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Outliers
The Story of Success
Outliers is an examination of individuals who achieve a level of success – in math, sports, law, or any pursuit, really – so extraordinary that it lies outside the realm of normal experience.
We often think these outliers possess some mysterious innate ability that helps them rise to the top of their fields, but other factors, like family, culture or even birthdates, can have a huge effect on success, too.
- Anyone who wants to deepen his or her understanding of success and of how to achieve it
- Teachers, coaches and others in training professions
- Consulting professionals and others interested in policy reform
Malcolm Gladwell is a staff writer at the New Yorker magazine. He began his career in journalism as a reporter covering business and science for the Washington Post. In 2005, he was on Time Magazine’s list the 100 Most Influential People.
In addition to Outliers, Gladwell has written several other bestsellers, including The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference and Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking.
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Outliers
The Story of Success
- Read in 16 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 10 key ideas
Synopsis
Outliers is an examination of individuals who achieve a level of success – in math, sports, law, or any pursuit, really – so extraordinary that it lies outside the realm of normal experience.
We often think these outliers possess some mysterious innate ability that helps them rise to the top of their fields, but other factors, like family, culture or even birthdates, can have a huge effect on success, too.
Key idea 1 of 10
Our culture celebrates the myth of the “self-made man.”
If we meet an excellent mathematician, we tend to assume his talent for logical thinking is, at its core, something he was born with. The same goes for professional athletes’ agility, musicians’ sense of rhythm, or computer programmers’ problem-solving skills.
This is because we naturally tend to attribute an individual’s success or achievement to his or her own efforts and innate abilities.
When Jeb Bush ran for the governorship of Florida, he called himself a “self-made man” as part of his campaign strategy. This is, frankly, ridiculous; he had two American Presidents, a wealthy Wall Street banker, and a United States senator in his immediate family. Nevertheless, as individualism is so important in our culture, he tried this angle anyway.
Jeb Bush’s achievements make him an outlier – a person who has achieved something statistically extraordinary. But just as Bush’s advantageous background helped him achieve success, so too do less external factors help other outliers rise above the average.
We place such a high value on individuals and their “self-made” achievements that we often willfully ignore other factors.
The “self-made man” is a myth – a very, very popular myth.
Key ideas in this title
- Our culture celebrates the myth of the “self-made man.”
- Once you reach a certain threshold, increased abilities no longer help you succeed.
- World-class mastery of anything demands around 10,000 hours of practice – no easy feat.
- The month you’re born in can have a huge effect on what you achieve.
- How you’re brought up can radically impact how successful you become.
- The year you’re born in can make or break you.
- Where you come from – geographically and culturally – can have a particularly large effect on what you achieve.
- If we recognize the importance of cultural legacy, we can help more people work towards success – and prevent failure.
- If we recognize the reasons behind uneven playing fields, we can create more opportunities for people to succeed.
- Final Summary