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Want Success? Be an Outlier!

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Ranked #2,522 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #100,093 overall

Outliers: an Introduction

Outliers, written by Malcolm Gladwell, explores the truth behind grand successes. In statistics, outlier is defined as data points that fall on the edges of the normal or bell shaped curves. It means people like Bill Gates and groups like Beatles, who achieve rare outstanding success. It also means incidents that are not normal, like abnormally huge number of airplane accidents, all belonging to the same airlines.
In his book Malcolm Gladwell explores the story behind such outliers.
This lens reviews the book, Outliers.

Photo courtesy: Barunpatro

Outliers - Ratings and Recommendation
From the book
Buy your copy here

From the book

In Outliers, I want to convince you that these kinds of personal explanation of success don't work. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably beneficiary of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow then to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up.

Outliers - Central Theme

Have you thought what if you were born in war-infested Somalia - not knowing where the next meal or next bullet is coming from? You are privileged. You can take time to read this lens. You are lucky, won't you say? What is luck, if not opportunity and legacy?

The central premises of the book, Outliers, is as follows:
1. Behind every success is a story.
2. The story can be broadly categorized under a) Opportunity and/or b) Legacy.
3. Opportunity is not equally distributed (obviously); so being there at the right time makes a great deal of difference.
4. Legacy shapes the future. Even if legacy is a few generation old.
5. Hence, all things being equal (assuming everyone is willing to work hard - real hard - for success), people having the right opportunity and favourable legacy will triumph.

Malcolm Gladwell supports his hypothesis with a fantastic array of evidences. Each story (and the evidences) could stand alone as a short story. Gladwell skillfully knits these seemingly disparate stories together to provide you with a fascinating insight into the world of success.

All this seems a bit (or a lot) pessimistic, but by the end of the book, there is hope. We need not despair. Opportunities can be created (for others, if not for self) and the lessons of legacy can be reproduced.

From the book

[W]rites the neurologist Daniel Levitin, "In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, and what have you, this number comes up again and again. Of course, this doesn't address why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others do. But no one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. ..."

Outliers - Ratings and Recommendation

Style: Reads like Reader's Digest stories. Skillfully presented.

Knowledge content: Fascinating stories that get hidden behind the dazzle of success.

Applicability: Applicable, if not for yourself, for your children and the future generation. There are lessons here that can be easily implemented. The stories can be used as inspiration to your children. You have to narrate these, suitably of course.

Recommendation: Buy it and read it. You may or may not agree with the basic premises; but at least you will know what you are shooting at.

From the book

Marita doesn't need a brand-new school with acres of playing field and gleaming facilities. She doesn't need a laptop, a smaller class, a teacher with PhD, or a bigger apartment. She doesn't need a higher IQ or a mind as quick as Chris Langan's. All those things would be nice, of course. But they miss the point. Marita just needed a chance. And look at the chance she was given! Someone brought a little bit of the rice paddy to the South Bronx and explained to her the miracle of meaningful work.

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