Every once in a while you read a book that not only changes how you view the world – but has the potential to change the world. Outliers is one of those books. It digs into our misconceptions about achievement, talent, economics, culture and luck. This book examines how your generation, your date of birth, your upbringing (and so much more) can significantly affect whether or not you achieve in this world.

Malcolm Gladwell is good at getting conversations started. He runs through a room full of huge subjects, lifting back curtains to give us glimpses into his hypothesis. You can learn a great deal from this book, but most importantly it asks you to do more work on your own. The conversation started here is important – and forces you to reflect upon your own circumstances in relation to where you currently are in the world. You’ll probably want to thank you parents or, if not, maybe change your own parenting. You may have heard of a few of these theories before – but I was honestly surprised by quite a few revelations in this book, leading me to “Ah Ha!” moments of my own while reading.

This book should be required reading… for all humans.

RATING: FIVE STARS