Malcolm Gladwell writes a powerful book in Outliers that really makes us think about success and what it takes to be successful. Gladwell’s claim that the upper middle class has more opportunities than the poor rests upon the questionable assumption that individuals with an upper middle class background do not have to work hard to be successful. Therefore, we should reconsider Gladwell’s claim because successful people still had to work hard and seize those opportunities. I still believe that we can better ourselves and have a better life than what we started with. Does that mean that we should strive to be the richest people ever? No, but we can still better ourselves. The key to success is that one needs to have a passion for something …show more content…
If one has a passion for something one will search for opportunities and take chances to follow that passion and dream. Gladwell talks about Bill Gates in his book and he does not focus enough on the passion that Bill Gates has for computers. Whenever a computer lab would close Bill would look for another one or any way he could get around computers. He would sneak out of his house at night to go to a local university and get in the computer lab. He went leaps and bounds to find computer labs and did not give up and stop working with computers. He could have easily just said I am tired of having to get up at night or I do not feel like working on a program for someone else, but he did not. He keep looking for other computer labs and other things to work on. He had to put in lots of hours, and he did not do it for the money because back then the only payment he would get is some free computer time. His passion is what made him successful. His no quit attitude and dream to make his own computers are why Bill Gates is a …show more content…
Chris Langan is one of the smartest people ever without a college degree. There is no question that the colleges he went to did not treat him right, but if one is that smart, then one must not just stop at two colleges. I would have tried everything that I could have even if it meant starting at a technical college. He could have easily made a name for himself and more colleges would have wanted him to come to their college. Life probably was not fair to Chris Langan but if he has a passion to be the smartest person in the world and to make the world better than he would not have stopped after two colleges. He did not seek his opportunity that he needed like he should have. He should have went to more colleges, tried to get more scholarships, and show why that school should want him. With how many colleges there are in the U.S., someone would have taken him in. He should not just bash that education system because he gave up. He could still try today. He could try every year to get in to college and get his accreditation that he needs to publish his ideas and findings. It is not a question of how smart he is. It is a question of how much he wants to be successful and how much he wants to follow his
In the book, Outliers, written by Malcolm Gladwell in 2008, he suggests in order to become a successful person in the world, you have to certain hidden advantages or chances that others didn't have. Gladwell supports his claim by using real life examples about success such as "Seventeen out of twenty-five players on the team were born in January, February, March, or April" (23) to why certain hockey players in Canada become great and then on page 46 when he states how Bill Joy "probably programmed eight to ten hours a day" because the "Michigan system happened to have a bug in it", which allowed him to "program as much as he wanted" and led to him becoming something special and finally throughout chapter 2 when he uses Chris Langen as an example
In Society today we believe that in order to be and become successful is all dependent on an individual's personality and their character. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book the “Outliers” he states that success is based and controlled by outside forces and that everyone in the world is granted certain opportunities, chances, and are given certain advantages that not everyone else in the world are given. Even though Gladwell’s ideas are supported by a ton of evidence he ultimately forgets to factor in the effects determination and hard work can have on someone’s success. Gladwell fails to realize that a people can succeed simply just because they want to.
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, he uses argument as his tool to educate readers about the path to success. An argument consists of a claim, coherent and persuasive discourse, and a conclusion; Gladwell’s novel conforms to this description precisely. The author first makes his claim that successful people are not successful because of work ethic or intelligence alone, but that they are a culmination of many specific traits and rare opportunities. Outliers then holds the debate in its 9 chapters. Chapters back his claim in many ways.
Success: Belief vs. Reality Many people in the U.S. assume that as long as they work tirelessly and strive towards their goal they will achieve it because they were told to have that attitude while growing up. Malcolm Gladwell thinks otherwise. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is a book that spreads the truth upon success and explains the different variables that can exponentially affect one’s career, and their future decisions. Gladwell touches on the conversation of whether the age of children really matters when enrolling them into school, stating that the older the child is the more likely they will be given greater opportunities.
