Outliers : The Story of Success, published in 2008, is Malcolm Gladwell’s third consecutive best-selling book.

In Outliers, Gladwell examines a broad range of factors that have contributed to substantial success of people that you may or may not be able to relate to: Bill Gates, Canadian ice hockey players, Robert Oppenheimer and an exceptionally intelligent, Christopher Langan .

However, before we get too far into the details of the book, let’s take a moment to clarify the definition of an “Outlier”. According to our friend Merriam-Webster:

An outlier is:

-  a person whose residence and place of business are at a distance

- something (as a geological feature) that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body

- a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample

The last of which applies to what we will be discussing as a it pertains to Malcolm Gladwell’s book. In Outliers, Malcolm goes on to take an in-depth look at the question:

Why is it that some people seem to excel to great levels when other with similar opportunities struggle through life?

Early in the book Malcolm sets the stage based on the biblical parable of the talents, or “The Matthew Effect”, from a verse in the Gospel of Matthew (13:12), which observes that “for whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

Some Key points from the book:

- While hard work is critical to success, there are often other factors playing significant roles in success.

- Successful people were often lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

- 10,000 hours of time spent sharpening ones skills seems to be a rule of thumb.

Malcolm, in a very direct manner confronts the myth that successful people are self-made. He gives overwhelming evidence that 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.”  According to Malcolm Gladwell, great men and women are simply beneficiaries of time, culture, place, collaboration and specialization.

For those people who take the “glass is half-full approach to life”, you may very well find Outliers to be a bit depressing. After all how many of us are born in the right place, at the right time and have all the stars align just the way that we need them to achieve our dreams of success?

The optimist in me takes the stories from Outliers and determines that with hard work, being open to new opportunities and not being afraid to take risks, success is more a matter of my doing versus something that just happens to me.

The bottom line is that the stories expressed in Outliers are not going to require any type of analytical thinking on your part, or for that matter tell you anything that you probably don’t already know. The genius in what Malcolm Gladwell has accomplished in Outliers is that he has a style of writing that nudges you to look at life in ways that perhaps you never would have on your own.

To the average small business owner or entrepreneur, the path to success may seem overwhelmingly intimidating and in some cases unattainable. Malcolm’s books represent a collection of bird’s eye views, bringing the small business owners of the world above the noise for a glimpse of hope: Thereby providing a new way to think about his journey to success.

For those of you who are in the trenches fighting with all your strength and losing sight of your goals Outliers may be just the help you need. Everyone can benefit from a new glimmer of hope to provide you with a fresh perspective on things before you have a chance to throw in the towel.

What are you doing to create a better future for yourself?

What pieces to the puzzle are you missing?

So, you’ve read Outliers: What is your spin on the book?

Take a moment to leave a comment below:

While a very enjoyable and easy read that got me to thinking about a lot of things especially as they apply to business, business development and marketing, don’t expect to come away from reading this book with the answers to creating a tipping point.

The Tipping Point simply is not a “How To” type of book, so please do not expect to come away with that kind of knowledge. What Malcolm does very well is explain a number of real life examples in which the theory of the “Tipping Point” is alive and well. We have all witnessed this theory on some level during our life. Out of now where company xyz with product abc is now the hottest thing to come along since sliced bread and seemingly yesterday we had never heard of them.

For the company or individuals that are benefiting for this new explosion in growth, fame and prosperity very few if any will tell you that these things happened overnight. Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople all played a role in this “overnight success”. We all know them, Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople, that is, but how often do we truly understand the significance these people play in our lives, economy and especially business development and marketing.

Let’s take a quick step back and define the Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople of the world.

Salespeople: If you have ever purchased anything of any significance chances are you interacted with a salesperson. From cars, to televisions, stereos, homes, computers, and the list could go on forever. You may be thinking well there was a very nice lady that helped my family purchase our last computer, but she wasn’t a salesperson. She was simply there to answer our questions, help us identify the right computer for our needs, etc, etc, etc. Make no mistake about it, she was a salesperson. These are the people that make the economy go around.

Connectors: This is another person that is easily identified. Often these are the people that we think of as “knowing everyone”. Connectors make friends easily, never meet any strangers and more importantly have a knack for keeping in touch with people. Having a few strong connectors in your life and/or your business can go a long ways to helping you create a “tipping point” of your own.

Mavens: This group is a little harder to recognize. Or, are they? First of all, I don’t know about you, but Maven simply is not a word that I use on a regular basis to describe anyone that I know. Let’s start at the beginning since that is as good a place to start as any. The word “Maven”  (also mavin) is defined as a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge. Oh, that person, you may be thinking at this point. That description, sounds just like my best friend John. Anytime something new comes out John is one of the first people to start researching it to find out all of the little details and by the time it hits the stores, it seems that he knows anything and everything about the latest gadget.

