A survey done by Dora Mekouar shows that 75 percent of Americans believe they are successful, but what is success? Is it achieving all one's’ life goals, (which only half say they have) or is it being rich, which only 34 percent of Americans believe is important (Mekouar). Kristen Lamb, the CEO of WANA International, say, “ It is estimated that over ¾ of Americans say that they would one day like to write a book...How many dare to take that next step? Statistically? 5%” (Kristen Lamb). From this she makes an argument on how only 5 percent of Americans are successful, from a writer's viewpoint. Two successful people that are in that 5% that the majority of modern America can agree on is Will Smith, a rapper, singer, and actor. The other is …show more content…
Starting with John Wooden, who went to Indiana State University and Purdue University and ended up being a UCLA coach for men's basketball, wrote a book named Pyramid of Success. In his article he says, “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the Best you are capable of becoming” (Wooden 83). Even though it is his own interpretation of success, it can still backfire on one. Say the best someone was to become was a high class criminal and then they get sentenced to 50 years to life. Almost everyone would disagree with that being successful, even though that someone was doing their best they could be. Another example of indirect success is Gladwell's, Outliers. In his book he says, “Success is completely arbitrary...It makes a difference where and when we grew up....It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t” (Gladwell, 20). Gladwell's believe success is based on where and when one is born and that that factor can decide what they are going to be in life. This contradicts almost all views on success where one believes that they have to work hard, practice a lot and dedicate more time to what they would want to be successful. Yet as stated above success may vary and Wooden and Gladwell are two fine …show more content…
Examples of these were how Will Smith, who started as a young rapper making hits at the age of 18, then moving up into the movie and filming industry creating Big time movies like Men in Black. He did all of this with Determination, and to prove to himself he could do it. Another was John Wooden, the writer of Pyramid of success and how he believes it is all about skill. At the top of his pyramid is success and right under it is competitive greatness. A few others are Phil Knight and how he worked for his success, and never gave up. And a final one is Malcolm Gladwell, the writer of Outliers, who believes success is completely arbitrary and based on luck. Gladwell proves this with a few sports players’ birthdays and how if you are born in certain few months you will be a good at a certain sport. Recently, while I was doing this paper I ironically ended up watching a Will Smith movie, named The Pursuit of Happyness, a touching father-son film where the father is on the deep side of poverty and he works hard to be successful. The movie reminded me that success is nowhere near easy, and when one is not successful, it is not always their fault, which was shown a lot throughout the movie. All these fine examples show that success varies from person to person, and the
Success is measured differently by every person and each and every culture. The journey to success in most cultures, however, is generally idealized in the same way: one person working harder than everyone else to achieve his or her goal with their own merits as their only advantage. In Outliers: The Story of Success, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, argues about how wrong that ideology is and the truth behind successful people. Throughout his guide, Gladwell employs the help of many argumentative techniques to convince the reader of his message.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his novel entitled, “Outliers,” explores the landscape of success and shows us that success comes from the culture that surrounds the successful , not their intelligence and ambition. Gladwell explains this through a series of situations and studies. In Part One, he discusses success as a result of timing, such as the month or year you were born. In Part Two, he focuses on cultural legacies and how they play a role in helping someone become successful. He unfolds the reasons why hockey players are not born in the latter part of the year, why the Beatles and Bill Gates were able to become so successful, and why Jewish immigrants were able to become successful lawyers and doctors. Gladwell disproves many beliefs by discovering
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).
In Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, his central premise is that success is not obtained the way most people think it is. We are often told that success come from sheer luck, or a triumphant rags-to-riches story. In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of many successful outliers such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, The Beatles, and many more. He breaks down each story and points out what actually made that persona successful. While breaking down the story her also introduces the reader to what he believe are the actual keys to success. In the book he talks about The Matthew Theory, The 10,000 hour Rule, Practical Intelligence vs Analytical Intelligence, and Demographic Luck.
Malcom Gladwell's book, "Outliers, The Story of Success", depicts what he believes to be the key to a true success in any field, opportunity. He refers to opportunity as being the one thing that differentiates between the people who make it in this world and those who don't. In the first two chapters, Gladwell refers to specific people who have been extremely successful in their fields of expertise: The Beatles, Bill Gates, and Bill Joy. Each of these people are very well known because of what they have contributed to society.
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
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.
While the author, Malcolm Gladwell, does not dispute that hard work in a necessary component, we learn that many factors, lucky breaks, and some coincidences all occur in making high achievers into true outliers. We also learn that many of the richest, most famous, and most successful people in
“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.
The meaning of “success” has numerous interpretations, whether it is your own or society’s definition. Within Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell explains that being successful has nothing to do with your personality, so whether you are intelligent and hardworking or lazy and aloof, it depends on your circumstances growing up. Whether your parents are immigrants, you are the smartest man alive or have a habit of rigorous practice, your own personal success differs. However, Gladwell says that the conditions you grow up in affects your success. The idea of being successful varies from culture to culture. Therefore, there’s no definite meaning of success other than one’s interpretation.
One article with a story was “Boor Poor and Smart.” The author is Angela Locke, a writer for a journal that fights for feminism, off our backs [sic]. In most of the article, the author tells about how she was born into poverty and how her mother fought to get out of it. Her mother was not successful, but the author believes it is possible to get out of poverty and is very optimistic about her future. After that, the author tells us what her mother did right and what she did wrong. Thus, why she didn’t become successful. A quote from the article is, “Success is not only living by the values that you believe in, but being in some was recognized in the world for those values. Success is not is not only discovering your talents and your interests, but being able to make a living using them”
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
I'm highly persuaded by Gladwell's presentation on the Matthew Effect proving to show that success isn't necessarily hard work and dedication alone. It takes a bit of luck and family attributions. When I say family attributions I mean someone born into a rich/successful family, who in hand has opportunities because of who they know, not only what they
The self-made man is often portrayed as a story of rags to riches. A person who overcomes any obstacle thrown at him/her and defies all odds. These stories incite a reaction in readers, often leaving them in awe. How can a person become so successful, even though the universe is seemingly against them? The truth Malcolm Gladwell uncovered in his novel “Outliers” is the people at the top of the ladder did not have everything stacked against them. Gladwell says that there is no such concept as a self-made man. Successful people have been helped along the way by a variety of reasons, such as how wealthy their family was, to their birth month. While I feel that there is no such thing as a self-made man because circumstance and motivation are a key factor in how successful one becomes, I feel as if a person’s luck has a lot to deal with them thriving in their career.
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.