Psychologists long assumed that people who face adversity--a difficult childhood, career turbulence, sudden bouts of bad luck--will succumb to their circumstances. Yet over and over, they find a significant percentage are able to overcome their life circumstances and achieve spectacular success. How is it that individuals who are not "supposed" to succeed manage to overcome the odds? Are there certain traits that such people have in common? Can the rest of us learn from their success and apply it to our own lives? Here, in a narrative that interweaves stories from education, the military, and business, and a wide range of new research, psychologist Rom Brafman identifies the six hidden drivers behind unlikely success. By understanding and incorporating these strategies in our own lives, Brafman argues, we can all be better prepared to overcome the inevitable obstacles we face.--From publisher description.