Book By: Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is a renowned journalist who works as the staff writer for The New Yorker. An ‘Outlier’ is something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body. The author makes use of the concept of an outlier to identify a handful of successful people around the globe who stand out from the rest. Their success does not depend entirely on their talent or work they put in rather it’s a perfect instance where opportunity meets talent and where talent is worked upon.
The author looks at the lives of everyone from different walks of life ranging from Canadian Hockey Players, the Beatles, computer geniuses like Bill Gates and Bill Joy, Jewish lawyers. So, what is common between all these successful people (other than their talent and the work they put in), is an opportunity. All of them, at some stage of their lives, have been presented with a golden opportunity which they have grabbed with both hands with the help of their talent and the 10,000 hours of work that they put in, to make that opportunity count.
The Canadian players born in January, February and March have a 40% chance of playing in the elite level while those born in October, November and December have only a 10% chance. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Bill Joy- all these successful software engineers later turned into billionaires were all born in 1955. Bill Gates had gone to the Lakeside School in Seattle, which had the best facility for computers in that area or even to some extent the school of the country. All these are ‘accidental opportunities’ that fell their way and contributed a lot to their success.
The second part of the book talks about how our culture and legacy that we inherit from our parents and forefathers is also an important contributing factor. The author uses relevant examples of Christopher Langan, a man who had more IQ than even Albert Einstein, who failed to reach his potential, and how often this happens to child geniuses. He also explains how the paddies of Asia is a major contributing factor for Asians to be good at Maths. The role that society plays in someone’s success is often not talked about. But when a single individual succeeds, he paves the way for the entire society for generations to follow. The fact is quite evident from the authors’ personal story in the last chapter.
The book challenges the recipe of success that was taught to us when we were young. Is hard work the only variable that determines our success? Definitely not, there are uncountable variables on which the function of success depends. So, if the question arises, should we stop working at all? The answer is again, definitely not, because, among all the variables, 10,000 hours of work is the only one which is in our control. So, let’s make an effort and be prepared for the opportunity if it knocks at our door, just like these successful people were when it came their way. So, let’s take heart from Marita’s life and all the other students of KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) who are ready to fight all the challenges of culture and legacy by making big sacrifices.
“Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for twenty-two minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after thirty seconds.”
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