I save highly desirable objects for dessert. Which explains why — although I’ve owned Outliers: The Story of Success since November when the book pubbed, I only read it today. This delay is only made more mysterious because its contents became exquisitely seductive by best-selling author James Patterson. When I interviewed JP in November for the March Writer’s Digest issue, he had read an advance copy of Outliers, and told me about one fascinating key to success — that 10,000 hour concept.
Outliers is a double-hot caramel sundae with dollops of whipped cream. It is New York cheesecake with divine cherries. It is delectable brownies with a hot fudge sauce drizzled over the top.
I’m not supposed to eat that stuff. But Outliers is the perfect dessert. Btw, I’m going to change my style and eat dessert first from now on.
In this world of instant fame — usually of the fifteen-minute variety — it makes me wonder what are the ingredients of success. I love Gladwell’s writing — he is the consummate storyteller, and he teases out the answers to that question at just the right pace. So while I encourage you to read the book — yes yes! — I also feel honor-bound to not reveal the answers to why certain among us are successful, and others, despite hard work, are not. The term Outliers is scientific — it is used to describe that which lies outside normal experience.
But the 10,000 hour aspect has become nearly synonymous with Outliers. Simply stated, it takes about ten-thousand hours to become expert. The Beatles, Bill Gates, Mozart all had an amazing number of hours of practice before they hit it. It struck me that while I’m relatively new to print, I’ve received no rejection letters for magazine articles or pieces for anthologies. For that, I’m extremely grateful — but, duh — I’ve written at least twice that 10,000 hour mark in stories that I read on the air as a news anchor. I’ve had to write fast, and I’ve had to write a lot. There is no such thing as a blank screen, because dead air is a worse threat. You may already have reached that magical mark in something you love to do — check it out!
One of the resounding themes in the book is that no one becomes a success all alone. In fact, we need a certain kind of family. Culture is a predictor of success. And, surprisingly, birthdates are as well. And, no, Gladwell has not turned into an astrologer.
I love that he tells his own family’s story — because, he, indeed, is a success. As I read the book, and observed how certain events and heritage lined up, leading to success, I wondered about my own family, wondered if I could dare ask my mother if I could interview her about her own family. She cut me off some twenty years ago, and will not speak to me — the short reason, I took my birth name, Jordan, instead of my stepfather’s last name. No matter, I would love to learn more. For myself, I would love to know how a woman of such amazing heritage would marry — and stay with — a violent pedophile. I won’t ask her that.
I will ask her about her mother and father, and their heritage. What I know so far — in scant detail — my mother’s mother was born in Peru, and when she was about four, her family made its way to New York City where her father was a bank president. While I knew my grandmother had traced her mother’s line back to an Incan princess, I didn’t know until a few years ago, that her father was a Russian Jew. My mom — despite growing up in New York — was anti-semitic in later years. Now, my mother’s father was born in Sydney, Australia, and played his violin so tenderly that when he was thirteen, he began playing his Stradivarius for royalty around the world. I carefully played with a ring — a seal, with a coat-of-arms — as a child. My mother says the ring belonged to a king on her father’s line.
She is, unfortunately, the only one left with these stories, so it’s up to her and to me to keep this history. I wonder if she’ll say yes.
As for Outliers, I take away a peaceful sense of being. I have been wondering a lot about success, some days feeling successful, others, feeling anything but. And the largest message I get is to live a good life, be grateful for the forces that delivered you where you are, and that will be success enough.
With a cherry on top.
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