The Role Of Success In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers

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Throughout life, the idea that personal success is a product of one individual's’ effort is drilled into everyone’s head. We hear near miraculous stories of self made millionaires who started from the bottom and got to the top by their merits alone. However, this concept is thoroughly explored and done away with in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: Stories of Success. His book covers several successful people who he terms outliers. About them, he concludes: It is impossible for a hockey player, or Bill Joy, or Robert Oppenheimer, or any other outlier for that matter, to look down from their lofty perch and say with truthfulness, "I did this, all by myself." Superstar lawyers and math whizzes and software entrepreneurs appear at first blush to lie …show more content…
For instance, their mother will likely stop consuming certain substances like alcohol or sushi. Conversely, they may also start taking prenatal vitamins to ensure a healthy baby. In addition, there will be a cocktail mix of nurses and doctors. All of these people are there for a sole purpose; to ensure a healthy, strong and thriving baby. As the child grows, they are nurtured by parents, grandparents, and even teachers. Even those who don’t necessarily grow up in an excessively watchful environment are shaped by their surroundings. For example, Bill Gates grew up in Seattle, where he attended the prestigious private school Lakeside. Lakeside was ahead of many colleges in one vital aspect. As early as 1968, it started developing its computer program while young Gates attended there. This was his introduction to software and coding. Bill Gates wasn’t born knowing how to start his billion dollar company. He had to use the help of others and depend on the right circumstances to get where he is today. Perhaps no one gets where they are by himself because we all have lasting effects on one another. Every encounter with each other shapes us and pushes us forward on our paths to
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