BLOG

08-03-09

Inspirational Book Recommendation

Note from Larissa:
  “I recently enjoyed reading Outliers by Malcom Gladwell. Many of you may have read his other #1 best sellers The Tipping Point or Blink.  I chose Outliers as my most inspirational book this month because Malcom lays out and investigates EVERY minute and seemingly unimportant detail of the most successful people in history. 

  He analyzes geniuses with higher IQ’s than Einstein, and proves that a high IQ doesn’t mean success will always be in the equation. The title Outliers describes those people whose achievements fall outside the norm. He goes on to prove how the probability for certain all-star athletes to succeed as a pro depends greatly on their BIRTH MONTH and varies between the different sports leagues’ eligibility cut off dates. Interesting!
  But my favorite part in the book, is where he speaks of the 10,000 hour rule. Regardless of age he provides evidence to show that every successful person in history has to put in his “10,000 hours”  of preparation or practice. He says this is even true for what we would call “prodigies,” like Mozart. 
  Mozart is known for writing his earliest work at age 6. But his early works were not outstanding and written down by his father, he probably had a great deal of help with improvement in the process.  The earliest of his masterworks (No 9, K 271) was not composed until age 21. By that time Mozart had been creating concertos for 10 years.  Gladwell quotes the music critic Harold Schonberg by saying, “Mozart actually ‘developed late’ since he didn’t produce his greatest work until he had been composing for more than 20 years.”
  Amazing!  And encouraging!  I recommend EVERYONE read this book. I know I won’t be the only one to gather inspirational motivation from it.”