Outliers

Gladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something.

But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts.

How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March?

And so on.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell reinforced a very important concept for me which is that there is no such thing as an overnight success. Every person who became successful “overnight” had countless hours of deliberate & hard work before they reached a point of visible success. This book is mostly a reminder that if I want to achieve my goals, I should focus on putting my head down and trying to get a little bit better every day, instead of trying to find shortcuts.

One of my favorite books is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It's an interesting book that gives a recipe for success, with examples from inspiring people. We perceive these inspiring people that their fortune is due to luck, but we tend to forget: their culture, family, education and time spent for them to become successful.

Malcom Gladwell's Outliers was a real eye-opener early on in my entrepreneurial journey. The concept of ten thousand hours before becoming an expert in a field has stuck with me. He makes fair arguments that while to the outside world, certain people like Bill Gates are purely self-made but the reality was his unique environment and circumstances gave him very early access to computers, at such a young age that he was starting out with a distinct advantage over essentially everyone else. I do assess myself and others with regards to the time they've committed to something.

Firstly, start off by reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. Know the fears, the insane amount of work that you have to put in, and be prepared for the game that lies ahead, in whatever you choose to pursue.

I'm so lucky - so much luckier than I've ever considered - to be where I am. Thankfully, it appears I'm not alone - if Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers (worth reading, BTW) is right, everyone who gets to do these kinds of exciting things in their lives owes that opportunity to the people around them, and I'm no different.

When a look back at my career path, it is the one of an entrepreneur. I have built various businesses, from accounting and financial advisory firms to tech and security businesses. I have also spent most of my adult life in China, a country that is quite hostile to foreigners and very unfair. I have accepted to suffer the hardships of building my business without any investment from anybody, and stick very firmly to my values. I would recommend young people to read about adventure, hardships, and moral choices. Of course, it would be important to also read about the drivers of our humanity, hence the motley list below:

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• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

It changed my beliefs in certain areas, like how talent is overrated and how it takes roughly 10,000 hours to get good at something.