The Success Paradox by Gary C. Cooper is a fascinating and inspiring book about how to turn your life around. Cooper shares his own story of how he went from rock bottom to success after he surrendered to his situation and started doing the opposite of what he had been doing before. This book is great for anyone looking for a blueprint from which to launch their own success.

Plot Summary
The Success Paradox by Gary C. Cooper and Will T. Wilkinson, explores the idea that success in business and life requires surrendering, which goes against what we've been taught. Cooper introduces each concept that seems contradictory supported by quotes from famous people throughout history and stories from his life. The concepts in the book are universal and relatable to most readers.

The book has 13 chapters, 13 paradoxes:

1: Surrender and win
2: Father is child to the man, child is father to the man
3: We are the world
4: Profit before profit
5: You can’t get here from there, you can’t there from here
6: Why is there never enough tie to do things right but always enough time to do them over
7: Give to receive, receive to receive
8: We can get what we need when we quit trying to get what we want
9: High is low, low is high
10: We can change our past from the future
11: Reality is an act of creation, yours
12: Believing is seeing
13: The means determine the ends

Praise & Critique
There are a lot of quotes, platitudes, and truisms throughout the book. This was probably more apparent having listened to the audiobook version. Sometimes, something that sounded really deep turned out to be a random quote… one too many times. By chapter 2, I wanted to stop listening.

Many subjects were briefly touched upon — parent-child relationships, overwork, slow-productivity, meditation, spirituality, triple-bottom line, people over profit— making the book feel like a mish mash of ideas.
Also, the heavy religious influences, although understandable given the authors' personal experiences, give the writing a sermon-like tone that feels somewhat forced. Cooper often presented great obstacles overcome through "sudden" miracles. Because of these aspects, I didn't enjoy the book even though I've been through a similar journey.

Overall, The Success Paradox combines personal stories and advice to guide in reorienting life and how to succeed in an unconventional way.

How It Enriched My Life
Usually, when I read books like this, I find a hidden gem or two that I can take away, even if many of the ideas are familiar. Unfortunately, this time, I didn't feel like I learned anything new. I don't think I'm the target audience for this book, even though I've gone through a similar process of reevaluating my relationship with work, which is why I decided to read it in the first place. While I appreciate the author's personal journey and admire his self-awareness, this book was too general for my current season in life.

Who Should Read It
If you are new to self-examination and have been ramming through life with a goal-ticking, win-at-all cost attitude and would like a bit of guidance on how to pare back, this is a good starting point. The checklists at the end of each chapter may be helpful.

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Thank you Forbes Books for the advance readers copy of The Success Paradox for review considerations.

There are not many business books written by country boys, so I was keen to read this one. He equally quotes Rumi and Garth Brooks! Of course, there's a lot in here that has already been said each chapter is a bit repetitious. but I found his perspective and self-recrimination to be more entertaining and approachable than other self-help books. It's also filled with stories and fables which every southerner loves!
I appreciated his guidance to work on mental fitness as much as physical fitness and get a good support community. I also liked his idea of the tip jackpot. I enjoy tipping well, but this seems like even more fun!
This is a G-PG rated book with descriptions of alcohol use and suicide. It would be a good book for any father or anyone that has had a father (a small bit of the book discusses healing from physical and mental abuse.)

The Success Paradox was framed as "the improbable story of a life and business transformed, told in a warmly authentic style." This concept appealed to me, and the Forbes name on the cover led me to assume it would be a credible and well written business book. Unfortunately, it didn't go where I was expecting it to.

Perhaps I should have been tipped off my the use of the word "miracle" in the author's pull quote, but it didn't raise the red flag with me that it should have. I even checked out the website, which doesn't give a nod to how heavy in religious ideals the book will be. This book is VERY heavy on religious context. Much too heavy for my liking. I feel that it would have been much better shelved with religious beliefs somewhere in the tags, and will likely resonate more with the religious subset of business owners. Because I was open to being proven wrong, I did force my way through the book hoping maybe it was just a brief mention at the start, but I was proven wrong chapter after chapter.

It reads and presents itself very much like the Alcoholics Anonymous materials, with the exception of 13 steps (or paradoxes) vs 10. They are as follows:
1 - Surrender and win. (Surrender to a higher power)
2 - Father is child to the man.
3 - We are the world. (Here, at least he acknowledges the world isn’t flat)
4 - Profit before profit. (Social profit before monetary profit.)
5 - You can’t get here from there. (Find your why.)
6 - Never enough time to do things right, but always time to do them over.
7 - Give to receive, receive to give. (Share the wealth.)
8 - Get what we need when we quit trying to get what we want. (Be grateful for what you have.)
9 - High is low, low is high. (What is your addiction costing you? [Social media])
10 - We can change our past from the future. (Memories change when you become authentic.)
11 - Reality is an act of creation - yours. (Life is what you make it.)
12 - Believing is seeing. (You can be blinded to the obvious - change beliefs, and your perception changes.)
13 - Means determine the end. (Everything you do influences what happens.)

One thing I will say in the 'pro' column, is that if this religious empowerment speaks to you, that the worksheets are well done and likely helpful if this is something you're interested in.

There are things in this book that could be helpful to someone. However, there are also things that could be extremely hurtful (specifically relating to Cooper insisting that everyone had a 'happy' childhood and it's just their mindset that made things go south) and makes this book seem a lot more like religious rhetoric and whitewashing than may or may not be intended.

All in, I can't say this book appeals to me at all, and I'm sorry that I spent time with it under false pretenses.

Thank you NetGalley and Forbes Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book provides an amazing vision of social mobility and a route-map to achieving it. It examines how the term 'social mobility' structures what success means and the impact that has on society. It recasts the relationship with employers and covers progress in non-work areas of life.
I vively recommended!
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