Many people believe that fate is determined by natural ability, while others believe that one's destiny is determined by themselves. So, innate talent or preparation? Authors David Epstein and Malcolm Gladwell have opposing views on this topic. David Epstein, the author of The Sports Gene, says that natural ability is linked to success, rather than preparation and training. However, Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success, concludes that achievement is the result of preparation and not just innate talent.
In Malcolm Gladwell's story Outliers, he included a key theme to success which he titled the "10,000-hour rule" to which it is essential for an individual (such as musical artists, composers, professional athletes etc.) to achieve about 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to reach their peak of mastering a skill (Gladwell). Through his writing style, it is obvious that he believes his theme is very efficient in determining one's fate in their profession, Gladwell uses situations where this theme was seen accurately used, his main examples being The Beatles reaching their mark in history by surpassing the 10,000 hours practice and Bill Gates, the richest man in the world who mastered computer programming by also exceeding the needed amount of time which certified himself mastering computer program and ensuring his foothold toward his success. Malcolm Gladwell has done many interviews, one being with CNN's Anderson Cooper to spread and justify his idea to a variety of audiences for those to find a key factor that will help them master their needed skill but instead he is unintentionally fooling the public in all fields into
Argumentative Essay What if the phrase “practice makes perfect” wasn’t actually true? Malcolm Gladwell claims that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to perfect a skill, however, some people are starting to believe that may not be the case. “Your Genes Don’t Fit. Why 10,000 Hours of Practice, Won’t Make You an Expert”, argues that mastering a skill requires innate abilities along with practice.
One could only face the reality they are stuck with rather than chase for what they want to succeed. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the author gives certain descriptions of various people who live in specific areas that relate to realism throughout his writing. The novel makes a naturalism argument about not being able to attain certain goals no matter how hard they work, claiming that it is impossible to achieve the fullest possibilities because of the current state one might be born or stuck with. To begin with, the author inputs various locations geographically to identify citizens with certain descriptions who live and thrive around those areas.
In the book “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, author gives out some examples to demonstrate that nothing happened randomly: success, failure, conflict, there always has to be a pattern behind all the datas. In the first several chapters, Gladwell talks about personal achievement and says to become success is not only talent plus hard working, which many people agree. However opportunity, luck, and timing is as important as this and sometimes even more. He mentions bill Gatz and Bill Joy who both are superstars in computer technique field, and says their success has many common points: well backround, opportunity to access to computers in early age, and golden period for computer development.
In the novel The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, the notion of practical intelligence surfaces when discussing how successful one is. He defined it as, “knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect… It’s practical in nature... knowledge that helps you read situations correctly, and get what you want”(101). This means that it is more like street smarts and common sense; knowing what to do in any given environment.
Gladwell’s Argument in Outliers 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.
Intrinsic factors critically considered when people think about the main components of success. However, Malcolm Gladwell, a famous writer, contradicts this tendency through the book, Outliers. The book, Outliers insists that extrinsic factors define success rather than the intrinsic ones. Nonetheless, Gladwell himself goes against the topic of Outliers in his assertion: “if you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires (Gladwell, 2008).” The assertion implies that individuals could achieve success only with those intrinsic factors.
Success can come from many different variables, opportunities, and advantages. In Malcolm Gladwell’s novel, Outliers, Gladwell had popularized the theory that ten thousand hours of practice will eventually lead to success. Being the only factor, 10,000 hours of practice will not lead to success. In order to be elite and successful, you need other significant contributors in the equation.
III. Preview of Main Points: A. First I will discuss Bill Gates’ childhood and education. B.
Bill Gates on the other hand, while also a great leader, is perhaps best known for the way he excels as an entrepreneur. The text describes an entrepreneur as someone who asks the question “what is this company’s purpose?” (2). It is very evident that Gates has spent much time looking into his company’s purpose and has succeeded in fulfilling that purpose. Gates took the question “what?” and answered it