Why I Didnt End Up At The Top

Numerous children dream of becoming a gold medal olympian when they grow up. As years pass, revisions are made and many kids who once dreamed of a gold medal, now desire a family and a stable job with their fantasies becoming their side hobbies or less. If one works hard and asserts themselves, their worlds change so that their desires will unfold before them- to an extent. There is a controversy that who we consider successful did not end up at the top through solid hard work and determination. These few received multiple opportunities that others did not which kept them on the road to their success. Those who we admire for their work ethic may not be the best of the best, just good enough while being given the chances to move up the ladder

For those whose happiness consists of raising a family or handling a career that fulfills them, reaching their goals can be achievable through solid hard work and believing in themselves. Chris Langdon is an example of one who could have potentially become one of the few who made it to the top, but instead, he exhibits the life of a simple happy man. His version of success shifted throughout his life as he now seems “content [with] animals to take care of, books to read, and a wife to love.”(Gladwell 115) No blood or tears were shed for Chris to get to where he is, yet he reached his goals through building towards them. Not everyone needs to be famous or the best at what they love to feel fulfilled. Sometimes, being an expertise in that field fulfills them enough. According to Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, “10,000 hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert.” No missed opportunities or roadblocks stands in between straight work and effort and expertise. Personally, I work towards my own goals every day so my world will be the way I desire. My ambitions consist of pushing myself physically to become stronger through lifting, to make the varsity soccer team this upcoming year, and to strive academically to get into Colorado School of Mines. In order to reach these goals, everyday, I put effort and determination into

The difference between those who reach the top level of success and a simple life is not hard work and ambitions, but opportunity and luck. Top level athletes and multibillion dollar business owners all put in their 10,000 hours of work in whichever field their triumphs fell under, but they also had windows of luck which led them to the next level in their profession that others did not experience. It may be known that professional hockey and soccer players were able to get to the top through complete dedication and exertion within the sport, when they actually were able to pull ahead of the group when “40% of the players will have been born between January and March,”(Gladwell 23) This trend commenced when those who are closer to the cutoff date of January first had an immense physical advantage when compared to others in the same age group, many months younger. From here, that small opportunity advantage lead to a snowball effect of more and more attention in their sport as, “he gets better coaching , his teamates are better, and he practices twice as much,” as he would have otherwise. (Gladwell 25). Ultimately, this chain of events leaves this kid at a huge advantage over those who he onced played little leagues with, all because of his birthday. This is not the only example of how some are able to shape the world to their