Friday, March 26, 2010

What is Gladwell's overall message about success?

Gladwell’s book “Outliers” focuses on the success of those people that succeed far above and beyond the norms of society. His message counters popular theory that success can be attributed to some basic personality traits, ambition and intelligence alone. Gladwell theorizes that success is much more influenced by the conditions under which one is born and raised than by any other element. It is his message that the culture, generation, or family one is born into or raised in, coupled with the life experiences that one has, will likely determine if a person becomes successful on the level of an outlier. At first glance, some of his theories seem to support traditional thought that for example, habits such as hard work can alone determine success. However, Gladwell looks deeper, beyond those habits to what allowed them to develop.


In explaining “The 10,000 Hour Rule,” Gladwell describes that it is not just about putting in the hours of practice or learning through college that make one successful but about having the lifestyle, support or means to put in that much time.



“You can’t be poor, because if you have to hold down a part-time job on the side to help make ends meet, there won’t be time left in the day to practice enough.“ 


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