Outliers, Quick Thoughts

Finally finished the last few pages of Outliers. Great book. As usual Malcolm Gladwell impresses with his ability to always deliver amazing insights. In the spirit of Outliers though, he does his due diligence and puts what (I think) has to be countless hours of research into each book.

Outliers tries to detail exactly what makes certain people so successful in life. It zeroes in on the traditional hard work and lucky break type stories and finds unseen advantages that successful people get along the way. From Bill Gates to the Beatles to Canadian hockey stars, according to Outliers, there is often some sort of help along the way that usually goes unseen (along with a lot of nose to the grindstone hard work).

Outliers is oddly inspiring for a book that tries to convince you that your ultimate success has a lot to do with the help others may or may not give you along the way. I found myself comparing the outlook of my success with every story along the way, looking for my help, my lucky breaks.

The biggest pieces of advice I took away from all the amazing stories Gladwell provides is a) to put in more work than anyone else so that you are best prepared to take advantage of new opportunities when they arise & b) learn to spot those new opportunities by surrounding yourself with smart, capable people.

I hope to put my notes on Outliers together soon, similar to what I did for Groundswell, stay tuned.

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