It seems like there is a lot to say about this book by Malcolm Gladwell. He begins with the assertion that there is no such thing as a self-made man, that extremely successful people (Outliers) have achieved so much because of their circumstances, families, and appetites for hard work. He then takes the rest of the book to provide examples of super achievers who back up his theory through very specific life experiences.
I'd definitely recommend this book as it was very interesting, my one complaint is that I feel like after a certain point I would be reading something and think "didn't he already make that point like 10 pages ago? I believed him then, so why is he trying to convince me again?" But shortly after that point he would tie everything together and I would get it...it just seemed to take a little while longer than I would have liked. Overall, I'll give Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Below are some of my favorite excerpts from my favorite section of the book:
"Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig" (p. 150).
"...if you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires" (p. 151).
"Jewish doctors and lawyers did not become professionals in spite of their humble origins. They became professionals because of their humble origins" (p. 153). [This really hit me because of my own humble origins, and helped me realize all that I am because of how my life began.]
Next up is Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and I am working on reading the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year in addition to my other reading.
1 comment:
I loved "Outliers." I don't know if you've read anything else by Malcolm Gladwell but that thing he does, where he makes the same point ten times in ten ways, is a staple of his :)
I don't recommend calculating how many hours you may have spent at something to see how close you came to 10,000. If I'd practiced the piano one more hour a week in high school, I'd be a piano outlier. I'm still depressed about that.
I think you'll like Life of Pi. I read it a few years ago and I loved it.
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