This group of naturally gifted people matter the most when it comes to creating a tipping point. In order to truly create a new crazy or have a new product/business that appears to have exploded on to the scene overnight we all know that it takes a certain number of people to become fans (if you will) to make that happen. However, when we start to break down the sequence of event s that really made things happen we will find that there were a gifted group of people that made the most significant difference in pushing things over the top: Connectors, Mavens and Salespeople.

From the resurgence in popularity of Hush Puppies, to teen smoking, and changes in crime rates, Malcolm talks in details about how seemingly unrelated events all come together to create tipping points in our world.

A fascinating read that certainly has changed the way that I see things in this world, changed the way that I will think of marketing and business development and left me wondering – what if? For those of you entrepreneurs in the world I would recommend adding this one to your reading list. If you have already had the pleasure of reading it, loved it, hated it, somewhere in between, drop me a comment below.

As entrepreneurs and small business owners how often do we take the time to simply enjoy the moment? More importantly when was the last time that any of us were fully present in the moment, completely focused on what we were doing at that moment?

In this world of fast food mentality, instant gratification and got to multi-task approach to life I would venture to say there are very few of us that truly take the time to simply BE.

What would your day look like if you were 100% focused on what you wanted to complete for the day? Would it still take you 10, 12 or more hours to complete your work for the day or could you cut that down to a more reasonable 4 hours?

Ekhart Tolle has a very simple message in his book “The Power of Now”, that living fully present in the moment is a more satisfying way to live life. Ok, while not a novel idea or something that we have not heard a various times in our life, Ekhart does a GREAT job of presenting a lot of supporting information and ideas into a very easy to read book.

The Power of Now is a must read for all the small business owners and entrepreneurs of the world who have forgotten what it is to truly live life. There is seldom a day that goes by when I am talking with a small business owner that started their own business because they wanted to have “more”. More control over their future, more control over their income, more freedom……..(fill in the blanks). However, at some point along the way they forgot to actually enjoy life and more importantly enjoy the moment.

Ekhart Tolle shows that taking control of our minds and all of the unreasonable demands that it will place on us, we can realize that we are the creators of our own torment, pain and stress. While it is nice that he points these things out he takes it much further to the point of teaching us how to have stress/pain free life – if we so choose to do so.

While I can’t tell you that I took full use of the “break times” throughout the book, I found it very intriguing that Ekhart had provided numerous strategically placed breaks where readers were encouraged to close the book and think about what they just read.

With a straight-forward read through of “The Power of Now” readers can’t help but to walk away with a more conscious understanding of how thoughts and emotions get in the way of their ability to live a more happy fulfilled life.

A very easy and enlightening read that is a must read that I would recommend to everyone, but with a special emphasis on the small business owners, entrepreneurs and workaholics of the world.

If you have had a chance to read “The Power of Now” please take a moment to share your thoughts below.

I have to take my hat off to Harv Eker. I think that it is a very ingenious idea to produce a book based on the Millionaire Mindset, that while it gives some very sound advice with regards to our attitudes toward money at its core the book is a 200 page infomercial regarding his “Intensive 3 Day Seminar”.

Now with that disclosure out of the way I would recommend that you read the book. As for purchasing the book, not sure I would go that far, but at a minimum go to your local library check it out for a couple of days and the return it. For those of you that are fortunate enough to get a free copy (like me), by all means take the time read it.

The wealthy did not get that way by accident or luck. We have all heard the horror stories of people winning millions upon millions to simply find themselves broke and in many cases worse off than before their winnings. Why?

The answer is very simple. It all has to do with the mindset of the person and how they feel deep down inside with regards to money. That combined with the a simple set of skills called money management are crucial to a person being able to accumulate and/or keep the wealth that they have acquired. While I am skipping a LOT of details at the root of the challenge facing anyone that is building or maintaining the wealth that they have, the above stated facts are at the core.

If you are on a path that is sure to lead you to the accumulation of wealth and financial independence, don’t waste your time with this book as you are certain to have a good grasp of the concepts contained within the pages of “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”.

