I’m not the smartest person in the room. I’m probably not the cleverest either or best looking. It turns out that not being superior in all characteristics is okay. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his latest piece of thought piquing literature, Outliers, that one doesn’t need to be the most exquisite to excel - just merely good enough.

Michael Jordan wasn’t the tallest basketball player but he was the most outstanding because of his attitude, drive, and lucky childhood circumstances. There is a false notion that on the merits of one’s inner “talents” they shall succeed. This is simply not true. Having a one-ninety five IQ doesn’t guarantee a nobel prize down the road. Einstein after-all was only one hundred and fifty.

Once again humans tend to stereotype and compartmentalize at the sake of comprehending their surroundings. Having the best qualities is an easily digestible notion. It’s also a deceptive one. When a customer walks into a camera store their intuition tells them to look for the digital camera with the greatest mega-pixels. This one has eight and this one has nine. Nine is greater than eight so it must be better. This idea is false because it betrays the concept that there is a point where the benefits of each additional megapixel levels out. You’re simply never going to see the difference.

As pointed out in Outliers, practice does indeed make perfect. Those whom we consider to be at the virtuoso level share the commonality of having at least ten-thousand hours of training. So if you’re not satisfied with your current level of expertise to you I say, “Practice, Practice, Practice.”

As I would have expected, it’s a most excellent read and I recommend it to anyone who might have the odd hour to fill with profound thought.