Outliers – The Story of Success. I recently finished reading the book Outliers, The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell. This was an enjoyable and inspiring book that examines how and why some people are successful.
Raw skill, intelligence and talent play a big role in being successful, as does hard work. But there are countless others who have similar raw talents. So why are some people able to achieve great things, while others with equal talents may never come close to reaching a similar level of success? Outliers explains contributing factors to success and uses some very interesting examples to back up his theories, including Bill Gates, The Beatles, Canadian hockey players, world class lawyers, geniuses, and more. This was a very interesting book, and one I would recommend to just about anyone. It’s a very popular book at the moment, so if you check it out from your local library, you may have to get on the waiting list. But Outliers is well worth the wait.
Recommended articles:
Top 10 Things That I Wish I Had Known When I Graduated College. This article should be read by all new high school and college grads.
25 Ways to Eat For Free (Really): Get Free Food! Everyone loves free stuff – including food!
Why is it so Much Harder to Thrive in America Today? The American Dream is much harder for today’s generation when compared to our grandparents’ and parents generations.
Weathering the recession in a small town. Some small towns are feeling major affects from the down economy, while others are going along as before.
Should You Home School Your Children? Lynnae and her family made their decision regarding home-schooling their children. Very interesting situation.
Is Budgeting Keeping You Poor? Do you find budgets liberating or restricting?
Pay off student loan or save? This is an important question that many new grads face – and there is no right or wrong answer – just what is right for your situation.
Build a Budget You Can Use. Step by step guide to building a budget.
This week’s carnivals:
- The “Twenty Something Finances” Carnival – Upbeat Edition was hosted at Switch to Riches.
- Money Hacks Carnival 62- Playoff Edition was held at Financial Highway.
- Wealth, Money and Life Carnival – May 2, 2009 was hosted at Dollar Frugal.
- The Best of the Best in Money and Personal Finance #2 was held at Len Penzo.com. My article was an Editor’s Choice!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the mention!
Gladwell writes thought-provoking books, so I’ll have to pick this one up. And thanks for the mention!
That sounds like a pretty good book. Thanks for mentioning my article.
Great round up posts. More reading for me!
Outliers is a fantastic book. I’ve been reading a lot of behavioral economics books, and while they’re all very interesting, Outliers was the most entertaining read of them all. It’s also the best-written one—no surprise there.
One great thing I learned from that book which I still remember is that it is often “the early birds” who end up being considered successful or actually becoming successful, just due to the way numbers work and the appearance of being first, etc. etc. It’s hard to explain – he primarily uses the hockey training camps example in Canada, but it extends to other endeavors, too, I’ve noticed. So even in business, it’s probably important to be the first (or maybe second) with that brand/product/idea etc. – unless you have killer marketing and PR and some other strategy and luck…..
MoneyEnergy: First to the market is a huge advantage in the business world. But, like you mentioned, marketing, R&D, and other factors still play a huge role!
Excellent book, I read all 3 of his and although enjoyed this one, didn’t think it compared to the other 2. Your thoughts?
Craig: This was the first book of his I have read. I just borrowed The Tipping Point this week. I’ll let you know.