Richard Branson : An Inspirational Figure

Is it coincidental that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Bill Joy and a myriad of other multi-millionaires were all born within a span of 3 years? Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, suspects that there is more behind this occurrence than just a simple coincidence. He asserts that there is no such thing as a self-made man and that success does not come from natural talent, rather it comes from extraordinary opportunities and hidden advantages. In Outliers, Gladwell attempts to debunk the myth that people are successful all because of themselves, However, Malcolm Gladwell recognizes that success is intangible without ardor and hard work. He synthesizes a coherent set of logical arguments, by discussing the advantages of birth dates, stating the

Is it coincidental that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Bill Joy and many other multi-millionaires were all born within a span of 3 years? Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers, suspects that there is something more behind this occurrence than just a simple coincidence. He asserts that there is no such thing as a self-made man and success does not come from natural talent, rather it comes from extraordinary opportunities and hidden advantages. In Outliers, Gladwell attempts to debunk the myth that people are successful because of themselves, and not because of other factors. Even Malcolm Gladwell acknowledges that passion and hard work are required to succeed. However, he believes that this passion and time to put in the work would not be possible without the aid of extraordinary opportunities. Gladwell prepares a firm set of logical arguments, including the advantages of birth dates, cultural legacy and family backgrounds, to guarantee that his audience will be convinced of his conviction.

As Gladwell dives deeper into the success stories of notable figures, their stories all share a common theme that “their success was not just of their own making” (67) but was “a product of the world in which they grew up in.”(67) The special opportunities hidden in their lives allowed them to achieve the 10,000 hours needed to master their craft, one of Gladwell’s essential components for the recipe to success. Bill Gates, a distinguished figure in the software world serves as a prime example as a beneficiary of the hidden advantages received that launched him into a path to success. Bill Gates’ “sheer brilliance and ambition and guts” (50) were not the only reasons for his success. Gates’ success is owed to his opportunity to “do real-time programming as an eighth grader in 1968” (51), essentially setting him up to become successful, as others did not have the same opportunities as he did. If Bill Joy had not had “an extraordinary, early opportunity to learn programming”(51) and the Beatles had not had the opportunity to perform “for 270 nights on just over a year and a half” (50), would they have become just as successful? Through these cases, Gladwell makes it evident that the role of chance opportunities is significant and vital to the likelihood of one becoming successful.

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born July 18th, 1950, in Surrey, England. He struggled in school and eventually dropped out at the age of 16. He started his first business after dropping out from school. In 1972, he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer, and shortly afterwards he opened a record shop in London. This kick-started his Virgin brand globally, With more than 400 companies in over 30 countries, with different business ventures from alcoholic beverages to financial services, including airlines Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America, as well as wireless company Virgin Mobile. In addition, it includes international health club Virgin Active.

Becoming a parent is beautiful yet stressful time in many people's lives. Emotions of joy and worry fill the mind of expecting parents as they work to provide a loving and financially stable home for their family. Both parents wish to actively support their child and their spouse during this time of transition, however, corporations are making this task difficult. Maternity leave is a benefit that most companies provide, but only for their female employees. Male employees are not given the same opportunity to share the responsibility of childcare with their wife or to develop a bond early on with their child. Providing fathers maternity leave would give them time to dedicate themselves to the growth of their child, allow the mother to heal from giving birth, and promote equality within the family unit and in the workplace.

Boo hoo- Josh Levs only gets two weeks of paid parental leave in addition to ten weeks of unpaid leave, and he seems very distressed about it. While his experiencing privileges far from the ordinary, the article made it seem like Time Warner was unfair with him. At first, I thought the article was a joke because there are far more important issues that need to be addressed regarding parental leave, for instance, across the board paid maternal leave. However, after giving it some thought, men should have the opportunity to spend time with their children during this crucial developmental period. If we push the government to improve men’s family rights, we could potentially break gender roles and improve equity in the workforce.

In addition to monetary compensation, the benefits offered by varying companies are often taken into consideration when job candidates are weighing their different job options. When an organization offers excellent benefits, candidates are willing to take less in monetary compensation for the comfort provided by certain benefits. For example, extended maternity and paternity leave options, paid or partially paid, attract and retain young workers who plan to build a family in the near future. While you can’t expect every organization to offer full pay during an extended time off to raise a family, knowing that your organization will provide some kind of support is reassuring during this time where families often rely on the pay of both spouses. Other nations have already enacted legislation that requires extensive maternity leave; such as Israel who provides women with twelve months with 100 percent pay (Pynes, 2013). Currently, the United States only requires twelve weeks of unpaid leave. If certain organizations were to offer substantially better benefits, their desirability to

A fatherless boy with no future, molds America's future and becomes one of the richest men to ever live. “The impression was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let the money be my servant and not make myself a slave to the money,” -John D. Rockefeller age 12. John Rockefeller was born on July 8,1839. His father was a con man who was rarely at home and left his family little to no money while he was away. From a young age Rockefeller had to work hard to help support his family. He never suspected he would create one of America’s greatest Monopolies.

