Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, Essay Example

Only a select few number of individuals manage to stand out from the crowd. More than often, society characterizes these individuals as successful people, but what exactly does this mean? Many would argue that being successful is directly linked to financial income and the kind of connections that an individual has. It is such a valid statement to say that today’s society has been brainwashed to think that success should be linked to money that even a dictionary definition of success is defined as “the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like”. In the novel Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell claims that society has it all wrong; success has nothing to do with materialistic gains, but rather the context in which one is nurtured throughout his or her lifetimes.

Gladwell’s definition for success would most probably be stated as “the process of achieving one’s goals through the environment in which one is born in”. Through Gladwell’s example of using Bill Gates to prove his point that an individual is successful due to the circumstances to which he or she is born to, I have come to bring forth my own definition of success. If I had the ability to set society’s standards, I would make it a point to inform everybody of what success should really be defined as. I believe that success can only be achieved when an individual gives back to their community. I have come to believe the aforementioned statement through Gladwell’s teaching that society dictates just how successful an individual will be in the near future. The reason as to why I have adopted Gladwell’s teachings is due to the fact that I have being raised in an environment where being of service is not only encouraged, but expected.

The reason as to why Gladwell’s narrative style is so influential is because of the manner in which he is able to make a claim and immediately back it up with a real life example. In my opinion, the best example he was able to throughout the novel was when he was making his point on Bill Gates and how the era in which he was born in contributed to his success. I solemnly agree with this statement because if Bill Gates would not have been born in such an era, then he would not have had the opportunity to be as effective and successful as he is today.

Gladwell argues that there are many ways that a person can achieve success. In my opinion, the most efficient manner in which to achieve it is to carry out every single action with the right attitude. For an individual to truly be successful at heart, that person has to enjoy putting a smile on other people’s faces. To be successful means to always be trying to give to others in absolutely any way possible. Success is also something that can be felt, for when a person performs a deed that makes someone else feel good, that individual automatically feels better about himself of herself for doing such a deed. This goes hand-in-hand with Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule, where practice makes perfect. The reason as to why so many individuals in this world are successful, according to Gladwell, is because they do not give up easily. This is to say that they spend whatever amount of time on a certain activity ensuring that it is perfected. The 10,000-hour rule proves effective in everyday life, especially to those individuals looking to maximize their potential at being successful.