From Chapter 16 “The Rare Find” in Ingredients of Outliers. If It Ain’t Broke . . . Unless you’re in at least your late 40s, the name Bert Lance may mean nothing to you. He first came to prominence in early 1977, when newly elected President Jimmy Carter appointed him Director of the Office of Management and the Budget (OMB). A banker and fellow Georgian, Lance perhaps received the appointment as a reward for his service to Carter during the 1976 presidential campaign. Lance’s tenure at the OMB ended within a few months. He resigned as a result of certain charges leveled at him for … [Read more...]
Efficiency—How to be as Productive as Possible
From Chapter 13 “Efficiency” in Ingredients of Outliers. Have you ever met people who just seem to get more done in the day than everyone else? They never seem harried or stressed, or even busy. Yet their output is over the top. They must know something the rest of the world doesn’t about efficiency—how to be as productive as possible, given the time and resources available. For example, how is it that Theodore Roosevelt accomplished so much during his relatively brief lifetime? He died in 1919 at age 59—long before the Age of Technology—but his record clearly reveals a man who was ahead … [Read more...]
Knocking Down Barriers
From Chapter 12 “Indefatigable” in Ingredients of Outliers. The Reasons Why For many, going the distance or emptying the tank is simply for personal reasons, to overcome internal barriers, and to challenge themselves, or to get out of their comfort zones and test the limits of their ability, strength, endurance and courage. They want to discover how far they can go. Gordon Ritter, a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, is another of those profiled in the SUCCESS magazine article mentioned above. In college, he’d been a member of the rowing team and later took up mountain climbing. … [Read more...]
Never Give Up and Never Give In
From Chapter 12 “Indefatigable” in Ingredients of Outliers. Up High at Show Low Not long ago, I participated in my first triathlon in eighteen years, held in a town named for a card game. Show Low sits at 6,412 feet at the base of the White Mountains in northern Arizona. Remember the opening scene in the Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire, where a group of men are running barefoot, effortlessly, through the crashing waves on a beautiful beach, with the orchestra playing an inspiring melody in the background? (If you never saw the movie, or you’ve forgotten that scene, it’s … [Read more...]
“Can Do” Enthusiasm
From Chapter 10 “Optimism/Enthusiasm” in Ingredients of Outliers. The Electricity of Life One characteristic that, in my experience, goes hand in hand with optimism is enthusiasm. That’s certainly been the case with the optimists I’ve known and it’s true in my life as well. In fact, “enthusiasm” is listed among the synonyms I found for “optimism.” One of my favorite definitions of enthusiasm came from a man named Gordon Parks. "Enthusiasm,” he wrote, “is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit. Enthusiasm is natural; it … [Read more...]