Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is a nerdy book if I have ever read one. This book takes a long hard look at the little things in life that can make a huge difference in determining success from a young age. The main argument of the book is that success is tied to opportunity and time, that hard work and practice are required to be successful but that without the opportunity the hard work is worthless. For example he talks about the inherent advantage children have when they are among the oldest kindergartners in the class verses the youngest simply because these students have a few more months of maturity--which is a lot when you are only 5 or 6 years old.
Overall I got a lot of little nuggets of wisdom from this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I put more weight on some of the things Gladwell used to substantiate his thesis (for example, if I have kids who are on the fence age wise between starting kindergarten this year verses next I will probably make the decision based on the child's personality and readiness, not their age, I was among the youngest in my class and always received good grades/was told how smart I am) however overall I think I am better off for having read the book and recommend it to anyone who is interested in the science behind success.
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