“We are all of us not merely liable to fear, we are also prone to be afraid of being afraid, and the conquering of fear produces exhilaration.…The contrast between the previous apprehension and the present relief and feeling of security promotes a self-confidence that is the very father and mother of courage.”
Gladwell advocates for personal responsibility which sounds intimidating but really just means he encourages his readers to be honest. It takes some humility to admit that you're afraid, but once you do the fear no longer has power over you. In fact Gladwell notes how often fear transforms into motivation and confidence because people who conquer their fears learn that they indeed are powerful and successful. That potential exists for everyone, but it takes admitting you're afraid to cross over from failure into success.
“Courage is not something that you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you’ve been through the tough times and you discover they aren’t so tough after all.”
Gladwell is intent on removing all excuses. He refutes the common misconception that bravery is a thing a person must be born with, that some people are brave and others are not. Truthfully, courage is the name for the act of being courageous. When faced with an obstacle, one must choose to be successful despite the fear of the unknown and self-doubt. This is the process of accepting responsibility for one's goals and refusing to make excuses for failure.
“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”
A central theme of Gladwell's book, is the power of the underdog. He believes that obstacles merely prepare a person for success, if they are viewed as obstacles to be overcome. Thus what seems to be a personal disaster may someday become a person's greatest strength.
“There is a set of advantages that have to do with material resources, and there is a set that have to do with the absence of material resources- and the reason underdogs win as often as they do is that the latter is sometimes every bit the equal of the former.”
Here is the heart of Gladwell's purpose in writing the book. He wants to encourage the underdog to persist. Although real obstacles may block a person's path to success, the real measure of a person's success is that they overcome said obstacles. There's really no way around the obstacle itself. And obstacles overcome become a person's merit. This is why we love stories about underdogs, because they have defeated more challenges -- climbed higher -- than the average, despite enormous odds against them.
