thoughts from people who did it. Good tips throughout although some sections I would call meaningless. To each there own, I guess.

[Lisa]

I am not a superachiever.

[Matt Heavner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a collection of the stories of a diverse set of interesting/successful people. Unfortunately, it was completely unintegrated and didn't provide any real major insights. A few interesting stories and a few totally uninteresting ones (and I'm sure that because of the very diverse group of 30+ stories, you wouldn't pick the same set of interesting ones that I did). Each chapter was a brief narrative, then a set of ten self-reflective "how I succeeded" "tips" and then a set of interesting random facts about the person and their field. The random facts were a bit interesting, but really pretty pointless in terms of understanding how the people do what they do and how they do it so well. In some cases perhaps the facts about the person were insightful but the facts about their field were distracting.

The most useless advice on "superachieving" that really killed me was "Go shopping" (really?!?)

I felt that the authors failed to take note of Stephen Dubner's rule number four (from Chapter 33 in this book): " Every topic needs and idea. if you can't write out the idea, don't do the story." The topic of this book is how to achieve more. There is no integrating idea or theme provided by the authors for this collection.

I'd summarize this book as a collection of 30+ interesting TED talks, but not as good, and not sold that way. (I do enjoy TED talks, and I enjoyed some of the chapters of this book, but it isn't what the title/cover of the book is selling!)

[BookeryBliss · Rating 2 out of 5]

These short chapters summarize what I call mini biographies/interviews with the "super-achievers" outlined in this book.
There are a handful of chapters that I found to be truly inspiring, but the rest seems pretty common-sense to me.
If I consider the entire book and put some weight behind what the title implies, I would say that in summary, this book gives examples of how anyone with a deep passion for a particular hobby, craft, gift, ect can be "super achiever", and the book uses some famous people to explain that.
Perhaps I was expecting a bit much out of this book but I was really hoping for more of a self-discovery of our own hidden talents kind of approach.
Nonetheless, I did find it entertaining, and with so many successful stories throughout the book, you're bound to find at least one that you could relate to.

Disclaimer
*I received a copy of this book in a First Reads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content disclosed in my review. *

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors of the book are so acutely passionate about exploring the techniques, approaches, pursuits, obstacles, and ultimately keys to success that it ultimately feels as if it was penned by Superachievers. The in depth interviews and unique detailing of personal hardships and triumphs is utterly relatable and equally inspiring. I bought the book and it was such a page-turner that I finished it the day I bought it. Surprisingly though, I feel as if I could reread the book down the line and gain new insight. I was touched by Laura Linney's story and moved by Jessica Watson's bravery and inspired by mostly all the people that are outlined as Superachievers in the book. It is quite a unique story to tell, how Superachievers do what the do and do it so well. And I was immersed in the brilliance and talent that exploded from the pages. It is a MUST read for everyone! Whether you are a homemaker, a nine-to-fiver, or a fresh out of college living back at home with your parents young adult, you will find something in this book that speaks to you.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Art of Doing" is filled with inspirational stories and advice for anyone who has struggled to find the keys to success. No matter your career or goal in life, this book will energize you to keep going. Each chapter reveals intimate stories about remarkable individuals' trials and achievements. The authors display the same hard work and perseverance as the people they interview in that they have tracked down such amazing individuals. When you are in the mood to laugh, check out Chapter 7 and read Alec Baldwin and Robert Carlock's advice for how to be funny on TV. When you need some motivation, read about how adolescent Jessica Watson sailed around the world [Chapter 31]. Get this book and keep it by your side, for you may need to review a chapter when you decide to open a great restaurant, win the Indy 500 or write a runaway bestseller.

[GD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just kicked titanic ass. It was so fun to read, and every chapter except the one about the wine guy was so interesting. Who'd know that tightrope walkers, dog trainers, and women porn producers could be such interesting people?

This book is basically set up to let other people talk about themselves and what they do in 10 sections each. I think there are about 50 people. The author of the book is basically an editor that writes short introductions for each of the superachievers (I love that made-up word), then the superachiever takes over, then each chapter is ended with random cool facts about the person, then more random cool facts about the field that the superachiever superachieved in. Super super cool book.