Book Review: Outliers (The Story of Success)

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Most people say I read ‘motivational’ books. But, I always counter that notion. I do not read motivational books. Nope. The essence of reading motivational books is to be motivated, right? To me, “If you need motivational books to succeed, it means you are not motivated to succeed.” On occasions, you’ll need inspiring stuff, but motivation should largely come from the inside.

This book, Outliers, is a perfect example of the books I love to read. It is not fiction. It is a real life analysis of what is. So, don’t ask what books I read anymore. I don’t read fiction. I don’t read motivational books. I read books that teach me something new. Self-help, how-tos, most especially (auto) biographies, and eye-opening notes are my faves.

If they are doubly motivational, why not?

Split into two parts and nine chapters, Malcolm Gladwell seems to confirm what I had been thinking prior to reading the book. The major plot of the book is that you can be hugely talented, but you need to be around the right people, be birthed in a favourable year, come from a rich or mid-income background, put in 10,000 hours’ worth of effort, and from a culture that embraces social liberty to be successful.

It may look complex on the surface, but Gladwell analysed every of those elements above. And I must say he is largely right. You may not share the same perspective; but if you sit down to analyse most success stories, you’d see the fruition of some or all of these elements.

For better comprehension, he made comparisons between Chris Langan (a man with more IQ than Einstein who is largely unknown) and Robert Oppenheimer (the physicist who headed the American nuclear bomb effort during WW II). Gladwell showed that their family backgrounds and social class had an influence on their direction. More examples include Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Asian math whiz, Jamaican story, et cetera.

I have some reservations. Gladwell wrote the book with a pre-conceived idea that success stories have more to do with social connections and being at the right place at the right time. The book is a 365 page stretch of his preconception.

He didn’t specifically downplay hardwork in the content of the book, but he did in his mind. I am a firm believer that hardwork pays. However, like Gladwell, I believe the hardwork invested by software billionaires, superstar athletes, finance moguls, famous pop stars, and renowned actors is nothing compared to the number of hours peasant farmers invest.

Life isn’t fair, really. But, hardwork alone isn’t the answer to success. It never has been. And, it is increasingly becoming obsolete because you have to work to succeed, anyways.

One more reason to recommend this book: Malcolm Gladwell has an ‘Igbo’ lineage. How? Just buy and read.