Outliers Lessons 2

Note: a continuation of Outliers lessons

On the church thought, what I have gleaned from this book is that we are more a product of our background than we think. We can be very intelligent and gifted people but given the lack of opportunity and bad experiences, we may not see the fruits of all that we possess. If your response to life is focused on "always" avoiding the possibility of bad experiences, are you equipped to allow good things to happen. Sometimes we test everything so much that the benefit is missed. If a person comes to the group with positive experiences, the chances that they will not find a home are greater because they do not test and challenge every idea for badness and therefore can not relate.

On the positive side: In my life I have always been taught that like most boomers, I was not raised properly or had proper training because both my parents worked. The book showed me examples of other lives and I saw some things more clearly than before. Example: My mother started working when I was in elementary school. My two older brothers were into more things and so a couple of chores fell to me since I had a bicycle. We lived about four blocks from downtown Haskell. During the week, I bought almost all groceries, went to the post office daily, and ran errands (cleaners, hardware store, etc.). So by 12 I knew every shop owner in town, I knew how to deal, buy, and have conversations about goods. My mother took me to buy the family groceries on Saturday and she took me on shopping trips for clothes.

Anything I know about dealing with people in business was learned during this period. No other opportunity in life was like this. I was trusted to represent my family (both by my parents and by the shop keepers.) Remember this was a time in which you could buy things on credit (without a card). They kept tabs in small receipt books at each store. At twelve I had dealt with store owners, bankers, postmasters, and salespeople. It was also at 12 that I started mowing lawns and a paper route. This was my training for owning a business. School did not teach it. College did not and working for others did not (they would not tell me the business side).

So what I had perceived as bad upbringing had a lot to do with what I am about today on the good side of things.

More later.