After reading the novel, Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell I have gained a certain perspective to the idea of success. Gladwell’s purpose throughout the novel is to argue the idea that in analyzing the lives of those who have become successful, we should look at what surrounds them rather than their personal aspects, such as their personality. Also, what I took away from the novel was the idea of pure coincidence.
In a portion of the book, one way that Gladwell puts forth this idea is by the 10,000 hour rule. The idea behind this is that to truly become an expert in anything one must exercise any activity for a total of at least 10,000 hours. His example of this was none other than Bill Gates. As a child attending a wealthy private school in Seattle, Washington, Gates had the access to a computer terminal in school and later at the University of Washington. Which was not far from his home, allowing him to log 10,000 hours by an early age. This example also deals with the idea that is presented of coincidence. If Gates was not as privileged or had not lived nearby University of Washington, chances are he would not be the Bill Gates that everyone knows today.
These ideas presented by Gladwell tie into what we have recently discussed about how opportunities largely help to shape the success (and SES) of someone rather than solely one’s hard work and determination. I think that it is interesting to think about factors outside of the personal traits of a successful person because anyone can develop certain traits, but to look specifically at individual moments that have significantly altered the outcome of a person’s life in comparison to others.
For my next blog post I’m going to talk about and analyze the ideas in the book How to Make Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie.
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