For those that are just starting to get the bug that constantly nags at you telling you that there is more to life than punching a clock everyday, living paycheck to paycheck, other options beyond the typical J.O.B., postponing travel & recreation until retirement, then this is a great place to start. As a good solid introduction “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” will pave the way for some of the other greats that I would HIGHLY recommend reading:

Top Favorites:
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill

Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki – any of his books are great – start here

Richest Man Who Ever Lived, by Steve K. Scott

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey

Other Greats:
The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas Stanley

Other positive points that I should mention with regards to “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”. Harv Ekart draws some potentially shocking comparisons between the rich and poor with the following statements:

• Rich people associate with positive, successful people. Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people.
• Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people think they already know.
• Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
• Rich people think “both.” Poor people think “either/or.
• Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear stop them.
• Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus on obstacles.

While these are just a few of the stark comparisons T. Harv has many more throughout the book that offer some great insights into self-limiting thoughts and behaviors that may be holding you back without you even realizing that you are creating your own road blocks.

Have you read “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you haven’t read it, but you are curious Click Here to Get Your Copy!

37signals’ book “REWORK” is a very fast read, to say inspiring would be a major understatement and if you have ever thought of starting a business  this is a MUST read.

REWORK, written by Jason Fried and David Heinmeier Hansson of 37 Signals is a new look at business book. 37signals has clearly rewritten the rules of succeeding in business with a very down to earth and in some cases humorous approach. As they do every day in their blogging, in REWORK Jason and David break down their minimalist philosophy into 12 chapters of easy to read solid advice.

Their opinionated, fly in the face of traditional business philosophy is refreshing to say the least. I give them two thumbs up for being willing to step out of the ordinary mundane business advice that has been written a million times over. Again a must read book! With that said take what they say with a grain of salt, see how it fits with your business, your style of doing things and when you find something that works for you: run with it.

While REWORK is not for everyone, even if it is a good fit for you, I can promise you that as a business owner if it doesn’t at times make you a little uncomfortable, you need to go back a take a second read. Lots of white space, illustrations and very short to the point topics that at times are very cutting for those of us who have been in business for a while, make this a very easy read.

If your definition of success looks like huge expensive offices, huge conference rooms, lots of employees, and constantly chasing venture capital you probably won’t like much of what you read. 37signals focus on productivity, maximizing profits and simply being smart about how they use the resources available to them (including time) has a lot of merit. I have read countless books that had page after page packed full of content that did not offer the amount of experience and great advice found in these pages. REWORK by 37signals easily out does books with 10 times the amount of content.

Expect to find lots of statements like the following that make take a second look:

• Learning from mistakes is overrated
• Planning is guessing
• Outside money is plan Z
• Throw less at the problem
• Skip the rock stars
• Meetings are toxic
• Emulate drug dealers

With that I am going to conclude my review which is now probably longer than the first chapter of the book. If you have read REWORK, your a fan of 37signals or you are working to implement some of the advice offered please take a moment to leave a comment below.

Haven’t read 37signals book REWORK, Click Here to Get Your Own Copy!

First and foremost, I have to thank my good friend Steve for recommending that I read this book. While I had heard great things about it and was mildly intrigued it wasn’t high on my list of reading material. The odd part about that is without knowing it there are many things promoted by “The 4-Hour Workweek” that I am constantly professing as the way to truly enjoy life and break free from the bonds of a J O B.

While this book is not for everyone, if you have ever had the desire to break free of the daily grind of going to an office, would like to make more while working fewer hours, ever thought about all the traveling that you would love to do, but some how never have the time, ……..”The 4-Hour Workweek” is a MUST read.

For those of you who love to dream, but will never get off your butt to do something about those dreams, I would highly recommend that you read it as well. Who knows maybe this will be just the spark that you need to put into action the steps required to make some of those dreams come true. Worse case, you will have some great fuel for new and improved dreams while sitting at the office pretending to work.

From countless resources listed at the end of every chapter, action steps to put your newly acquired knowledge to use and supporting websites packed with a large community of people working toward the dream of “The 4-Hour Workweek” , you will be hard pressed to find a reason not to accomplish your goals.

As a very novel approach, the author Timothy Ferriss actually lives the life that he describes in excruciating detail. If you have ever read books that are packed full of great ideas – at least in theory, but had no way of knowing if they would actually work without the expense of massive quantities of your own time and money, you will find “The 4-Hour Workweek” refreshing. While reading through its pages Tim casually notes where he is physically located in the world while working on that segment of the book.

Having spent over ten years as a serial entrepreneur, I can honestly say I wish I had been able to read this book before starting out or at least been fortunate enough to come up with these ideas myself.

Read it – please drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

Read it and had success with some of Tim’s ideas please share

Want your own copy of “The 4-Hour Workweek”? Click Here to Get Your Copy Fast!

