Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

"SELF-MADE MEN" OBAMA AND GATES HAD EARLY ADVANTAGES

Dan Lips cites Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Outliers, who contends most great success stories spring from unique advantages and opportunities that enable remarkable achievement.  What about Gates and  Obama?  Lips writes (bolding mine):

Consider Bill Gates. Most people know how, as a young computer whiz, he dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft and revolutionize the software industry and the American economy in the process. But often overlooked in this simple tale are the events in Gates' life that put him on the path to greatness.

Gladwell explains that, as a teenager, Gates attended a private school that offered a computer club. At a time when few colleges were offering students hands-on computer experience, Gates was practicing real-time computer programming in the eighth grade. This early experience led Gates to capitalize on other unique opportunities, including

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, YOU'RE IN EXCELLENT COMPANY

 Melinda Beck tells us:

• J.K. Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers before a small London house picked up “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”
• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor who said he “lacked imagination.”
• Michael Jordan was cut from his high-school varsity basketball team sophomore year.
• Decca Records turned down a contract with the Beatles, saying "We don't like their sound."
• It took Thomas Edison 1,000 tries before he invented the light bulb. (”I didn’t fail 1,000 times,” he told a reporter.  “The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”)