Do I agree, disagree, or qualify with this statement made by Condoleezza Rice, I completely agree with everything she stated. The three biggest points she made was that it the future is all that matters, we are not envious of people’s success but of the opportunities they receive, and that we cause more harm to ourselves than our country does to us. To me the greatest point she brings about is that our past is not what matters, but what matters is what we decide to do in the future. People tend to live in the past, we think about the mistakes we have made as well as the feats we have accomplished. When people live in the past it takes their focus off of the present, while others live in fear for what the future may bring. From playing baseball I have learned to not live in the past, for baseball is a game of failure. If we live in the past we will never see the future and we can never move on to greater things. Those greater things may not always be accomplishments, you may fail, but at least you are living your life. …show more content…
Some people get fewer opportunities than others, but others receive even more. Sometimes these opportunities give a better circumstance for being noticed in what we want to do. For instance, two equally talented baseball players try out for different colleges for the same position and only one is noticed due to the vacant position at that school. Some of the circumstances given are better, but certain people take advantage of the opportunities given. It is not always those who are better, but those who get more opportunities to be noticed in what they want to
I have no doubt that the amount of practice each individual put into their craft played a large part in their career paths and overall success. However, I have to disagree that “opportunity” was the distinguishing factor in their success over others. More important than simply having an opportunity is seeing that opportunity where others don’t and having the drive and passion to work hard and put in the necessary hours to turn that opportunity into a success.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that there is no such thing as a self-made man, and that success is only the result of a person’s circumstances. However, throughout the novel Gladwell points out that your circumstances and opportunities only help you become successful if you are willing to take advantage of them and work hard. From a twelve year old living in the Bronx, to those who were born at just the right time to become millionaires, one thing is the same throughout; these people because successful because they seized the opportunities they were given. The advantages and opportunities that came from their circumstances would not be important if they had not grasped them. Every successful man is self made, because he has seized the
Nevertheless, our social structure isn’t a brick wall were individuals are trapped in there social class. We are still able with education and the opportunities to shape our lives and achieve our full potential. Harlon L. Dalton emulates the possibility within his story about Horatio Alger, “neither Alger nor the myth suggests that we start out equal. Nor does the myth necessarily require that we be given an equal opportunity to succeed. Rather, Alger’s point is that each of us has the power to create our own opportunities.”
and it manifests itself in a multitude of cultural and social ways.” The author discussed the problems that occur from economic and social classes. The purpose of this argument is to debate on what kind of people will be successful in life. Everyone has a shot at being successful, and that they do with it is
Kohn’s claim about the nature of competition is true to the extent that being better than someone will never be enough and it is destructive to base one’s success on another person’s failure. However, competition could potentially serve as a drive to push someone to their fullest potential,
“Great chances have come to me. But in my heart is always a deep sadness. I feel like a man who is sitting down to a secret table of plenty, while his near ones and dear ones are perishing before his eyes. My very joy in doing the work I love hurts me like secret guilt, because all about me I see so many with my longings, my burning eagerness, to do and to be, wasting their days in drudgery they hate, merely to buy bread and pay rent. And America is losing all that richness of the soul.” (Paragraph 107) The life that she creates for herself is her job to achieve. It is not the burden of others to create a life for her, one that she has dreamed of and hoped
Condoleezza Rice once said “Life is full of surprises and serendipity. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. Just find your next adventure-do it well, enjoy it-and then, not now, think about what comes next.” Rice is a perfect example of success and is someone to admire. Whether she is overcoming racism, sexism, or age, she still succeeds in life. Condoleezza is a great image and role model for aspiring and emerging leaders.
In this case, talent can be and is represented by what you have been given and or your socioeconomic status, and if you don’t work hard, someone else who works hard should be given opportunities regardless of their “talent” or lack thereof. The Socs have been handed a lot and were born into the higher end of the socioeconomic spectrum and choose not to work hard. Darry, on the other hand, wasn’t handed a lot and was born on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, but he chose to work hard so he should have gotten a chance at a future. However, society judges promise on wealth and “talent”, neither of which Darry has. Darry works as a roofer, causing injury to himself, to ensure his own and his family’s survival. But as a Greaser, nothing he does matters, or even deserves to matter. He worked hard in school earning him a scholarship. Even more so, he balanced getting those good grades with being on the school football team. His hardwork and his balance between athletics and academia earned him a scholarship. But even with his scholarship, he couldn’t afford college. But, he didn’t give up. Then, in a fatal car crash, his parents die, removing any chance of him being able to go to college for at the very least the near future or more likely, the rest of his life. But that wasn't all. With his parents no longer around, he had to care for his
middle of paper ... ... “I honestly believe that as a result of it I have felt more things, more deeply, had more experiences, more intensely, loved more, and been more loved, laughed more often for having cried more often.”(p.217) It has been said that how successful you are depends on the people around you. Your peer group, family and background all play a huge part in determining how well you do in life.
