Sitting still, holding the closed book in my hands, it seems nothing around me, I am with my thoughts only now. Just like every time after reading a good book, I can only stay at where I am, just allowing my thinking to flow, to sink. I enjoy the peaceful moments. It is a process of nurturing my soul....

        I agree with the author for his main point that one's success doesn't only depend on who he/she is. Being smart, working hard don't necessarily make one successful, but all the complicated factors in the environment that he/she lives in, including social and economical situation in his/her time. It’s about time, place, and even what's in the person's blood. What else matters is 'a chance'. Many times we hear people comment on other's success as 'he is very luck!', but I do believe that the so called lucky person must be the one who takes the chance seriously and didn't ruin the gift of the chance he gets, who has to be a self-starter to take initiatives; and who holds the strength and capacity for a higher level.

Here is what I read from the book:"the success follows a predictable course. It's not the brightest who success.... Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities - and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them." 

        We all know that we have to spend much more time to practice if we want to excel in any certain endeavour. The author makes the vague 'much more time' quantified. Throwing in 10,000 hours dedicately one would be able to master a new skill or something in a certain field. Examples given in the book include stories from Bill Gates, the top rank lawyer, to the Beetles and top hockey players. I believe that many readers would be encouraged and

motivated for reaching this targeted

time. 

        I did a careful calculation to see

if it's too late for me, at age of 41, to

successfully build expertise in a new

area. Here is the result: if I invest 10 hours per week building a new skill, it would take me 19 years, 1.5 hours a day on average to reach that goal. By the time I would be 60 years old. That's discouraging, and I wish I could be 10 years younger... However, it's still doable for investing this amount of time for my hobby such as painting or picking up Italian/French. To make such an investment full time say 40 hours per  week minimum, it would be less than 5 years. It sounds actually a lot better now, I may build experience and skills on something new and make it full time... Just add these part time and full time things together, my life wouldn't be easy in the next 20 years for time management especially when energy is going down. It would be a big challenge...

        What if a baby comes on the way, it would be another story. See it positively, I will have a chance to raise my child/children well hopefully using this rule. Of course the author mentioned other factors that would be beneficial for raising a child, such as 'concerted cultivation'. I may want to refer back to those chapters for some insights...

        I was fascinated by how the author uses stories of plane crash to demonstrate the cultural differences in/through communication. The history and cultural background play such a crucial role on our journey of success. With such awareness, we learned how one could “make success out of unsuccess”.

        Cross-cultural issue has been one of my favourite topics of study in recent years. The example in the book is absolutely the author’s remarkable choice that amazed me. I know that I would also share it with my newcomer clients at a certain point in my workshops. This inspirational part is my favourite reading of this book.

        It’s a pleasant book to read and I cherish it. It’s a lovely gift from a friend that I highly respect. Through it I was inspired and took the chance of personal growth... 

        At last I must add another personal note. Looking back my journey of life, I've been very luck. I had chances to meet some great people and keep getting to know more, learning from them and getting guidance from them. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart not only for the opportunities offered by them, but the environment I've been in; the experiences that I've had and the culture that I’m in and from. Although there were challenges and bitter lessons learned and have to learn, all the known and unknown factors that influenced my life has made me the unique one of today. 

        I feel energized and motivated when setting new goals to reach. I'm not an outlier, but I still dare dream to be one ....

note: pictures used on this page are from websites

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