"David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell is a pretty mature piece of literature, and I know because I had to read each page around four times to understand what was going on. But although it seems very adult and mature, the theme is universal. Here are five reasons "David and Goliath" is a book to live by.
1. It gives you hope that the underdog can win.
In this book, the main reference is, of course, the story of David and Goliath. The classic underdog trumps the powerful man story. Long story short, Goliath is the best warrior in all the land, but David, a simple shepherd, kills him in battle by thinking outside of the box.
Instead of using sword to sword combat, as Goliath expected, the shepherd threw rocks at the warriors completely exposed forehead, and ended up killing him. It gives examples of people from different times and different places. From Vivek Ranadive, a business man turned U12 girls basketball coach, to a Catholic woman in Protestant Ireland which was being taken over by Brits. Sometimes, you don't have to have all the advantages to win. You just need to have a fighting spirit and be able to think outside the box. Which brings me to my next point.
2. It makes you realize that unconventional thinking is OK.
As a dyslexic, Gary Cohn was used to failing. But one day he went to New York on Wall Street and dreamt about how great it would be to work there. Then he saw a business man getting into a cab. He thought of something so crazy, so insane, it just might work. Without thinking, he got inside the cab and said he was going to JFK as well.
The businessman he jumped in with happened to be a stock broker very highly ranked, and by the end of the cab ride, he had managed to convince the broker that he was an options trader, and would be ready for work on Monday. Of course, Cohn was not an options trader, but he learned as much as he could and turned out to be very successful. Today he is the president and COO of Goldman Sachs. Even though his start is nothing to brag about, it got him to where he is today.
3. Walking away can be the best option sometimes.
About 20 years ago in Fresno, California, a young woman named Kimber was shot because two carjackers didn't like the way she looked at them. Her father promised her on her deathbed that he would prevent this from happening to anyone else. And so he tried. He gathered up all the people who felt the same way as him and together they drafted "Three Strikes", and it got approved almost instantly.
The point of the law is that after your third crime, you had to be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. The number of people murdered per day went down from 12 to six and overall crime reduced by about 60 percent. However, some studies have found that "Three Strikes" had no impact, and others have even found it detrimental. One of the last straws was when a man was sentenced to 25 years to life for stealing a pizza slice. People were angry, really angry. It was because of this and other events that "Three Strikes" was revoked in 2012.
Something similar happened to a woman in Canada whose 13-year-old daughter, Candace, had been kidnapped, tortured, then murdered. She was furious, but she was also a Mennonite, and it was in her beliefs to forgive people. When they found the killer, she tried so hard to forgive him, but all she wanted to do was sucker punch him. It took a long time, but she eventually found the strength to forgive him and wish kind things on him. She was handed many opportunities to be powerful against him, but she chose to walk away, and keep her family, her friendships, and her sanity.
4. Being the one everyone can't stand is totally fine.
Emil "Jay" Freireich was a doctor who worked in a children's hospital. He was a very detached doctor, and did not allow himself to feel pain for other people's families. He had had a damaged childhood, with a suicidal father and an absent mother. It hardened him. There was a floor for children with leukemia and no one wanted to go there because it was too depressing. Not Jay. His detachment allowed him to come up with a new plan that saved the lives of children with leukemia everywhere. He was one of the pioneers of chemotherapy. He wouldn't have been able to do it if not for his detachment. It hurt the children to take out bone marrow, and so many children died because of the wrong dosage. So many people even laughed at his idea or hated him for it. But in the end, he saved all those children, and created a powerful platform for fighting cancer everywhere.
5. Your weakest qualities can also be your strongest qualities.
David Boies has dyslexia. David Boies is also one of the most renowned lawyers in the world. How? Because he learned not to let his dyslexia get in the way of his dreams. He worked around it and used his incredible memory to get to where he is today. Since he can't read so well, he was able to discover his other talents, which led him to being one of the best, although he is not like others.
So don't let anything stop you from doing what you want to do. It may be something as simple as getting a good grade or it may be running for president, but don't let anyone, not even yourself stop you from doing it. Because if these ordinary turned extraordinary people can do it, so can you.
