Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell: Opportunity Is The Key To Success

Opportunity is the Key to Success "And that opportunity played a critical role in their success" (30 Gladwell). Many times, people will argue that if you want something, you can achieve it simply through hard work; however, that is not always the case. In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, he explains the significant amount of opportunities that successful people are given. Gladwell uses the example of Joe Flom to explain how timing is a huge factor in success. Early in his career, he was declined by a huge law firm, and had to settle for a firm that was just starting out. Even though this seems like a disadvantage, it turned into an opportunity because the new law firm turned out to grow into one of the best. Another example used in Outliers would
If a child is taught encouraging skills, they are better off as they grow up. In Outliers, children of wealthy and poor families are compared to show how the wealthier child is geared towards success. It is not the fact that the child is born into wealth, but the fact that the parents taught the child skills needed to gain success. Gladwell writes on page 108 that "The sense of entitlement that he has been taught is an attitude perfectly suited to succeeding in the modern world." Meaning, that the reason why this child is more likely to succeed is because of the skills he was taught. Similarly, a successful family friend of mine would not be where she is today if she were not born into the family she is in. Her family has provided her with the support and skills she needs to become a famous singer. They have supported her from the time that she was doing drama plays, until now, as she has very popular songs on Spotify and iTunes. She was born into wealth, which has provided her with many opportunities that others do not have. For example, her family has the ability to pay for the advertisement and production of her music. Also, if she hadn't been born into this family, she might have never gained her fame from X-Factor. From being on this show, she had to fly to many destinations and also had to try out several times to finally make it to the last round of tryouts. Obviously, this can get very expensive and nerve-wracking, which is why it was great that she has such a supportive family. If she hadn't been born into this family, she might not have become famous. From growing up around successful parents, she has learned the traits needed for success. All in all, people who are born into better opportunities have the advantage when it comes to achieving