Outliers Malcolm Gladwell Essay

People tend to marvel at the characteristics of successful members of society without ever considering the circumstances that allowed them to achieve such success. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell claims that these over-achievers are only the way they are as a result of the circumstances around them. Furthermore, Gladwell emphasizes that if conditions are not perfect, even the most intelligent can not reach their goals.

Gladwell frequently states that people are a product of the factors around them. One such factor is the amount of time a person dedicates towards a particular skill, craft, art, or activity, and the time required to be the best in a particular field is 10,000 hours. Bill Gates, having a net worth of approximately 90 billion dollars, is generally considered an epitome of success. Gladwell provides precise details about how Gates was able to become a pioneer. Gates gained a head start in the field of computing with access to “real-time programming as an eighth grader in 1968 (Gladwell 51).” In addition, Gladwell explains that a crucial aspect of Gates’ success was that he attended Lakeside School, one of the only high schools in the late ‘60s which has access to a time-sharing terminal. Gates also came from a family that

could “afford his school’s computer fees (Gladwell 54).” The previously-stated factors and many more allowed Bill Gates extra time to practice and soar past ten thousand hours. In addition, my parents are also perfect examples of the 10,000 hour theory. For example, my parents sent me to India for three years when they were initially establishing their restaurant. Let’s say each parent worked 10 hours a day for three years straight. Therefore, by the time I came back to the United States, they had worked a minimum of 10,950 hours. My parents, who could barely pay the rent of $6,000 initially, eventually carried out renovations of approximately a million dollars five years later.
Another important factor in being successful is social structure because it influences individuals to act in certain ways. The higher a person is on in the hierarchy, the more likely that they will succeed. Gladwell, when talking about the children of the middle-class, writes, “They acted as though they had a right to pursue their own individual preferences to actively manage interactions in institutional settings (Gladwell 105).” He explains that the sense of entitlement allowed them to survive much better in an increasingly competitive world. Gladwell compares the children to their poorer counterparts, stating, “the working-class and poor children were characterized by ‘an emerging sense of distance, distrust, and constraint’ (Gladwell 105).” Social structure has had an extremely significant factor in my own life. For example, when my parents were not as affluent, I was extremely shy. However, as they moved up the socioeconomic hierarchy, their attitudes towards how independent I should be changed. Therefore, by high school, I developed many valuable social skills which have helped me distinguish myself from many of my peers.
In his book, Gladwell makes clear distinctions between talent, preparation, and opportunity.

Talent is the inherent aptitude that a person has, preparation is the development of a skill, and an opportunity is a pathway to success. Talent could be a possible factor for success, but it is often not very significant. For example, as I have stated before, I never really had an inherent ability to communicate with anyone. Only through talking with people did I really develop these skills. Therefore, preparation or just simple practice is far more important than talent. My opportunity to exercise those social skills has allowed me to excel in many of my extracurricular activities, as well as allowing me to form new

friendships.
Chris Cherian is an outlier in my community of friends. Like Bill Gates and Joe Flom, he is someone who has worked on a particular talent, which in his case is public speaking, and has gained immense benefits. For example, Cherian has won the prestigious Best Delegate Award several times at Model United Nations conferences. He has also won 1st Place in English Oratory at both the Georgia Junior Classical League Convention and the National Junior Classical League Convention. For these reasons and many others, Cherian has proven himself to be cut above the rest.
In Outliers, Gladwell completely rejects the notion that success can be attributed to some basic personality traits, ambition and intelligence alone. Success is much more influenced by the conditions under which one is born and raised than by any other element. The culture, generation, or family one is born into or raised in, and the life experiences that one has, will determine if a person will attain success.