I finished Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell a while back and am just getting around to writing about it. I enjoyed the book and recommend it highly. Gladwell makes the case that people are successful because in addition to their own hard work and drive, they are the beneficiaries of a series of lucky breaks that can include being born in the right era, or even the right month. Wealth, good genes, and well-educated parents are discussed, of course, but Gladwell goes beyond the clichés and makes us think about how even the most unlikely factors can sometimes open the door to great things.

People don’t rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kinds may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine. It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t (p. 19).

I think the book might be mistaken by some as an attack on their success, or by others as an excuse for their underachievement, but I don’t see the book as either. Instead, it is a good starting point for a discussion on how seemingly insignificant decisions we make as parents, societies or organizations can have deep and long-lasting consequences on the lives of individuals, groups and even generations of people. Gladwell also repeatedly asks what cost societies incur when they exclude segments of their population from opportunities that will let the most talented rise to positions that benefit all of us.

I see the book as a source of empowerment for individuals and families. You might not agree with everything that Gladwell writes, but he does provide useful information in a way that can open eyes. However, even if Gladwell is right, we still have free agency. We may not have been blessed by a series of lucky breaks in one area of our life, but we may have received them in another area and not even realize it. It is up to us as individuals, parents and mentors to figure out where those lucky breaks are occurring and to seize the opportunity and make the most of them for ourselves and others.