Posts Tagged Outliers

In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell talks about “genius”, and what it takes to become an expert in any field.  Gladwell’s argument is that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve perfection.  Given a 40 hour workweek, at 52 weeks a year, we’re looking at almost 5 years of full-time application to achieve genius status, given that’s the only thing you’re working on.  Becoming a genius in a hobby, for instance, would be extremely difficult.  I would imagine that any hobby would require many years to achieve genius status, especially if you work full-time, and can only devote a few hours each week to perfecting your skills.

Faced with these daunting odds, I’m still determined to put Gladwell’s theory to the test and become an expert in some area.  I could stick with what I know, which is Excel.  I’m learning new things all the time.  But maybe I’ll stretch myself a bit.  I could become an expert on the Metabolic Diet, which has helped me lose 20 pounds in the last month and a half.  Or, I could learn a new language, like Spanish or Italian.  Or maybe even Russian!

Part of the reason to take on this challenge is this: I get bored easily.  It’s not that I have a short attention span; it’s the fact that I like to stand things on their head, to push the envelope, to smash old paradigms to bits.  This 10,000 requirement might be just the thing to fire me up.  I’ll keep you posted.

• Barbaric Book Review: The Wealthy Barber The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton was first published in 1991.  It's a basic financial guide, told in a narrative style, about three young people who seek financial advice from the town barber.  Yes, you read that correctly, a barber. The story follows a young teacher as he learns, along......
• How To Save Money on College Textbooks Photo by timetrax23 My son starts college next week.  Obviously, he needs textbooks.  In an effort to show me just how far he's come with taking on responsibility, he told me he'd handle his book purchases.  He'd use the money that he earned over the summer. Holy Geez! He......
• Getting Rich in America Book Review and Summary, Part 4 This is Part 4 of my review and chapter summary of Getting Rich in America: 8 Simple Rules for Building a Fortune and a Satisfying Life by Dwight R. Lee and Richard B. McKenzie. You can read the first three parts of this review by clicking the following links: Getting......

• Book review- No More Mondays by Dan Miller The full title of this book is: No More Mondays. Fire yourself and other revolutionary ways to discover your true calling at work. If you don't know who Dan Miller is, learn more about him at 48days.com. Dan Miller is a career coach and his books and writings center around......
• Book Review: World Atlas of Golf - The Greatest Courses and How They are Played Mark Rowlinson The World Atlas of Golf was first published more than 30 years ago, and since then, each and every addition has revealed to golfers the best courses available. This latest edition gives the fully informative treatment to over 70 courses, giving the treatment to courses that have not yet graced......
• Essence of Perfume by Roja Dove Book Review This is a perfume book review for the book known as Essence of Perfume, which was written by Roja Dove. The Essence of Perfume was printed by Black Dog Publishing in London in 2008. It is a hardcover book that features 271 unique pages. The winter holidays are approaching quickly,......