Looking at a long history of hero’s through time, regardless if they are billionaires, rock stars, or entrepreneurs, a majority of successful individuals seem as though they defeated the odds and rose from poverty or considered a “self-made man” (Gladwell, 2008, p. 18). Gladwell (2008) believes that “People don’t rise from nothing,” rather, every successful person owes some of their success to parentage and patronage (p. 19). While Gladwell states innate talent exists, he also deems each extraordinarily successful person has entertained hidden advantages and cultural legacies, which helped pave their path. Immense success is shaped merely by talent but also preparation, and the circumstances one is exposed to.

The lack of a paid parental leave law in the country does not necessarily mean that it is absent in the U.S. labor market. Some generous and more progressive companies do recognize the importance of the leave to employees and do offer it. According to the Employee Benefits Survey of 2015, 21% of employers nationally offer some paid maternity leave while 17% offer some paid paternity/adoption leave. However, about a fifth don’t have any kind of protected maternity, paternity, or adoptive leave. (Ray, 8; Time, n. pag.)

Companies should offer paternity leave for expectant fathers. By offering paternity leave for fathers-to-be companies allow fathers to be a benefit of paid or unpaid time off work to care for their child, make arrangements for the child’s welfare, and preparation for the adoption of a child. Generally, offering paternity leave for fathers allows them to benefit the birth of a child. Companies that provide the option of paternity leave grant these fathers the privilege of being present for labor, delivery, and any other emergency procedures that may be necessary. Paternity leave provides the father with an advantage to be able to care for their

“Separating a mom from her baby, because she does not have sufficient income to stay home, is NOT a family value, it is the opposite. That is why I will fight for 12 weeks of paid family leave.” –Sen. Bernie Sanders. In the national primaries of 2016, Senator Bernie Sanders realized the magnitude of the issue this country is facing regarding not having a paid maternity leave. Currently, the United States has something called FMLA, also known as the Family and Medical Leave Act. This act allows 12 work weeks per year of leave for any medical need in the family including maternity leave. While it is great that the United States has FMLA (which did not come into effect until 1993) FMLA does not require the company to pay this individual while they are on leave. As a highly developed country and the only developed country out of 41 OECD countries that does not provide paid maternity leave, the United States should require businesses to provide a mandatory 12 week paid leave; unpaid maternity leave has been shown to effect the health of the mother and infant, and also has an impact on businesses as well.

When experiencing the miracle of childbirth the last thing one would want to do is go back to work the next day. For mothers all over the world, maternity leave is found normal and almost necessary. However, fathers are not given the same treatment and are forced to go straight to work the following day. This double standard has been solved in many countries, however, the U.S. is slow to conform to this modern idea. Gender roles no longer exclude men from taking on more household responsibilities while women work. The modern age has adapted to a more hands on father figure which leaves men desiring the same benefits of paid paternity leave. Allowing men to take paid time off for the first few weeks of their newborn's life

The article, “Without Taking Away Her Leave”: A Canadian Case Study of Couples Decisions on Father’s Use of Parental Leave” explains, “More than one in four Canadian fathers now takes some paid leave at the birth of a child.” While this certain explanation is shown in a positive perspective, more fathers in the workplace should be taking hefty advantage of paid parental leave particularly to form the bond in the first six weeks. While in countries like Canada in the province of Quebec, paternity leave is more accepted by men than it is in countries like the United States. In the United States it is more likely for a father not to take any time off after his child is born. One might argue that taking too much time off after the birth of a child might take away opportunities in the workplace, but because paternity leave is becoming more accepted, it will be normal for a man to take time off. It is likely that they will have to use vacation time which might leave room for not being able to call off for an emergency. In most cases, taking twelve weeks unpaid could really hurt a family. That is why those first six weeks should be paid for. The idea

Access to paid leave is often identified as an issue that primarily concerns working mothers, yet paid leave is also critically important for working fathers. In a society that continues to evolve, it is even more imperative to address this unequal access with an increasing number of fathers who are serving as stay at home parents (International Labor Organization, 2014). Legislation that supports fathers having the support they need to prioritize family responsibilities can significantly increase the personal and economic well-being of their growing families (United States Department of Labor, 2015). Despite these advantages, the growing importance of paternal involvement with their newborns is not always supported in today’s society. The economic and social barriers fathers face may hinder them from taking paternity leave altogether, such as inadequate access to paid leave and outdated cultural norms about male breadwinners. According to survey data, most fathers in the United States only take one day of leave time for every month the typical mother takes (Harrington et al., 2014). This means that even in the twenty-first century, it appears to be more widely accepted for mothers to take off time from work to care for their families than fathers. Fewer than half the countries in the world provide men with access to paid leave to care for a new child, while virtually all provide paid maternity leave (ILO, 2014). Paid paternity leave and laws related to promote