Intelligence and Ambition are not always to reason for success

A couple of months ago I attended an Economic Development Institute where one instructor recommended that we read the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. It peeked my interest enough (to see if success can be based on something other than our control) that I spent the big bucks at an airport bookstore, in between flights, and started reading how "the blueprint for making the most of human potential" occurs. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have already read a Malcolm Gladwell book...."The Tipping Point" or "blink"...both, also good reads.
I obviously don't want to tell you all of the interesting nuggets in the book....you will have to borrow it from me or buy it...but here is one fact that I found amazing.........................................
In the mid 80's, a Canadian psychologist named Roger Barnsley attended a hockey game with his wife Paula. She noticed something interesting about the roster and the months that the players were born in. In respect of making this blog short, I will paraphrase the results.......almost all of the players are born in either Jan. Feb. or Mar. Dr. Barnsley checked all of the rosters of hockey players up to the National level just to be sure it was occurring everywhere. It was still true. Because of cut off dates, kids are chosen and groomed based on maturity and size...and the kids born the earliest in the calendar year win.
Gladwell says..."Barnsley argues that these kinds of skewed age distributions exist whenever three things happen: selection, streaming, and differentiated experience. If you make a decision about who is good and who is not good at an early age, if you separate the "talented" from the "untalented"; and if you provide the "talented" with a superior experience, then you're going to end up giving a huge advantage to that small group of people born closest to the cutoff date.....In the United States, football and basketball don't select, stream, and differentiate quite as dramatically.....but the next time you are at a baseball game ( professional) check out how many players are born in August!
There you go....a little bit of random info....bet you will be looking at the roster at sporting events now!
There is so much more to read about in the book that highlights how different circumstances lend themselves to greater human potential.
Thanks and see you tomorrow with a new and interesting tidbit!
http://www.gladwell.com
Judi