Essay On Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

634 Words2 Pages

“Effort will get you wherever you need,” you’ve always heard that as a child. In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell , Gladwell shows us examples of how effort is not always the key to success. I agree to some extent with Gladwell’s claim. I agree when he states that the family you are born into can determine your success. On the other hand, I do not agree when he explains that the time you’re born into determines how successful you can become. All the other factors Gladwell addresses vary within the choices of the individual.
During chapter 5 (part one) , Gladwell brings up that the family you are born into can affect your success. A real life example would be president elect Donald Trump. Donald Trump was born into a fairly wealthy family. Trump was able to pay for college without an issue therefore he already had an advantage over most people. Donald Trump not only was able to pay for 2 different colleges(Fordham university 1964-1966, University of Pennsylvania 1966-1968), but Trump was also given 1 million dollars from his father to start a business. This shows us Trump had a better chance to be successful in his life. This would support Gladwell's claim because most people can barely afford college, yet Trump afforded 2 different colleges , and his family was able to still have money to help him …show more content…

Many people that came from a poor family are successful now. For example, Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty. Her mother was a single mother as well. Today she is worth $2.9 billion. Although Oprah Winfrey succeeded, that does not mean that other people will be able to persevere through hardships. There are people that will give up during those obstacles. Another way that this is proven is when people choose who will work for them. What this means is that if two people apply for the same job, the person who’s family is more known is more likely to be hired even if they are less qualified for the

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