I bought and read this book a while back. In the meantime, I've bought or watched a few other books by "how do you get successful?" types, and I have returned again and again (in my mind) to the themes of this book. Among the themes is the theme of chance. Adams is actually pretty humble - telling us that he owes some of his success as a cartoonist to the serendipity that his cartoons were "discovered" in the back seat of a car (the husband of a wife who worked in the book industry liked his book, "by accident.") Along the same lines, I heard on NPR that the Exorcist novel / movie had a similar path - it was "discovered" due to a last minute cancellation, and got on the Dick Caveat show (or rather William Blatty got on that TV show and pitched the book). That "accident" was a critical juncture to the novel's success. Adams explains that you need to do EVERYTHING in your power to get "ready" for a chance opportunity, and yet ultimately that "opportunity" may come (or may not). He also is very humble in the book that "this is his story" and it may (or may not) be "your story," which is completely different than most "self help" books which arrogantly insist that they've found the "Secret" and if you just follow "their rules" you're guaranteed success. Finally, he makes the point that the more skills you acquire the more likely you are to find success, as the "skill" in being a cartoonist is complementary to the "skill" of being a good presenter. Again, you can nurture and be ready for Lady Luck but she may show, or she may not. This is a really good book, and a book which in my own humble opinion hasn't gotten the good or even great press that many other "self help" or "how to be successful" books that have... and yet this book is more honest about the fickle unpredictability of what constitutes success and what doesn't. Opportunities come to those who are ready, so to speak.