“Stumbling on Happiness”, authored by Daniel Gilbert, is a book that will quite possibly change the way you think and look at with just about everything. Through perception and cognitive biases, people imagine the future poorly, in particular what will make them happy. Gilbert argues that imagination fails in three ways; “imagination tends to add and remove details, but people do not realize that key details may be fabricated or missing from the imagined scenario”. Second, “imagined futures (and pasts) are more like the present than they actually will be (or were).” And thirdly, “imagination fails to realize that things will feel different once they actual happen –most notably, the psychological immune system will make bad things feel not
At this point in time the name and image of Condoleezza Rice is commonplace among the majority of informed Americans. As the first female to serve as the National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, Dr. Rice was propelled even further into the spotlight following the attacks on America on September 11th 2001. I too, like most Americans, saw a lot more of Condi, as she is known by her many friends and colleagues, after September 11. Clearly she was intelligent and always remained calm and poised in the face of adversity and standing before the cameras. I also noticed and appreciated her articulation and was even moved by what seemed like her stoic yet compassionate presentation. It was not until I read Dr. Rice’s biography, Condi, by Antonia Felix, however that she gained my utmost respect. By the 21st century a black successful black female is not as uncommon as it was fifty years ago. Black women had fought their way to the top in many arenas, including political such as the U.S. Senate. What is truly amazing about Condi’s story is speed and finesse with which she ascended to the top of everything she took on. An endearing friendship and mutual loyalty with both of the George Bushes surely did not hurt her. Condi’s success was hardly limited to the world of politics. She approached music, fitness, academics, sports, religion, and family with the same decisiveness, consistency, and determination that she brought to the public sector. Condi is also no stranger to controversy. Now more than ever she faces a host of critics, especially regarding her supposed knowledge of possible terrorist threats before they came to pass on September 11. Her Republican politics made her less than popular among African Americans although she maintains a more liberal perspective on social issues and remains pro-choice. In spite of her ups and downs it is ultimately her unfaltering character to which she can attribute her success as well as her status as what many call the most powerful woman in politics.
All individuals have different paths and life goals. It is true that individuals may start out with more advantages than others, but it should not be used as a limitation to others. Mantsios lists several realities discussing the different levels of opportunity for Americans. In these realities, he describes that wealth and our economic status is important in order to reach success. In one of his realities, Mantsios discussed the privileges within inheritance laws stating: “…Americans do not have an equal opportunity to succeed, […]. Inheritance laws provide built-in privileges to the offspring of the wealthy and add to the likelihood of their economic success while handicapping the chances for everyone else” (392). It appears as if he only believes success comes out of extreme wealth, and if someone is not, they’re disadvantaged and will ultimately be less successful than others. Mantsios talks only in extremes; he discusses the very rich, the very poor and how each affects each other, while simultaneously arguing that there is little to no chance for those in the middle or lower class to grow and become successful. In contrast, Jay-Z discusses how he did not let the obstacles he faced, or his economic status limit him. He is quoted saying, “don’t let [society] diminish your accomplishment or dim your shine” (Packer 361). Here, he is taking a much more positive approach, stating that individuals should not limit their success based on their social class. Class should not be a tool used to limit individuals and their success. To say that an individual born into the upper class will just coast through life without hardship is untrue. In the same respect, to say that an individual born into lower or middle class will have no chance at success, is just as untrue. We all face different levels of hardship in life, therefore condemning an individual because they have a leg up or down in
THE POWER OF THE MOMENT: The ability to stay in the present is a virtue. Most people are always living either in the past or in the future. So they are either worrying about the past, worrying about the past pains, the past results, the past failures, past relationships, past struggles, or they are ruminating about the future fears, the future impossibilities, the future achievements, future possibilities. Worrying about the past or future would not benefit you as you are putting yourself in a position of disadvantage.
Many of our present day attitudes are formed by earlier decisions, because every decision someone makes reflects on their lives and attitudes. Most people think hard about big decisions but many forget about the small day to day decisions. People do not realize that small decisions are
What this suggest is that the differences in educational institutions will determine an individual or a groups level of education in society, but one must bear in mind the fact that just because certain individuals and groups who belong to a particular socioeconomic status doesn’t guarantee them a successful career.