By Nicole Baker Fulgham
October 8, 2009
It was only logical for my student to conclude that society didn't expect much from him and his classmates. As a result, they didn't expect much from themselves.
I spent a great part of my recent vacation to Mexico absorbed in Malcolm Gladwell's latest bestseller, Outliers: The Story of Success (Little Brown, $27.99). Anyone who's interested in what it means to be successful needs to read this book.
For weeks, I have dreaded Fridays at the Chicago Tribune. Friday was the day that folks got tapped on the shoulder or called at home to tell them that they had been laid off. The company is going through a "reduction in force" to help keep the lights on. To pay the bills, employees have been used as collateral. So far, nearly 80 in the newsroom have been put on the block.
The fear of working with an ax over one's head is enough to drive anyone mad. I tried my best to be a reassuring voice in the midst of it all.
