Malcolm Gladwell has written several best-selling books that have a unique take on success and achievement. Among his books include, “The Tipping Point”, “Blink”, “What the Dog Saw”, and “Outliers: The Story of Success”.
The book, “Outliers: The Story of Success”, is an informative and entertaining book on the profile of success. Success has many varied definitions. There is success with money. There is success with music. There is success with family. Malcolm Gladwell has many interesting stories about Bill Gates, the Beatles, Mozart, etc. These individuals transcend their peers in their chosen field of endeavor.
The Beatles have performed in a rather brief period as popular musicians back in the 50′s and 60′s. But, prior to being popular, they performed in England, Germany, and parts of Europe. In fact, they probably performed thousands of hours together. They practiced with a purpose of getting better. Later, even the individual members of the group: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr have (and even continue to have) successful careers in other groups or as solo artists.
Bill Gates is known as the founder of Microsoft (along with Paul Allen). Long before desktop computing became popular, he spent thousands of hours programming and tinkering with operating systems and software. He dropped out of college to start his own company and spend even longer hours programming.
It is a historical fact that Amadeus Mozart spent thousands of hours playing music with his piano. The by-product for his countless hours of music can still be heard today in his numerous symphonies and other musical pieces.
According to the book, “Outliers: The Story of Success”, the one common denominator these successful individuals had is that they spend over 10,000 hours on their particular trade or talent. They just did not spend hours practicing. They spent thousands of hours on deliberate practice- which is practicing with a purpose and correcting any errors and improving their skills even more. That is the difference on how they became outliers.
Most of us are aware that hard work will enable us to succeed at whatever chosen field of endeavor. The book, “Outliers”, illustrates and eloquently depicts that work ethic on the numerous stories within the book. He also looks at demographic luck (the effect of one’s birthday on their success) and other factors that contribute to success. There are many other interesting factors that you (as a reader) can pick and choose to what is relevant for you to succeed. This is an inspiring book on success and the art and science of achievement.
Book Review - Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
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