Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Social science

Rating: 5/5

Recommend to: Entrepreneurs, Coaches, People in sales, Managers, Leaders, Start-up founders.

Number of pages: 336 pages

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK:

The book Outliers is an easy read that pulls you in and you just can’t stop reading it. I found the book helpful in keeping focus on the important stuff in life, to keep developing yourself, pushing yourself to the next level and to look for opportunities and most of all to prepare for them when you think you “have none”. In the end, opportunities can arise from your “misfortunes”. A good example of that is a story about Joe Flom who became an overnight success 20 years in the making. You will also find success stories of Bill Gates, the Beatles, and more. Malcolm also shares with us a couple of examples of how culture and other socially accepted norms hinder people, even when they know that, but they are still too afraid to do things differently. The book Outliers is for people who dare to be different and make a positive impact on the world. Are you one of them?

If I sum up the book, the lesson I got is that in life we do not get the same chances right from the start, but we all have the same chance to have a positive attitude, search for opportunities, and to prepare for them by learning each and every day. And if we don’t find “our chance” to be successful, we can end up making one for ourselves.

MY NOTES FROM THE BOOK:

• In the book, there is an example of two very smart men with very high IQ, but their stories are very different. A man by the name Chris Langa with probably one of the highest IQ in the world never was able to finish college or become a published author because of his attitude. While on the other hand J. Robert Oppenheimer had a very successful career and achieved almost everything he wanted, but unlike Chris, he had a positive attitude. Or as the author says he had “practical intelligence” – knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect while Chris did not.
• Culture dictates how we act in private and public.  Malcolm tries to show the effect of historical legacies on why Chinese students work so hard. His theory is that because in the past Chinese rice farmers had to work really hard and smart to get the most out of their fields, that they developed a mentality of a hard worker. Thus came the mentality in Asia that you make your luck by working hard, while in some other parts of the world you might get lucky or might not – it is not up to you.
• People master a craft after putting in at least 10.000 hours of practice or work. And the sooner you get those hours in, the sooner you can become successful. It all starts with children. The ones that practice more become better sooner and because resources in schools are limited teachers always pick the best and dedicate a lot more time and knowledge to those who are the best.
• The real secret of success turns out to be surprisingly simple, and it hinges on a few crucial twists in people’s life story – on the culture they grow up in and the way they spend their time.
• The people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.
•  What starts out as adversity can end up being an opportunity.
• The necessary possibilities for our success come not just from inside us or from our parents, but also from our time. From the particular opportunities that our particular place in history presents us with.
• Even the most gifted of us, equipped with the best family lessons, cannot escape the limitations of our generation.
• The circumstances of your upbringing make a significant difference in how well you do in the world.
• Every success story involves someone or some group working harder than their peers.
• Outliers are products of history, community, opportunity and legacy.

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Thank you for your time. I hope you have found this book review helpful.