Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

At the beginning of Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Gladwell details how a simple and unprepossessing young man used ingenuity to overcome a powerful and much larger opponent. It was not simply that David’s victory that was improbable that made him great. Rather, he capitalized upon his strengths and turned them into advantages. The fact that David was physically smaller than Goliath encouraged him to use his cleverness and guile, assets which Goliath never expected. Rather Goliath was preparing to meet “a warrior like himself to come forward in hand-to-hand combat” (Gladwell 7). David’s technique is not unlike that of small armies which have vanquished larger ones through surprise, guerrilla warfare.

But Gladwell’s principles are not only applicable to war. They can also be applied to ordinary civilian life. In my own existence, as an older Latino, I have often felt like a David. I have had to repeatedly overcome prejudice and the expectation that I am capable of less than what I know...

Yet I have tried to transform this into an asset. My apparently unprepossessing exterior hides reserves of hidden strength. Because I have overcome prejudice and low expectations, I am always my own champion, never my own worst enemy. I know I always have to have a goal in mind, give 110% percent, and fight for every opportunity I am offered.
Because of my status as a minority, I also think that I have gained valuable insight as an outsider often looking in. I have learned to undertake out-of-the-box thinking because I have seldom been in the “in crowd” of any organization of which I am a part. Just like David was forced to improvise with a slingshot, I have had to dig deep and find creative solutions to show that I can offer a unique and valuable perspective and justify holding a position of leadership. Of course, this can be a challenging and intimidating role to have to fulfill. On the other hand, I have always believed I have deserved every promotion I have won, every opportunity I have been offered. While some of my friends from more affluent backgrounds say that they are haunted with a sense of being an imposter and a fraud, because they…