What I learnt from Outliers
This is not a typical story about success, being successful and successful people.
The reason why I am writing something about it is because this book caused me to eureka at every chapter, from the first chapter. There are probably more poignant points which the book makes, but these are the things which had the most meaning for me:
I knew in my gut that success is 50% talent and 50% wealth of experience. But I didn’t know how correct and how wrong I was.
Extraordinary achievement is less about talent and more about opportunity and hard work.
1. Talent only gives someone a head start.
It does not amount to 50% of the success equation. In fact, talent only gives you an advantage over others until age 12.
2. There are two kinds of talent - IQ and EQ.
Without both, success is simply not possible. IQ, also known as convergent talent is a result of genetics, i.e. we cannot choose how clever we want to be. But EQ, also known as divergent talent is groomed by the environment and background we are from, i.e. we can choose how talented we want to be. This means that high intellect does not equate to high achievement.
Good enough is better than perfection.
1. There is threshold for everything, including IQ.
A 2m tall basketball player would be able to play defense better than a 1.5m tall person simply because of his height advantage. But would a 2.2m tall person block better than a 2m tall player because of his height? Other factors like speed, gameplay, reflexes comes into play.
Same with IQ. Someone with IQ of 80-90 can graduate with a college degree. IQ 100-120 Masters’ and IQ 120-130 with a doctorate.
Beyond the threshold, the head start you get from genetics is narrowing and worse, the effort you put in becomes inversely proportion to the achievement.
To me, this means that I do not need to attend a great school. I only need to look for a good school.
Success is not exclusively individual merit but a combination of opportunities seized, family background and accumulative advantages.
1. 10,000 hours
It is incredible, but scientists have found that all experts put in at least 10,000 hours of practice before they are recognised to be a genius.
e.g. Bill Gates’ started programming in primary school and Lance Armstrong was an accomplished triathlete in his teens. The examples stretch all the way to the Beetles, the Blackeyedpeas, Mozart and Steve Jobs. Now we know why Michael Jordan sucked at baseball. haha!
2. Hard work is not difficult when the work becomes meaningful.
If the work we do gives us autonomy, is complex enough and has a connection between effort and reward, this work becomes meaningful.
3. Family background and the environment we put ourselves in, is more important than we think.
I come from a family background that rewards attainment of a university degree. So, it is no surprise that I hate extended family gatherings and I used to have a low self image in the presence of my cousins. Thankfully, this has since changed because I have got that piece of paper and because of the Life Coaching sessions (more on that later).
4. And so, there is no such thing as a self made man.
All in all, the most important take-home I got from the book is:
If you work hard enough and assert yourself and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires through powers of persuasion, initiative, practical intelligence and savvy.
And these pointers shaped my life purpose.
P.S: Outliers are those who have been given the opportunity to suceed, and whom have the strength and presence of mind to seize it.
Question: Does anyone know the original chinese script for “No man who does not rise before dawn 360 days a year does not fail to be a rich man”?
