BookWorm: Outliers

We, as a society, love the idea that runaway success stories are a simple function of individual merit. This is especially true when people try to explain the cases of extreme successes like billionaires and the world-class performers. Work ethic, talent, and attitude are only part of the success puzzle. The other pieces like circumstantial factors are either frowned upon or ignored.

“I started investing at the age of 11,” says Warren Buffett, “I was wasting my life until then.” With that kind of early start, today 87 years old Buffett has accumulated a whopping 76 years of investing experience. Who in the world can match that? No wonder Buffett has held the spot of second richest man in the world since last twenty-five years.

So, does it mean that anyone who, with Buffett’s level of intelligence, spends three-quarters of a century analyzing businesses and studying annual report can become as successful as Warren Buffett?

We like to think that most wildly successful people have earned their success only through talent and hard work. It’s quite rare to find a biography of a successful person which credits his or her success to pure dumb luck. Dig deeper into their stories, and you’d discover that many unseen factors influenced the outcome. Interestingly, most of those elements lie beyond an individual’s control.

Want to Read More? This content is exclusive for members of Value Investing Almanack. Login to read if you are a member. Else, click here to subscribe.