Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

(review by Julie) (see Outliers review by Deanna here)
I recently read Outliers; The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I enjoyed this book even more than Gladwell's other books, The Tipping Point and Blink, which is really saying a lot. Gladwell is a journalist by trade, writing for the New Yorker magazine since 1996 and a reporter for the Washington post before that. I think this background gives him a writing style that makes it easy for me to become fully engaged; I end up loosing myself in his writing. As a result, I find that I read through his books quickly, unwilling to set them aside for a time, like I am with many other non-fiction books.

Outliers is all about how successful people are made. It dispels the myth that success is all about luck or even about being extraordinarily smart. Instead, Gladwell shows, success is a combination of opportunity and practice. Gladwell also points out that our heritage plays a significant role in our abilities. However, if we acknowledge our heritage, we can overcome its potential pitfalls rise above it.

Throughout the book, Gladwell looks at well know figures' (like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and The Beatles) paths toward success alongside people I'd never heard of including a group of genius kids, a school girl from the Bronx, and Korean pilots.

After reflecting on this book for a few weeks, I am left with a few nuggets that I'll take with me:
1. Success is a combination of opportunity and hard work. Neither alone is enough.
2. If you want to be truly good at something, do it for 10,000 hours.
3. Be careful not to underestimate how much your heritage / cultural legacy impacts you. Instead, know thyself- understand what your negative tendencies are and learn to correct for them.

In the end, I am a fan of Malcolm Gladwell and look forward to his next book.