From Chapter 10 “Optimism/Enthusiasm” in Ingredients of Outliers. I imagine that, at one time or another, you’ve read or heard various definitions comparing optimism and pessimism. Perhaps the oldest and most familiar one involves a glass of water (or other beverage), which the optimist describes as half-full, and the pessimist as half-empty.Well, I recently heard of a young boy who turned that comparison upside down. After drinking half of his glass of milk, he set it down and announced: “I’m an optimist. My glass is half-empty.” Told that his view was pessimistic, he replied: … [Read more...]
Finding Your Passion: The Confessions of a Confused Graduate
Freshmen year of college I thought I had it all figured out. I declared my major and worked hard in every class, whether it was Spanish 201 or Advanced Reporting. I loved to talk to people, to learn about others and their passions, and pass on this information through articles and stories. With every analysis, feature, and editorial, I felt validated and even more certain of my path. In the fall semester of my senior year, I decided to study abroad in Seville, Spain. Thus far, the decision to live in another country for a semester has been the best choice I’ve ever made, though it did have … [Read more...]
10 Valuable Lessons for Teens and Young Adults
Young Outliers take a look at these 10 inspiring quotes from John Shufeldt on growing up and remaining true to yourself. The actions and decisions you make now will shape the person you grow up to be. Learn about peer pressure, following your passions, leadership, and turning failure into success. Fear of Failure/ Fear of Rejection "Without raising the bar or pushing the envelope, you'll likely never fail at much and thus never get to really make lasting contributions" Facts of Life/Avoiding Prejudice/Remaining Unbiased/Achieving Tolerance "Education opened my eyes to new ways of … [Read more...]
Are Outliers Likable? What can be Learned from the Trending 13 Habits
We posted an article titled 13 Habits of Exceptionally Likeable People on the Outlier Series Facebook page and author John Shufeldt posted it as well. We came across the article in Entrepreneur.com and a version of it was first published in TalentSmart.com. So it seems, that not only has this article made its way into trending content, but post engagement from our fans on both pages- (in clicks, likes, and shares) showed it's a topic you as outliers are interested in. We took a closer look at the article, to see if the ideas matched with the 16 characteristics of exceptional leaders in … [Read more...]
Thoughts on Failure
From Chapter 2: "Fail Fast: The Gift of Failure" in Ingredients of Outliers FOOD FOR THOUGHT Failing fast means you’re growing quickly. All successful people were failures along their journey—the only difference is that they learned and persevered. If it was easy, everyone would do it, and then it wouldn’t be an accomplishment, it would be an expectation. IN OTHER WORDS Failure is just another way to learn how to do something right. ~ Marian Wright Edelman An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he’s in. He treats his failures simply as practice … [Read more...]
Pick Yourself Up
From Chapter 2 "Fail Fast: The Gift of Failure" in Ingredients of Outliers The Immigrant's Son On May 10, 1899, Frederick Austerlitz, the son of Austrian immigrants, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. As children, Frederick and his sister Adele began singing and dancing in vaudeville shows and continued to do so for many years. A vaudeville show featured a variety of entertainers—including singers, dancers, comedians, ventriloquists, jugglers, magicians, and others—who would appear on stage in rapid-fire succession during shows lasting up to twelve hours. Many successful stage and … [Read more...]