Book Byte #246 "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell
Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
📣 Curious Quotes from the Author
“Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.”
“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”
“As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once put it: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
“...legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice--that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can't treat one group differently from another.”
“It was not the privileged and the fortunate who took in the Jews in France. It was the marginal and damaged, which should remind us that there are real limits to what evil and misfortune can accomplish. If you take away the gift of reading, you create the gift of listening. If you bomb a city, you leave behind death and destruction. But you create a community of remote misses. If you take away a mother or a father, you cause suffering and despair. But one time in ten, out of that despair rises as indomitable force. You see the giant and the shepherd in the Valley of Elah and your eye is drawn to the man with sword and shield and the glittering armor. But so much of what is beautiful and valuable in the world comes from the shepherd, who has more strength and purpose than we ever imagine.”
“Any fool can spend money. But to earn it and save it and defer gratification—then you learn to value it differently.”
“We are all of us not merely liable to fear, we are also prone to be afraid of being afraid, and the conquering of fear produces exhilaration.…The contrast between the previous apprehension and the present relief and feeling of security promotes a self-confidence that is the very father and mother of courage.”
“You can’t concentrate on doing anything if you are thinking, “What’s gonna happen if it doesn’t go right?”
“What is learned out of necessity is inevitably more powerful than the learning that comes easily.”
“We spend a lot of time thinking about the ways that prestige and resources and belonging to elite institutions make us better off. We don’t spend enough time thinking about the ways in which those kinds of material advantages limit our options.”
“When people in authority want the rest of us to behave, it matters—first and foremost—how they behave.”
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea
Success can be heralded in many ways than only one's health, riches, or power. Many presumptive benefits, such as greater income and privileged education, eventually turn into drawbacks. However, presumptive disadvantages like learning disabilities or traumatic childhood experiences can inspire people to do remarkable things. Underdogs frequently use unconventional, indirect, or deceitful tactics to defeat their greatly favored opponents. The weak and disenfranchised in society will only succeed when the authorities are accepted as legitimate.
Follow your own path. We are constantly enslaved to the beliefs of others. We look for approval and come up with strategies to outdo both allies and enemies. Although it seems like parents, professors, job counselors, and politicians are the finest people to guide us, mindlessly following their advice frequently results in disappointment and frustration. Instead, we might discover our true passions and find fulfillment by putting aside our peers and going it alone. We shouldn't be scared to offend people in order to try something different.
Take action to encourage good change. Nobody is flawless. Everybody has past experiences or shortcomings they wish they could forget. But we don't have to put up with our inner critic's constant taunting; there is another way. We have the ability to take on new parts in our own life as actors, choose for ourselves what to do, who to be, and where to live or work. If this action will ultimately be justified, brag about it in a job interview, play it straight with the media, even defy the law. Our personalities may be influenced by our previous lives, but they don't have to. Nothing is predetermined.
Assist the less fortunate in order to increase equity. As an individual seeking a meaningful career, you might want to think about lending a hand to the social misfits and outsiders. Many people who have enormous potential are hampered by their lack of resources, health, or education. However, a great number of political officials are dishonest or misinformed despite having had it everything in life. Instead, use your voice to advocate for the unfortunate and vulnerable to correct this power disparity.
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