Outliers The Story Of Success By Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell insists throughout his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, that the recipe for achievement is not simply based on personal talents or innate abilities alone. Gladwell offers the uncommon idea that outliers largely depend upon “extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies” (Gladwell19). According to Gladwell, successful men and women are beneficiaries of relationships, occasions, places, and cultures. The author draws on a different case study in each chapter to support a particular argument concerning success. Despite his indifference and suppression in regards to counterarguments, Gladwell’s claims are effective for many reasons, including through the accounts of experts, tone and style of writing, and the

In many instances, those who are successful are made out to be some sort of separate breed, those who were innately able to perform remarkable feats that others, no matter how hard they tried, simply could not. Through this exhibition, many people view success as an elusive feature that only a select few can obtain. This theory is the main inspiration for Malcolm Gladwell’s exploration of success in Outliers: The Story of Success. In the book, Gladwell analyzes not only those who are successful, such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, J.R. Oppenheimer, and Joe Flom, but what path led them towards becoming exceptionally skilled. This extremely in-depth analysis of successfulness forms Gladwell’s layered theory of what creates success, and his attempt

Becoming successful is what most people aspire to be. Most people fantasize the dream house, car, and having the dream job. Even though success is viewed so highly, not everyone can be successful. Malcolm Gladwell explains that idea throughout his book Outliers. Gladwell’s chapters contain endless amounts of evidence that support his claims exceptionally well. But, Michiko Kakutani, a critic for New York Times, exposes Gladwell’s evidence as unreliable and unconvincing, and upon further research, Gladwell’s faults grew deeper. Even though Gladwell provides an extensive amount of evidence, that evidence is one-sided and relies on suggestion.

Vince Lombardi, a great American football coach, and player, once stated that the “dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success”. According to Lombardi, hard work will get you to where you want to go, and many people would agree. In Malcolm Gladwell’s novel, “Outliers: The Story of Success,” secrets and misconceptions about success are exposed and explained. Gladwell was right in saying that “if you work hard enough and assert yourself...you can shape the world to your desires”, as evidenced by examples from the book itself, the successful career of Serena Williams, and my own personal story (Gladwell 151).

Everyone aims to fulfill the American Dream, achieving prosperity through hard work. Society loves the ideology that anyone can become successful and that we all have the same opportunities and chance of success, if enough work is applied. With this ideal, people can blame their failure on not working hard enough or having an adverse life. However, Malcolm Gladwell sees success in contrast to the common people. Gladwell believes that success is mainly caused by having the right opportunity and circumstances rather than by working hard. David Karp, founder of the international social networking site Tumblr, is an individual who embodies Gladwell’s phenomenon by having extended advantages that were rare among his peers and having a supportive, relatable lineage that not only lead him to success, but also makes him an Outlier.

In Outliers, Gladwell attempts to answer, What makes some people successful while others cannot seem to realize their full potential? In U.S. society, people are considered successful when they have traits and characteristics: self-sacrifice, intelligence, talent. However, He says that the conditions and circumstances surrounding our lives are the significant influential factors that determine our success, not our inner ability or talent. These talents and abilities allow these people to be separate from society.

In order to pursue what one wish to be, one must fully understand what they wish to be. As human beings, we desire to become better and achiever greater amounts. In simple words, we want to become an expert of some sort. According to the Oxford Dictionary, an expert is a person who is very knowledgeable about or skillful in a particular area. But with this simple description of an ‘expert’, what does it truly mean? Malcolm Gladwell, a famous writer and speaker, with 10, 000 hours one could succeed to become an expert in a certain area. Gladwell explains his theory of 10, 000 hours in his book, “The Outliers,” with various examples of not only talented but also respected figures such as an European Violinist, Bill Gates, and even the Beatles. In the book, these figures explain similar yet different situation where after a certain amount of practice or effort, approximately 10, 000 hours, they began to excel in their area of interest. Furthermore, Gladwell explains that there are none naturally talented or ‘gifted’ people who reach the level of expertise without a significant input of hours. In order to improve or master in an area, all individuals must contribute the minimum of 10, 000 hours. It is true, through practice and effort one could reach a level of expertise. However, there are different circumstances that oppose this theory, such as the continuously growing information, one’s passion, and the way of learning.

There are always issues, in every country, continent, and place throughout the world. An issue can range from something small, like losing a sports game to a much larger scale, for example, the next World War. The novel Outliers:The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell inhibits many issues, specifically it discusses the Matthew Effect which demonstrates how the successful get more successful while the latter get left behind, comparing this to hockey players in Canada. Also, it demonstrates the differing opportunities given to religious minorities in New York City, explicitly Jewish lawyers. Furthermore, aggression in the southern parts of the United States is explored, which relates to the treacherous riots because of police brutality towards racial minorities.

Essentially, the topics Gladwell covered in this book include are, being at the right place at the right time, the 10,000-hour rule, timing, upbringing, and pursuing a meaningful career. Although all of these have been proven by Gladwell to be a major component of success, I do not agree with the idea of a particular upbringing will determine success. With this idea, Malcolm also includes that

In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell observes that professional hockey players are likely to have birth dates closer to January, because leagues follow the calendar year. Gladwell theorizes that for children’s hockey teams, coaches tend to select the largest players to be on the better team. The largest players are often the oldest children and thus, those children with birthdates near January. These children receive better coaching, face stronger competition, and ultimately, have a better chance at becoming elite athletes. Gladwell recognizes how early childhood experiences can have a domino effect on future life outcomes.

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.

Although Outliers: The Story of Success may not be the most appealing topic at first sight Malcolm Gladwell creatively wrote this masterpiece providing various stories of successful people and many stories that provide the reader with a different outlook on life. The book provides an epiphany of ideas

Regardless of location, age, sex, or cultural identity, everyone strives for success. Like most people, I associated success with hard work, intelligence, talent, and a striving for greatness that is present in many but perseveres for few. However, Malcom Gladwell’s novel, Outliers: The Story of Success, compared Canadian hockey players, Silicon Valley geniuses, Korean pilots and Asian mathematicians to propose the concept that success does not inherently form from hard work and skill alone, but comes from everything from time of birth to cultural respect; after seeing the results, Gladwell convinced me.

Based on the book, success is not just a matter of personality traits. Success also includes where you come from. How much of being a successful is dependent on one’s background and how much is based on one’s personality (smarts, ambition, hustle, hard work)?

Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. The first person I think of is Nelson Mandela. Mandela’s ultimate success had to do with his character and background. Although he was born in a royal family, grew up in a divided region of South Africa between blacks and whites. He still managed to maintain a correct mindset to a path leading to success. You can come from a small surrounding and have a bigger triumph than someone who comes from a lot more, or it’s the total opposite. In this case, it’s the fact that coming from a wealthy family who supports you will get you anywhere. Gladwell argues that having a superior background means that it is much easier to be successful