Outliers, partnerships and business principles that should be learned in graduate programs

I recently read "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.  It was supremely interesting, and in a word, eye-opening.  His basic premise is that in the United States, we view people who are successes, people who achieve over and above, "Outliers" if you will, as anomalies in our society.  We suspect that they are smarter, more "intelligent", inherently "better" than the rest of us.  I mean, this must be true, right?  If it weren't, we could all be Bill Gates or and NBA all-star, right?

Through various arguments, Gladwell explains that these uber-successful individuals are not the smartest, they are smart enough.  They are not the most talented, they are talented enough.  They have practiced, had the right set of advantageous circumstances put into place that worked in their favor, and have practiced like madmen at what it is that they succeed at.  They are not "better", they are just different, and that difference is part of what sets them apart from the rest of us.

Now obviously, this is a very brief synopsis of his theory and arguments, and I can't do them full justice.  If you're really interested, buy the book or snag it at your library.  The point is this...I do not have to be the smartest, the most handsome, the strongest, to succeed.  I just need to be me, practice what I want to achieve over and over, and work towards the goal.

It's an interesting dichotomy to address if you think about it; in the US, we have a "bootstraps" mentality.  If you want to do something great, get out and do it.  You can be anything that you want in the United States, so get out there, go to school, do the work, and you can become a __________ (doctor, lawyer, Betty Crocker, etc.) You can achieve your dream in this country because The American Dream is what America is founded on and sustained by, right?  At the same time, we view these "Outliers" as special.  Smart people must turn into successful people.  Someone with a genius level IQ must have a better chance at turning into something special than me.  I can never be ________ (doctor, lawyer, Betty Crocker, etc.) because I'm not smart enough; person B will do that because he/she is smarter than me.

Strange to think that your dreams can be realized, your goals can be achieved...it just doesn't depend on being the fastest, the smartest, the prettiest or the "best" at any given task.  It is much more complicated and tricky to navigate, but at the same time, much simpler to understand and move towards.

I have gone my entire life being one of the "smartest", and only at 29 have I realized that it only afforded me chances in my life, some of which I've seized effectively and some of which I've squandered gloriously in a blood bath of almost-realized potential.  Intelligence has never guaranteed me anything besides Trivial Pursuit bragging rights, and the ability to talk myself into trivial pursuits that either fail spectacularly, or are realized, and turn out to be just trivial.






More on partnerships and how education is a complete waste of time and money (Ok, maybe a slight overstatement) later...

Family Dinner

Tonight is the first installment of our monthly collective family dinner.  No children, just adults spending time together and enjoying being a family.  Strange to think that after so many years and some many things that happen in life, family is the one constant.  Friends have come and gone, loves have been in and out of lives, but family has remained the same...ponder that while I'm enduring a dinner with my family.

TRAVEL ALERT!!!!

Apparently a travel alert is in effect.  Terrorists are on the prowl and trying to destroy your family and freedom.  One traveler had an interesting response..."...there are thugs with guns running around in the US, so I feel safer in Europe."  Let freedom ring.