“Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from.”
Previously, I wrote about this book, discussing a different inspiring quote that stuck with me from the book: Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.
Sometimes, what I like to do, especially with books I enjoyed reading, is share more knowledge from the same book. You can learn a thing or more from just a single book.
Here is the previous post about a different lesson from the same book. You can check it out if you haven't seen it already.
In today's post, I will shed more light on the quote: Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from. If you are conversant with the book Outliers, where this quote was taken, you will observe that the author, Malcolm Gladwell, challenges the notion that talent is born rather than being a product of consistency, training, and even upbringing. He talks about the way a child was raised in a certain home can propel them to success, given the opportunity they are exposed to. It is all about what they have learned and how often they can put their knowledge to the test.
A typical example from the author in the book is the billionaire and once upon a time richest man in the world, Bill Gates. Malcolm shared light on the man's family and how his parent were successful individuals themselves, so they could afford to send him to a school with a computer, where Bill's first encounter with a computer took place. Through his exposure to computers during a time when having a computer was a sign of wealth because of how big and expensive they were, Bill Gates was open to what he could do with it and the numerous improvements he later brought to light for the interface and how a user can interact with a computer.
The quote Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from. is a core to what Malcolm Gladwell stands for in his book Outliers. We live in a world where people praise and adore prodigies, geniuses, and people who are self-made, who came from nothing to something. Well, that is not Malcolm Gladwell; he believes that there is no single success story without a background. Something must bring about something; it must have a trail at least.
I also share in this belief. I choose to believe that there is a backlog to every occurrence, especially when it has to do with success. It becomes fishy when it all happens suddenly out of thin air. Most importantly, it gets me puzzled when there is no explanation for it. There is a reason why every chess grandmaster or prodigy had an early start. It takes a ton of hard work over a given period of time to attain the grandmaster title. The studying, training, understanding the game, and travelling the world to play tournaments with the best of the best in the world. It takes dedication.
Magnus Carlsen, who is considered to be the greatest chess player to ever play the game, also started from the age of 5 when he had a spark for the game. He was taught by his father, and he had a burning desire to beat his elder sister, which propelled his interest in the game, until the point where he got a professional coach and took the game as a full-time profession. This is the origin of the success and where it comes from, and we can see where it has taken him. One thing leads to another, especially when it has to do with success. Nobody sees the hard work until the success shines, but trust me, the hard work is always there.
I am 
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Thanks For Reading!
