Outliers

I just finished a fascinating book, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.Outliers are those extreme cases that you find on the ends of the classic bell curve, the kind that your teachers used to put you on. So if you got an F or an A+, you were an outlier. This book focuses on the best of the best (I'm not sure a book about failures would sell well, although it would be interesting...) Gladwell's findings support several things that I have always believed and are quite biblical.

First, the sovereignty of God is obvious. Events such as when you were born, how close you were to the right university, that you happened to be seen by the right talent scout, etc. are the primary reasons for outstanding success. For example, it turns out that Canadian hockey stars are nearly always born in Jan-March. In their kid's hockey system, the older kids in each age get more attention and training. In the computer world, Bill Gates was born during the explosion of computer technology and lived close to the Univ of Washington, which allowed him 24 hour access to their computers. The Beatles, just another band in England at the time, happened to be heard by a scout from Hamburg's all-night bar and strip clubs. He booked them and they would play all night long , 6 days a week for months! Probably no other band then existing got that much live practice. It often is being in the right place at the right time.

Secondly, hard work. Gladwell looks at atheletes, musicians, business men-and the data suggests a magic number of about 10,000 hours of practice/action to become great! No less! Thus, the old adage from your piano teacher or your little league coach is true: don't miss practice!

What about inborn talent? Yes, it seems to be important too, but not with out the other two factors. Even a child prodigy like Mozart practiced for 1000's of hours. And is not any "inborn" talent" from God as well? We did not choose our DNA, or our parents who gave it to us. AND how many kids practice hard without the enouragement/enablement of their family?(as in who, as we remind our kids, is driving you to all those practices and games anyway?!)

Finally, he actually begins the book with a suprising story about an Italian immigrant community in the USA with incredibly long lifespans. The reason? Not what you would think: e.g. genetics, diet, work ethic etc. No, the reason seems to be community. Generations living together, talking, interacting,etc. NOT sitting in front of the tube or computer. Community is all through the Bible (all those "one another" passages) and it seems pretty obvious we have lost that in our culture, even that of the church.

So, many lessons from this little book. Now I have an excuse for not getting an A+ on that algebra exam my freshman year or being a star on the court! You know, didn't get the right DNA.

Or was it that I hated practice....