The Science of Success

Who doesn't want success? And better yet, who wouldn't want to know the formula for it? I recently read the book "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell, which attempts to do just that: to explain the logic of success.

In a nutshell, Gladwell says that success is an equation of having the right skills and talent + being in the right place at the right time + cultural and socioeconomic background + hard, hard work.

Gladwell uses a variety of proof points for this, some of which include hockey (he's Canadian) and Bill Gate's story. The title refers to a statistical concept: those few people who are far from the average (and he's referring to the ones at the very top of the charts). Anyone who's had some basic training in statistics knows that in a normal distribution (bell curve) most of the people will be in the center. So a first conclusion is that it is difficult to be really, really successful; that is as successful as Bill Gates.

So what can people closer to the top of the bell curve do to move farther out? Obviously not everyone can be at the right place at the right time, like Bill Gates was in the 1970s. But knowing our qualities, advantages and disadvantages and really understanding our industry and trends in our global world could pave the way to very successful careers, especially for people with my profile: GenYers who are educated, technologically savvy, globally connected and aware and passionate to make a change in the world.

What have I learned from this book? First, I have had a chance to understand the advantages and disadvantages of my cultural background. For example, I've had the experience of growing up in a country where solving problems from scratch and being resourceful is a strategy for survival (consider doctors operating without modern equipment or my experience of working during a national strike, when gasoline was scarce and public transit is practically inexistent in some areas). For me, there is always plan B and C and D and E. I am also flexible with resources and used to changing circumstances. Being Latin American makes me an innate people person. I make relationships easily and working with others nurtures me. At the same time, being from the Andes Region of Venezuela, and the daughter of especially hardworking parents who have worked for North American firms, I learned the principles of hard work very early in life and adapted easily to North America.

I was born in a culture where women are often the center of the household and in a family where women were expected to be as educated, smart and outspoken as men. Since I learned to read a map (around 7 years of age), I was the official map-reader of the family on our trips and they trusted me completely. This made me strive to be better and I rarely led my family astray on our road trips. This showed me to take on responsibility early and to voice my opinions even in the presence of high-level management -which can be difficult for many Venezuelans, who tend to be very hierarchical.

The next step for me? A brilliant opportunity.