Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of Blink and The Tipping Point, dives deep into social phenomenon we all but take for granted.  His latest book, Outliers: The Story of Success, is an attempt to find a formula, or at least an explanation, for the remarkable success of Bill Gates, the Beatles, and the heroes of the US industrial revolution.

Here are my takeaways:

10,000 Hours

10,000 hours is about three and a half years, if you spend 8-hours a day at it.  It takes about 10,000 hours of practice to master a set of complex skills like music, public speaking, or kite boarding.  YOU WILL BE A MASTER of something in 10,000 hours, so don’t spend those hours in front of the television.

Entitlement

You don’t get what you don’t ask for.  The most successful people in business, academia, even interpersonal relationships are those who seek to learn by asking questions and asking for help.  They walk through life with a sense of entitlement - not a selfish hoarding of whatever they can swindle from the gullible, but a fearless drive to at least ask for, and persist at asking for, what they want.

Pure Luck

You’re here in the United States or another developed country; you have a home; you have clean water; you have an education and heathcare; you have a drive to learn more.  More than likely, many of those traits were born of pure luck.  You had little or nothing to do with their attainment.

1.  Be grateful.

2.  Keep your eyes open for emerging opportunities, and prepare yourself for MORE LUCK!

For more on the topic of luck and how to create it, check out the book Good Luck: Creating the Conditions for Success in Life and Business

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