I finished both Why We Suck and Outliers. Denis Leary still made me laugh, but I did get a bit tired by the last chapter or two. I would still recommend it.
Outliers I finished earlier this week. The premise is that Outliers, people who are remarkable, are not just "lucky" or in the right place at the right time once. They have worked hard at what they do and have had parents or friends or opportunities that happened to mesh with what they worked hard at. The Beatles were just another garage band, working a few gigs. Then they got an offer to play in horrible clubs in Hamburg. They played 8 hours at a time, day after day after day, for months and months. They got good at working together, they got good at playing and singing, they built up stamina and patience. When they returned to England, they were miles beyond other small town/small club bands out there.
Bill Gates loved computers and writing software. At age 13. His parents were wealthy enough to send him to school at a place that had a computer lab with amazing (for the time) equipment which only inspired young Bill to spend even more time writing code. Then in high school he got to work at a college campus, then got a job working writing code (as a teenager). By the time he started MIcrosoft, he'd already honed his skills for years.
The book basically backs up the "Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration" idea. When someone succeeds, it's not just cuz they were lucky. They worked hard for a long time and took other opportunities along the way that all built up to their current success. Talent is not as innate as you imagine. If you practice and work at something long and hard enough (working on computers when you are 13), be open to opportunities (take that job in Hamburg) and keep going, you will succeed.
I know I'm really good at VFX producing after all these years. Alas, it's not my dream career.
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