Outliers

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is one of the best books I have EVER read. I hope to emphasize the point by noting that I am a reader: I read a lot of books, so I feel like I can say that with some background in the area of those out there who read for enjoyment. Definitely if you dive into the non-fiction realm, which this book is, it is definitely in the top ten and probably in the top five (I'm hesitant to dub it my #1 as I'm on an emotional high after just finishing it, but it may end up there once I let time pass and more perspective develop).

Let's put it this way, I wasn't even a quarter of the way through this book before I got online and ordered his other two books. Generally when I read I get to the end of a chapter before I think about what I read. I found myself putting the book down temporarily on nearly a page by page basis to think about what I had just read, then was excited to pick it back up and see what came next.

Outliers describes the backgrounds, circumstances, and opportunities of successful people. Not only does it take TONS of work to be a true outlier (which he dubs the 10,000 hour rule-very intriguing and I would think is absolutely true) but you have to be extremely fortunate to be born in the right place, at the right time, and grow up under the right circumstances. Unfortunately, I was NOT born at the right time, nor in the right place, and I have not grown up under the right circumstances to be the next Bill Gates or Beatles or a professional athlete; but applying the points of this book to myself I can easily understand why I'm in the life position I am, to the point I might feel the need for myself to expound upon it at some point.

I've read some critiques saying the book throws out individual accomplishments and basically says all successful individuals are pure luck. I don't agree with that at all. The author clearly notes multiple times that these people are those that took advantages of opportunities, he just points out that those opportunities were very fortunate and circumstantial, down to the timing and location of their birth and upbringing.

Think about it and it makes sense before even reading the book. Does a child who grows up in a two-parent affluent household have a better opportunity to succeed than a child who grows up in a single-parent poor household? Not that one or the other can or can't succeed, just that the opportunities are far greater for the latter. In turn, the "poor" kid still has a much greater opportunity to succeed compared to a child in 3rd-world Africa. It's relative and circumstantial, but it makes sense. The book has MUCH more to say than the simple example I just shelled out.

I like to buy books. I generally don't use the library for whatever reason, mainly that I don't mind buying books because I don't ever think purchasing a book is a waste of money. Reading is never a waste of time or money in my mind. However, I rarely reread the books I buy. I've even recently told Rachel she can start selling the majority of my books because I'm unlikely to ever get back around to reading them again. I enjoy it the first time through and that's usually it. It's not like a movie that only takes a couple hours to get through a second (or sometimes third, fourth, fifth, etc.). The bottom line for Outliers for me is this: I look forward to rereading it before the end of the summer.