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Outliers Essay
Outliers Essay

An Outlier is someone who stands out in a group due to their mastery of a certain skill and because of that they are successful. According to Gladwell not anyone can become successful; it takes the right circumstances and opportunities. Human’s capability seems limitless, and if we put in the time and hard work we can achieve our goals. We as a society love to think that a person may become successful and that we all have the same opportunities and chance of succeeding if we just work hard enough. According to Malcom Gladwell, the author of the book Outlier’s these common beliefs are incorrect and are not the means of a person becoming successful. The main theme throughout Gladwell’s Outlier’s is that successful people aren’t born they’re a product of their own upbringing. Gladwell states that “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.” (155). This single quote explains all of the outliers at once. In every case that Gladwell tells us about, those who flourished were provided with certain circumstances that allowed them to become an outlier or master of their respective craft. Gladwell argues that in order to become successful you have to have the right circumstances around you such as your family, birthplace, or even when you were born. That is what makes the outliers different then all others; they were provided with some sort of luck or circumstance that gave them the upper hand and opportunity to master their skills. “The outliers in a particular field reached their lofty status through a combination of ability, opportunity, and utterly arbitrary advantage.” (37) In one of Gladwell’s first examples he discusses how the month in which a hockey player is born can shape how good they will become. A hockey player’s birthday, more than anything else, determines which teams and which opportunities and what type of training the hockey players receive. Those who are

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