Malcolm Gladwell

overlook just how large a role we all play—and by “we” I mean society—in determining who makes it and who doesn’t.

My grandfather may have been an imposing and learned man, but he was an idealist and a dreamer. He buried himself in his books. If he had ambitions for his daughters, he did not have the foresight and energy to make them real. My grandmother did

They weren't the economic elite. But they were the cultural elite.”

had to appreciate the idea that the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.

They had to appreciate the idea that the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are

Apennine foothills of the Italian province of Foggia.

These people were dying of old age.

They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community, which discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures.

It’s hard not to be persuaded by Gladwell’s thesis. Not only does he assemble a fascinating mix of facts to support his theory — from the impact of Paul Revere to a rash of suicides in Micronesia — but he also manages to weave everything into a cohesive explanation of human behavior. What’s more, we appreciate the optimism of a theory

This is what Connectors are like. They are the Rod Steigers of everyday life. They are people whom all of us can reach in only a few steps because, for one reason or another, they manage to occupy many different worlds and subcultures and niches.