From Chapter 14 “Integrity” in Ingredients of Outliers. “Because that’s what we do.” Over the years, the one sport that has seemed to avoid most of the scandals, which have plagued other sports, is golf. Now, I’m not talking about the personal lives of prominent golfers, but about how the sport itself is played. For example, golf is the only popular sport in which there are no referees overseeing the action on the course; the players themselves are responsible for playing by the rules and for penalizing themselves for any sort of violations of those rules, whether those violations are … [Read more...]
Integrity Shapes Lives
From Chapter 14 “Integrity” in Ingredients of Outliers. Simply put, integrity is doing what you say and saying what you’ll do. The term is derived from the Latin word integer, which means “whole or complete.” When a person has integrity, he or she is believed to have an inner sense of “wholeness,” derived from consistency of action and character. The characteristics or qualities that comprise integrity are often defined as truthfulness, honesty, consistency, morality, accountability, responsibility, and loyalty. Today’s media is filled with stories that lead to the almost … [Read more...]
Tenacity: From Braces to Races
From Chapter 3, "Persistence, Press on!" in Ingredients of Outliers From Braces to Races The woman whose story follows had no aspirations to be a role model. “I don’t consciously try to be a role model,” she said, “so I don’t know if I am or not. That’s for others to decide.” After reading her story, I’m sure you’ll agree that she proved to be an outstanding one, inspiring others to press on, no matter what obstacles they faced. Born prematurely in 1940 in the segregated South, the twentieth of 22 children in a desperately poor family, there was nothing about this tiny … [Read more...]