Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, is a nonfiction book about the success stories of many well known people. For example; Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the Beatles. Gladwell writes his book from the point of view that no one can be where they are without help. Opportunities are the key for someone to succeed. People get lucky, “Bill Gates could accept the title genius, and leave it at that. It takes no small degree of humility for him to look back on his life and say, ‘I was lucky.’ And he was”. (285) Gladwell gives a vast variety of success stories spanning out through nine chapters and 285 pages. Each story is not like the last, and each story filled with a new clue that is part of the key to Gladwell making his overall point. All of the stories mentioned within the story are one-hundred percent real, every last clear and simple word. Gladwell speaks with and essence that is clear but capturing at the same time, “there is a beauty in saying something clearly and simply.”(299) His book was relatable to everyday life, and the wisdom was needed for me to look at life in a whole new way. Gladwell is a genius himself.
Gladwell’s story about the Asians and rice patties relates to me in the sense of work ethic, “No one can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.” (249) The Asians tended these rice patties for almost the whole year; in season they were tending, watering, harvesting the rice and out of season these people were still tending the land and setting it up for the harvesting and growing season. They never rested, because they were determined and motivated to have the best crops because their wealth was based upon the harvest. This example relates to me because I am always up doing homework (midnight on most days, and If I’m lucky 10pm) and trying to get ahead of everything so if anything goes wrong I am ready -like the way the Asians tend the rice patties out of season so when it’s in season they are all prepared. I reread a million times over my work, get it checked by the teacher, and coming in for extra help. That is dedication, and a true desire to learn and succeed. Just like the Asians were dedicated to their crops, “Sometimes each rice shoot would be individually groomed with a bamboo comb to clear away insects. All the while, farmers have to check and recheck water levels and make sure the water didn’t get too hot in the summer sun.”(227)
The three lessons of Joe Flom was chapter five, and the chart on page 152, Gladwell begins explaining the theories of “Ted Friedman, the prominent litigator in the 1970’s and the 1980’s” (153) he discusses the patterns present within the family tree and the professions that each family members has. The Jewish immigrants who settled on the foreign land first seemed to have blue collar (labor) professions. While the laborers children all had white collar (upper class) professions, such as doctors, lawyers, physicians, etc. He explained that he thought it was this way because the children were early on exposed to the downfalls of having a blue collar job. They saw hard work and labor and did not exactly want the lives that their parents lived. So they tried harder and prospered within their white collar jobs. This applies to my life because with my parents neither went to college and they both have blue collar jobs. I as a child has seen what it am like, as Friedman had explained, it is not a life of luxury we area family living pay check to pay check. So I really need to work hard in order to get a scholarship and go to college so I can be in the upper class and have a white collar job. I am working towards becoming a surgeon and I am very determined to be one of the best. I plan on going to med school for the many years (8-10) and then internship, and finally my 5-year residency. Although I don’t feel I would have been so determined if it wasn’t for my parents living the lives they live. If they did not show me what it is like to live this way than I wouldn’t have pushed myself as far and probably wouldn’t end up nearly anywhere close to where I would like myself to be. So I thank them, “the conclusion becomes inescapable: Jewish Doctors and lawyers did not become professionals in spite of their humble origins. They became professionals because of their humble origins.” (153)
Practice makes perfect! “The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.” (40) Wow! That’s like ten years of constant practice. But it makes sense, how are you supposed to get any better if you don’t try or even work on what needs to be fixed when learning something new? Like a sport of learning to play the violin and school, professional sports teams, composers, musicians and students all practice. I am under each of those categories in some shape or form. I’m a student in high school (so far for two years) in all Honors classes so in order so succeed studying is the key in order to ace tests and learn at the quickened pace of the class. I am also a composer/ musician, I sing. Almost every day of the week I am in the choir room singing and learning how to sing the notes for the musical correctly. It takes time. I am also on sports team and they have vigorous practices also (I play in the fall and the spring; volleyball and softball). We run plays over and over again until they are just right; we practice this many times so that it becomes natural. It needs to become second nature so you do not always have to be thinking about every move you make, because you need to be ready for any surprises that your opponent may throw at you. Practice is always necessary, if you are not willing to practice then you are not willing to succeed, “without ten thousand hours under his belt, there is no way he can ever master the skills necessary to play at the top level." (41-42)
Outliers was a very relatable book, I hung onto every word with memories and connections to my own life. It was different I am used to reading about other characters and not about another form of myself. I liked the book and really learned a lot. Today I am seeing the world in a whole new light than I was before I read this book.