I found Blink by Malcolm Gladwell to be a very enjoyable and easy read. As I was reading I kept finding myself going back to the question: How many of my decisions/choices are really my own and how many are influenced by outside sources?

While I have not taken the time to read The Tipping Point, I can assure you that with Gladwell’s ability to take complex ideas, provide the reader with very compelling supporting information, quickly followed by easy to understand everyday examples, The Tipping Point will be read in the very near future. As a matter of fact I just purchased The Tipping Point and have it in the queue.

While I could continue to explain all the reasons why you will want to read The Tipping Point I have placed reviews below from Amazon and Publishers Weekly.

Gladwell includes caveats about leaping to conclusions: marketers can manipulate our first impressions, high arousal moments make us “mind blind,” focusing on the wrong cue leaves us vulnerable to “the Warren Harding Effect” (i.e., voting for a handsome but hapless president). In a provocative chapter that exposes the “dark side of blink,” he illuminates the failure of rapid cognition in the tragic stakeout and murder of Amadou Diallo in the Bronx. He underlines studies about autism, facial reading and cardio uptick to urge training that enhances high-stakes decision-making. In this brilliant, cage-rattling book, one can only wish for a thicker slice of Gladwell’s ideas about what Blink Camp might look like. –Barbara Mackoff –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Best-selling author Gladwell (The Tipping Point) has a dazzling ability to find commonality in disparate fields of study. As he displays again in this entertaining and illuminating look at how we make snap judgments—about people’s intentions, the authenticity of a work of art, even military strategy—he can parse for general readers the intricacies of fascinating but little-known fields like professional food tasting (why does Coke taste different from Pepsi?). Gladwell’s conclusion, after studying how people make instant decisions in a wide range of fields from psychology to police work, is that we can make better instant judgments by training our mind and senses to focus on the most relevant facts—and that less input (as long as it’s the right input) is better than more. Perhaps the most stunning example he gives of this counterintuitive truth is the most expensive war game ever conducted by the Pentagon, in which a wily marine officer, playing “a rogue military commander” in the Persian Gulf and unencumbered by hierarchy, bureaucracy and too much technology, humiliated American forces whose chiefs were bogged down in matrixes, systems for decision making and information overload. But if one sets aside Gladwell’s dazzle, some questions and apparent inconsistencies emerge. If doctors are given an algorithm, or formula, in which only four facts are needed to determine if a patient is having a heart attack, is that really educating the doctor’s decision-making ability—or is it taking the decision out of the doctor’s hands altogether and handing it over to the algorithm? Still, each case study is satisfying, and Gladwell imparts his own evident pleasure in delving into a wide range of fields and seeking an underlying truth.

Ready for your own copy of Blink, Click Here to Order it Now!

Anyone that has been around me for any amount of time knows that personal development is a core value of mine. Personally, I don’t know that I could ever learn enough, grow enough gain enough wisdom and knowledge to quench the thirst I have for personal development.

My hopes are that through my own personal development and growth I will be able to have a positive impact on the lives of the many people that I meat on a day to day basis. After all learning for the sake of learning really doesn’t excite me that much. However the thought of being able to help someone else is far more interesting to me.

If you have ever read any of Wayne Dyer’s books you will not be surprised by the impact that this little book can have on your life. For those of you who have never read any of his books, attended any of his seminars or had the pleasure of listening to any of his recorded materials, please take a moment to pick up “The Shift”. While this book is a very easy read, the potential impact on one’s life is beyond measure.

Now for the good news for those of you that don’t like to read and probably wouldn’t read a book if your life depended on it. “The Shift” is a companion book to a movie by the same name. While I personally have not seen the movie, if it provide an impact anything close to the book, you will be watching the movie multiple times.

Originally, the movie was named “Ambition to Meaning”. Not sure if the book was ever released under that name or not, but the title “The Shift” is a much more descriptive title as the focus of the book is about the shifts in life that are available to us, if we so choose to take advantage of them. As with any change in life, I will never tell anyone that it is an easy path to follow. It has been my experience that for the most part people in general will resist change at all costs. That is why I am convinced that life has a way of creating situations that force us to change.

While I will be the first to tell you that conflict, tragedy, life’s setbacks, etc have never been any thing that I enjoyed, it seems that everyone of these events in my life have created an opportunity for growth and a better life. If you have ever wanted to improve the overall quality of your life, the good news is that you have everything you need to do so. Take a couple of hours to invest in yourself. Find a quiet place to relax and read Wayne Dyer’s – The Shift.

If you have read “The Shift by Wayne Dyer, please leave a comment below letting me know what you think. Need to get a copy of “The Shift”, Click Here to Get Your Own Copy Today!