When it comes to success, we are taught from day one that hard work, perseverance and the will to succeed would overcome any obstacle. Every day, the stories of success can be shared and used to inspire others who hope to one day reach similar happiness. The extremely incredible entrepreneur who rose from rags to riches or the tale of the underdog sports team that surprised all competitors and won the championship are the stories that continuously drive the dreams of individuals and make success seem possible to all. But what if success was not attainable for all, regardless of work ethic and all other factors that may contribute to it. What if, based on predetermined occurrences, success was easier for some to obtain because of those occurrences? The Outliers written by Malcolm Gladwell, is the author’s compiled study of success and how it very much so can be attributed to all of the normal factors (i.e. talent, work ethic, passion) but are also heavily influenced by the cultural and societal forces that give rise to opportunistic individuals.
Through several cases of well known individuals who are deemed to be successful, we as a society easily fall into the myth that successful people are self-made. Gladwell writes that most successful people “are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Gladwell’s definition of an outlier is a person who is out of the ordinary “who doesn't fit into our normal understanding of achievement.” According to Gladwell, great men and women are beneficiaries of specialization, collaboration, time, place, and culture. Those who are successful are not only successful because of their own merit, but because they were born into the right circumstances (i.e time, family, location).
One of the theories that stuck out to be was The Matthew Effect. The theory explains
When it comes to success, we are taught from day one that hard work, perseverance and the will to succeed would overcome any obstacle. Every day, the stories of success can be shared and used to inspire others who hope to one day reach similar happiness. The extremely incredible entrepreneur who rose from rags to riches or the tale of the underdog sports team that surprised all competitors and won the championship are the stories that continuously drive the dreams of individuals and make success seem possible to all. But what if success was not attainable for all, regardless of work