Thank you, Malcolm Gladwell!

I read Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book, OUTLIERS, recently and was so moved by the book that I had tears in my eyes as I closed the cover. What a gift this book is for those of us interested in human behavior and human potential!

He has done an extensive study and reports, and documents well, his findings. His style of writing is so much like talking that I feel I am in coversation with him as I read.

I love the 10,000 hours explanation. I remember trying to explain to my son that if he truly wanted to be a great soccer player, he needed to practice a LOT more. But, as is true to human nature, he had the idea of being one, just didn’t have the drive to do the work. What he DID love doing was cooking, creating systems and listening to his own inner voice. Translate that into his current life, and I can easily see why being a chef is his true calling. Since he has now been cooking for 35 years (he started cutting vegetables with me at age 2–using a real knife, I might add (I was a Montessori teacher)–and there is no doubt that he has put in more than 10,000 hours cooking and creating systems for how to improve both his products and his methods. This explains why after almost 13 years as a professional chef, he’s now found his sweet spot and a job that truly works for him.

In my coaching, one of the things I find most interesting about people is the seeming difficulty they have in self-discipline. This is why linking whatever we choose to do with our highest values is crucial, because without that, there is no way to force ourselves to stay with the program–be it a diet, an exercise plan, a course of study, a job, a relationship–all the way up the ladder of life activities.

People call it “finding their passion” but I learned from Demartini that passion is only a beginning, and often detrimental state, because it assumes that one side of life, positive or negative is better or preferable to another. This leads to lopsided thinking, and the inevitable result is infatuation and resentment. Since that doesn’t interest me except as a passing phase, I prefer to think about fulfillment. My son feels fulfillment when he does what he loves. I feel the same thing with I work with people to help them see more than they saw about themselves and others. It isn’t my passion, it is my expression of love in the world, which is fulfillment of my higher purpose.

So, I hope Malcolm sells a lot of these books, and that he continues to explore what makes up show up the way we do. It is an invaluable contribution to the evolution of consciousness.