I just downloaded Malcom Gladwell’s “Outliers” for my Kindle. It is one of the most entertaining, insightful and interesting books I’ve ever read. Basically it describes successful people and how they aren’t successful as a result of being themselves but as a result of how they were “cultivated,” much like a tree. For instance, a tall and sturdy tree may come form a hearty acorn, but it’s probably also attributed to the fact that it is deeply rooted in the soil, that other trees weren’t blocking its access to the sun, and that lumberjacks decided not to chop it down. It really makes you think about how success really is a combination of your environment and luck.
Some facts I have learned just from reading the first two chapters:
- In 2005, among Americans playing in the MLB, 505 were born in August v. 313 born in July. Because the nonschool baseball league cutoff date in most of the US is July 31, more major league players are born in August than in any other month. (This chapter is discussing the advantage of older students, players, etc. for their age)
- People who go on to major success have practiced their craft at least 10,000 hours by the time they start to get their foot in the door.
- In a study called the TIMSS, it was found that among 4th graders that the oldest children scored between 4-12 percentile points better than the youngest children. Ex: If you take two intellectually equivalent 4th graders with birthdays at opposite ends of the cutoff date, the older student could score in the 80th percentile while the younger one could score in the 68th percentile – basically the difference between qualifying for gifted and talented programs and not.
Cool, right? I’ll keep reading and sharing. If you want a good read, pick it up! I’m an advocate of the Kindle (at Amazon) but there is also a Kindle Application for iPhone. I don’t think you even need an actual Kindle for it to work! You can buy the app and then download books and read them on your phone for only $9.99 or less! That’s huge! But don’t sue me if you actually have to buy the product because I don’t know for sure.
I have been meaning to tell you about my dream the other night. It was so bizarre. I had a dream, similar to Valentina’s, that I was with Michael Jackson and he was taking me out on a date. It might sound crazy, but I fell in LOVE with him and we couldn’t be away from each other. We never kissed or hugged but he died and I got really emotional about it (for obvious reasons). It was just so strange. Also, I was trying to figure out how to get somewhere, and my friend Taylor (@taylorschaeffer) was telling me I could either a) facebook, which was like walking or running, or I could b) Twitter, which was to fly. But not in an airplane, like sprout wings and fly around. I remember telling her I was going to (twitter) fly and I did.
Later on in the dream, Zac Efron picked me up after I twittered and landed. He wasn’t as cute as the last time I saw him. He told me he wanted to work on a movie with me, but I kept thinking how he wasn’t what I thought he was. I always have such odd dreams!
I want to tell you all about this drink that my boss, Erika, got me hooked on. It’s called Neuro and it’s great! There are several different flavors that help with different things: Neurogasm, NeuroSleep, NeuroTrim, NeuroAqua, NeuroBliss, NeuroSonic and more. EK found it after seeing Lindsay Lohan carry it around and it’s actually super delicious, plus it’s somewhat good for you – minimal cals, not a lot of sodium or sugar. Plus Lady GaGa drinks it so it’s totally hot right now. 🙂
Lastly, I think I have a problem. Let me preface this by saying that I swear I don’t drink very much. Maybe once a week if that. But sometimes when I go to Starbucks I’ll be waiting in line and I’m on the verge of ordering and instead of asking for a Venti Iced Green Tea, I’ll be waiting to spit out the words “I’ll have a vodka cranberry.” WHAT THE HECK?! Something is wrong when I am subconsciously trying to order an adult beverage. I think it’s rather hilarious actually, but I probably won’t find too much comedy when instead of almost asking for one I actually will and the baristas will think I’m a freak show. I think it’s because when I’m at bars, I have to focus on what I’m going to order because 1) I always, always, always ask for a “cranberry vodka” and people look at me like an idiot because it’s the other way around, so I have to really try hard to say it correclty, 2) it’s super loud and I can’t focus and 3) I’m worried the bartender won’t hear me when I order so I focus to make sure I don’t stutter and make things more complicated. It’s similar to Starbucks – it’s loud half the time and there’s a million people in there, so I have time to wait in line and think about what I am going to order. Same thing… right? Maybe next time I hit up a bar I’ll order a grande-nonfat-five pump-iced chai latte. 🙂
Kirbie Johnson 
Wow that's the book you were telling me about? I wanted to buy that book several months ago and went to BN they were sold out of it! Odd. PS….just remember when they are pouring to have them pour where you can see it…on top of the bar so there's no weirdo stuff going on, and that way you can supervise to make sure your not getting vodka cranberry instead of cranberry vodka!