So, Malcolm Gladwell's new book, "Outlier: The Story of Success," WHAT'S THE BIG FUSS ABOUT IT?? I don't know, but I sure did get all excited when I first saw it came out. His previous two books inspired me so much that made me changed my majors, but his current book just does not fit Gladwell's inspiring standard! I didn't get inspired, in fact, I might have gotten discouraged mid way thru the book. What he essentially did to me so far was reminding me how much I lack of to become "successful" (Though I don't really know how successful I want to be, or whether I want to be successful.) Regardless, it kinda teased me to feel like being in such conversation
MG: "ooh, no, people with high predetermined IQ don't guarantee you to be an outlier"
Me: "So...you are saying I can be an outlier too? I mean...I've never thought of that..."
MG: "Well, yea, but meanwhile, there are other criterion too, like you should born in such and such year, such and such month, go to schools that is technologically pioneered, you can be Jews but you can also be Asian...
Me: "Oh~ ME ME!"
MG: "Well, ahem, but then you also need to have the time (and patience) the practice something for 10,000 hours, good at practical intelligent..."
Me: Practical intelligent?
MG: Basically something that rich kids adapted, but the poor kids missed out when they grew up
Me: I m not rich nor poor, but I pretend to be both...
MG: And you have to have knowledge to read situation correctly,and get what you want, being social savvy, know what to say to whom in where at when,
Me: But I am a socially awkard homo~
MG: ... Well, then, all in all, you just don't need to have good IQ to be successful...
Me: DUH!
ok...may be I am just criticizing it too soon since I am only at chapter 3...hahaha
Nevertheless, this is a good book...it does keep me awake when I was commuting for an hour in the morning, and it made me looks relatively more intellectual than my surrounding passengers who were clicking their iPhones...Or not, they would think I am some loser thinking that I can gain some self-help by reading a book called "Out Liar: A story of Success"
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Enough writing of my love/hate mixed feeling of Gladwell. Back to why I was hoping for more inspiration from this book. I think essentially I have been feeling that I have hard time interacting with the "real adults" at work. And when Gladwell talks about practical intelligence, I was like "aw! now you just squeezed my heart." Then he went on and talking about how children learn these social knowledge when growing up..and I was like "OK! Mr. author, your words are shooting through my 23 years old heart..." The question is...am I too late to "grow?"
Working in "real world" has became much more complicated than what I have expected. Back then I was told that I act so immature, so gay, so nice, so stupid, and people in the real world will EAT YOU UP! Then I was like "no...I have met so many awesome people...at school..."
Then here I am, working at the almost bottom level of the corporate caste system, the most selfish but selfless kind of all industries. (Selfish because each and all of us need to find ways to cover or shit or shift it over to others, selfless because you basically do not have your own time besides comimtting yourself at work five days a week, and leave the weekend to do your laundry, and worrying about what may happen on Monday)
More importantly, I am working and dealing with the most diverse group of people...ever! Not to mention that about the races (outta 36 people in my dept, may be 3 I consider whites, if I could tell correctly that they are not hispanic white) There are 4 main languages being used there, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and ghettohood accented English. When I write "Good day, have a good night" in my email, they were like "Why are you being so polite? Don't write too much talk too much, you never know what you will get yourself into."
So here is a brief rundown of the people I worked with:
1) Paranoid + racist fobbish middle aged Chinese ladies: They are one of the bitchy sharpest tongues in the lunch room. (while the other is the young college kids, which I will advance more later). They hold the cultural point of view that I was very familiar with since I grew up with two of these ladies (my mom and my god mom). I get along with them well not only because we speak the same language and I sometime can be kinda bitchy. But also it is just fun to hear how they talking shit about people.
"Those spanish people are just too poor. We always bring in foods to share while all they do is eat and say thank, I never seen them bring back some food. "
" Yea yea...and that Russian always talk like he has not slept for thousand years. Must have drank too many vodkas. "
" Oh yea, and that VP seriously stupid...Asking us to contribute 10 dollar for xmas party? Why doesn't she give us a rise first! Bitch."
But when it comes to meeting, they are the most silent group of people...
2) Baby boomers techno unsavvyness: Most of my supervisors come from this group. "How do you reverse what you did in Excel again?"
"Ctrl-Z"
"But...no...it doesnt work"
"you press CTRL and Z at the same time..."
"Oh...."
They are slow in processing and analyzing works, but they are also the most careful people in my department. Without them I think my department would sink... They are patient and knowledgeable. At the same time, they are sensitive to their seniority. They do not like much when they are proven wrong, and they tend to be VERY stubborn and like to maintain their own working style, though they did not realize with the technology they can do the same thing with much faster pace.
3) The whining and complaining college kids+Gen Y: YES, a numbers of the people I work with are still in college, just graduated like me, or been working there as their first/second job. They do not take this job as serious as they may seem during the meeting. Life always come first. (which I do agree). Some of them, especially the younger in age but senior in positions, are FUCKING stuck up! True, it is hard not to get impatient when facing with group of coworkers who are not as tech savvy. But They feel that knowing so many things make the the stars at that department. So time to time they will become the most annoying BRATS and giving you the nasties attitude, even to their supervisors and officers, just because they know that they are the next rising stars who actually know computer in this small dept.
4) Then, there are some people that I do admire. Esp the smart and vocal middle aged women, mostly fillipino and hispanic. They are diligent and intelligent. They understand what they are doing. Their outspokenness is perfect to deal with the whiny and over-confident kids, plus the insecured yet stubborn older cohorts. Probably they are dealing with these two types of people at home as well. I guess their only disadvantage is not being able to speak Chinese and been using soft power too much...
They need a Chinese fag...
Gladwell...teach me how to use the practical knowledge in this scenerio...NOW!!
well...may be in your next book...I would still buy it...lol