There's no idea that can't be explained to a thoughtful 14-year-old. If the thoughtful 14-year-old doesn't get it, it is your fault, not the 14-year-old's.

The sense of possibility so necessary for success comes not just from inside us or from our parents. It comes from our time: from the particular opportunities that our place in history presents us with.

being able to act intelligently and instinctively in the moment is possible only after a long and rigorous of education and experience

You don't start at the top if you want to find the story. You start in the middle, because it's the people in the middle who do the actual work in the world.

If you're in business it's both a promise and a warning. It says that sometimes little things can cause some little guy to have an overnight success.

It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.

The Law of the Few... says that one critical factor in epidemics is the nature of the messenger.