Luck 's Role On Success

Success is a concept that is constantly altered and has a different meaning from person to person. The stereotypical definition of success would be someone who has a high-paying job or is in the upper-class. Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers: The Story of Success, approaches the concept of success in a different and unique way. Gladwell discusses how opportunities, cultural legacy, and hard work all coincide with each other to produce real success. He uses mostly logic and multiple unrelated anecdotes to support and provide evidence for his statements. Gladwell's main argument is that although hard work and talent are essential for success, one’s given opportunities and cultural legacy is what really

By definition, success is a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity. How an individual reaches the point of success is “not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky- but all critical to making them who they are” (285). Throughout the book, Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, the pieces of the secret to success are put together. Three parts of success include pure luck, the amount of time and effort put into working to achieve your goal and where you come from.

The definition of success differs from person to person. According to the “Poolside” Cadillac commercial, success is having a large house, nice family and a new car. How is that success accomplished? According to the mainstream media, success is achieved through hard work and perseverance. Not by taking extravagant vacations, or working for only a few hours a day. Success for others on the other hand could be having a large amount of free time. The media gives examples of what they think success is, but ultimately it’s up to the person to decide what is success is.

Americans traditionally define success as achieving a goal by working hard and applying oneself to the task. Success is meant to be earned, not given away generously to select people. The Matthew Effect contradicts this belief by arguing that rather than achieving goals through one’s inherent talents, the majority of successful people are simply fortunate enough to be given opportunities that help them hone their abilities.

“Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.” As seen above, Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers revolves around success and the constituents influencing it. His quote above wraps up the overall theme that drives this book; success and the things that make success happen the most. Gladwell argues in Outliers, that success can be derived mainly from opportunities that the everyday person does not encounter. For example, bill gates creating microsoft, athletes becoming famous because of the month they were born in so on and so forth. To me, success does not rely on one’s opportunities. Instead it comes directly from individual merit.

To be successful has many interpretations, whether it be your own, from the dictionary or societies’ definition. Within Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell explains that being successful has nothing to do with what kind of person you are, so whether you’re intelligent and hardworking or lazy and aloof, it depends on your circumstances growing up. Whether your parents happen to be immigrants, you’re one of the smartest men in the country or you practice like there’s no tomorrow, your own personal success, according to Gladwell is defined by the conditions you grew up in; the idea of being successful varies from culture to culture and because of that there is no definite meaning of successful other than one’s interpretation.

What is the real definition of success, in fact is there even a definition? Well, in the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell it is the story of success. Some successful people are born with talent, and skills. As others may have to put in hard work to get to where they are. Every successful person is different, which means there is no definition for being successful. Being successful is made of many different categories. Many successful people are born with talents, put in hard work, and are different from everyone else.

What is success? In Outliers, a novel by Malcolm Gladwell, success is explained by looking at people who stand out in their success, the outliers. He focuses on breaking down stories of success and determining how they got to where they are, and what components added to that success. Gladwell argues that success is not earned, but that it is given to people like a gift. He asserts that those who are successful were born at the right place at the right time, given the opportunity to practice their skills, and were taught hard work at a young age.

Success is an effective word that society uses to define what set of achievements an individual creates for themselves. Based on society, success is one’s ability, intelligence, and how gifted an individual is. However, In “Outliers The Story of Success” Malcolm Gladwell argues that it does not matter if an individual is talented, smart, or driven, it does not mean that they will achieve up to their full abilities. Gladwell believes that the way to success is by an endless amount of practice, timing, and opportunity one is given and whether or not the individual sees and takes advantage of that opportunity.

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell explores a variety of different success stories as case studies. Gladwell begins by explaining the definition of an outlier. An outlier can also be referred to as “something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body” (page 3). Therefore, this means that outliers can be a person, place, or even an event in time.

The second section, Gladwell answers the question of innate talent; making it clear that circumstances aren’t everything. There are many factors that go into success; examining talent and preparation, but later explaining

The large difference between how I have thought and understood success compared to the way Malcolm Gladwell argues is the circumstances and families that create success. Previous to reading this book, I strongly believed that the way to become successful was to put in hard work. For example, my theory to success was similar along the lines to what Malcolm Gladwell discusses earlier in the book. He says, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good”(Gladwell, 2008). I believed if you practiced what you want to be successful at everyday, you would eventually end up reaching your goal. However, after reading Malcolm Gladwell’s opinion my beliefs are now different.

What is success? Is it the process of doing a task and receiving a positive result acceptable amongst the community, or is it simply achieving ones own personal goals? Success to me can mean many things. Although I am successful in school, that does not necessarily mean I will lead a successful life.

Success or failure in life is created by how you think. A mindset that is fixed in stone believing you either have talents and abilities or you don't leads to failure.

Now, with technology advancing at the same rate as society matures and changes, success is a concept that can be different to many different groups of people. Gladwell insists that success is formulated through a series of hidden advantages and cultural legacies that are fixed, therefore that’s why many do not become successful. I simply do not feel that is the case. Success is achieved through ambition and hard work that is instilled in you. Anyone has the power to take matters into their own hands and create their own success.