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Wednesday 4 February 2009
What You Need to Know about Success… and Don’t

Outliers follows the same formula. Here, Gladwell challenges the conventional notion that success comes from being “self-made.” He shows how the rise of certain people to success is never a one-person affair. Culture, family, community, and hard work all contribute to one individual’s success.

I highly recommend that pastors, preachers and teachers read Malcolm Gladwell. You might think that a book like Outliers is a waste of time. Not so. The illustrations and stories here make for powerful sermon examples.

For example, consider the first chapter in Outliers - a story about the Roseto community. Gladwell shows how this unusual community had virtually no cases of heart disease among people below the age of 65. The doctors and scientists were stumped. No answer seemed to make sense of the data… until they realized that the community itself was acting as a sort of vaccine against heart attacks.

Now think of the ways a Christian teacher can use this material. What does the power of community teach us about the church? How does an example like the Roseto community help us as church leaders to emphasize the importance of community?

Gladwell also speaks of the ”10,000 hour rule”. Those who succeed are generally those who worked the hardest and longest. It is not talent or innate giftedness, but perseverance that ultimately counts in working up the ladder to success. And he uses the Beatles as proof! (No more details. I don’t want to spoil the story.)

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