On Atypical valuesGladwell examines the factors that contribute to high levels of success. To support his thesis, he examines why most Canadian ice hockey players are born in the first few months of the calendar year, how Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates achieved his extreme wealth, how The Beatles became one of the most successful musical acts. in the history of mankind, and many more examples to support his thesis.
I hereby list the 10 outstanding lessons that I learned from this amazing book. I know that I need to keep practicing these learnings, day after day. These lessons are written and attached in a way that makes it easier for most of us to understand and assimilate.
So here we go with our 10 standout lessons from this book that influenced me immensely.
(1) We make a mistake if we cling to the idea that success is a simple function of individual merit. The rules we choose to write as a society matter a lot.
[My Views]
You can make sincere efforts, and that’s it. There are too many things that need to fit together, synchronously, for you to achieve the results you want. Focus on your efforts. Keep improving. Be satisfied with your improvements. Don’t worry about the results. The results are different when people have different perspectives.
(2) Achievement is Talent + Practice / Preparation, the latter being the majority shareholder.
[My Views]
You can acquire talent. You can do it even if you start from scratch. Obviously, starting with a innate talent gives you an advantage. But what is difficult to acquire is the consistency necessary to practice to be successful. That comes purely from your love for your craft.
(3) It takes approximately 10,000 hours of practice to be a world-class expert at anything. It takes approximately 10 years to dedicate 10,000 hours of practice.
[My Views]
Think before you jump, instead of getting excited about initial success. Also, don’t give up too early if you’re already interested. You are definitely going to be tested for your patience and perseverance, to the hilt. Obviously, nothing worthwhile is easy, and why should it be?
(4) Ten thousand hours is a huge amount of time. You can’t do it all alone. You will need a lot of encouragement, support, and you can’t be doing a part-time job to make ends meet, because you simply won’t have enough time each day to hit 10,000 hours of practice.
[My Views]
You must plan your freedom and then pursue your passion full time. Those who believe that their passion and profession are independent of each other may be making the biggest mistake of their life. Resonance works only when your passion is also your profession.
(5) IQ matters, but only up to a point. Beyond that, it’s your attitude. It’s like in a basketball game, height matters, but that’s only up to a point.
(6) No one, be they rock stars, professional athletes, billionaires, or even geniuses, does it alone. They need guidance and support at the right age. Good parenting, a good environment is key to producing legends.
[My Views]
If you think you have achieved something alone, then just remove this misconception. Even the largest creatures in the world cannot grow without support. And when it comes to leaving a legacy on this planet, there is nothing better than your children, instilled with the right values.
(7) When you accept a paycheck, it basically comes down to what you think is correct versus what you can do to receive the next paycheck.
(8) The opportunities presented to you for success depend not only on your inner qualities, your parenting, but also on the moment you were born into this world.
[My Views]
The world is not fair to anyone. But this injustice to everyone is what makes it fair game in the end.
(9) Most air accidents are not the result of major mechanical or technical failures. Typically these are small incidents that occur one after the other, which go unnoticed or are not properly communicated unequivocally. This lack of communication has a lot to do with the culture in which the pilot and co-pilot are born and raised.
(10) No one who can get up before dawn 360 days a year fails to enrich his family
[My Views]
Among so many other reasons, this comes over the top, because if there’s something that pushes you and makes you feel uncomfortable enough to wake you up at 4am every day, every day of the year, you are obviously unstoppable.
I hope these 10 featured lessons help shape your thought process to some degree and help you lead a better life.