Every goal that you’re pursuing has two hidden numbers attached to it—a probability of success and a probability of failure. Whether you’re trying to start a business, run a marathon, get a promotion, earn a pilot’s license, grow a bumper crop of tomatoes, or sign an acting deal, these two percentages are always lurking in the shadows predicting what is going to happen.

But most of us never think about them. We assume our odds are unknowable and unchangeable. This dangerous lie leads millions of people to fail at goals where they were perfectly capable of succeeding. You can choose a smarter path.

In Success is a Numbers Game, you’ll discover:

• A game-changing new way to diagram a goal and deepen your understanding of how likely you are to achieve it.
• A five-step framework for hacking your “success diagram” to dramatically improve your odds of getting the outcome you want.
• A simple test for knowing which of your biggest goals to prioritize and which to quit immediately.
• An upgraded approach to decision making that illuminates optimal choices by exposing potential futures.

Developed by award-winning strategy consultant Kyle Austin Young, this probability hacking framework harnesses tactics that have been battle tested in business, art, education, philanthropy, politics, sports, and more.

In the context of a single goal, Young's system could be the secret advantage that changes your outcome. Over the course of several goals, it could transform the trajectory of your career. Applied to a lifetime of goals, it can level up your legacy. If you’re ready to win more, lose less, and wake up with the sturdy confidence that comes from having the odds on your side, Success is a Numbers Game is a must-read. 

Kyle Austin Young recently took the time to respond to seven questions from Porchlight about Success Is a Numbers Game, why he wrote it, and some other books that he's reading and recommending.

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Porchlight Book Company: Writing a book is no small undertaking. What compelled you to write this one?

Kyle Austin Young: I’ve always been passionate about teaching what I know, and I wanted these hard-won insights to serve as many people as possible. I believe millions of smart, hard-working folks are failing at goals where they could be succeeding—because they don’t understand how to optimize their odds of success. After a decade of consulting with my “probability hacking” framework, it was time to give it away. My work with Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, and Psychology Today has given me the opportunity to share bits and pieces of the approach. This was a chance to write something longform. As my publisher recently said, I’ve written a book that’s very difficult to excerpt. It’s totally cumulative, each chapter building on what has come before. I simply couldn’t do that in an article.

PBC: Writing (and reading) always prompts as many new questions as it offers answers to the ones you came to it with. What is one unanswered question you encountered as you wrote the book that you are most interested in answering now?

KAY: I want to understand why we don’t work harder to teach students about probability. We teach them trigonometry, which is only used in a fairly limited number of professions. Understanding our odds of success affects every single person on earth—with huge implications for health, wealth, and wellbeing. How is that not a bigger priority? I’m hoping my book will stand in the gap, to some extent, while we fight for bigger change.

PBC: If there is only one thing a reader takes away from reading this book, what would you hope it to be?

KAY: Think negative. Desire is not an antidote to uncertainty. Commitment doesn’t thwart risk. Resilience won’t stop bad outcomes from materializing. That’s because the reality of probability is similar to how we’ve traditionally understood matter. It cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system, merely transferred and rearranged. The odds you want are hiding in your potential bad outcomes. Find them, steal them, and you’ll win more often.

PBC: One of the great things about books is that they tend to lead readers to other books. What book[s] related to this topic would you recommend people read after (or perhaps even before) reading your book?

KAY: Decoding Greatness by my friend and client Dr. Ron Friedman is a smart choice. My book teaches you how to optimize your odds of success at virtually any goal, but it doesn’t teach the steps for accomplishing every project you might want to pursue. One of the most universally applicable ways to discover that information is reverse engineering, the subject of Dr. Friedman’s book.

PBC: What is your favorite book?

KAY: Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis and Larry Sloman. It’s a messy, bizarre, thought-provoking autobiography of Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis. I loved it from start to finish.

PBC: What are you reading now?

KAY: He Who Fights with Monsters—a LitRPG series.

PBC: Do you have any future projects in the works that we can look forward to?

KAY: Writing this book has convinced me that humans don’t spend nearly enough time processing their experiences in search of insights. Socrates said "the unexamined life is not worth living." Yet most of us move from one project to the next without stopping to consider and consolidate what we’ve learned. That bothers me. And it’s a natural extension of my current book…

About the Author 

Kyle Austin Young is an award-winning strategy consultant for high achievers, entrepreneurs, and leaders in a wide range of fields. This work has given him the opportunity to develop and refine a powerful system for accomplishing big, meaningful goals that focuses on understanding and changing your odds of success. Kyle is a popular writer for Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, The Boston Globe, CNBC, Psychology Today, Forbes, and Business Insider. When he's not writing, consulting, or spending time with family, you'll usually find him fishing.