In his 2008 book, The Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell introduced a revolutionary idea that has changed how our society views success and practice. This idea is the “Ten Thousand Hour Rule.” Gladwell’s assertion is that “. . .ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert--in anything.” I agree with Gladwell to a great extent that rigorous practice is necessary to become a world-class expert, but I disagree to a great extent that 10,000 hours is the amount of practice necessary to be an expert in any field. I believe that the 10,000 hour rule is too narrow-minded and specific, and thus, cannot apply to everybody and every situation.
We hear success stories everyday on the news and on television yet, there is no one who explains how these individuals became prosperous. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell creates a blueprint for success through a series of short stories. Gladwell dissects the stories and looks at the individual’s background to connect every story with his theories as well as using statistics and facts to show credibility and logic. This method allows the readers to better comprehend his
Practice Makes Perfect Everyone has heard the saying, “practice makes perfect” at some point in their life. In the excerpt, “10,000 Hours,” Malcolm Gladwell looks at how important practice really is to becoming better at a skill. Gladwell claims that when looking at the careers of people that are “gifted,” there is less correlation between talent and more correlation between practice. Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hours” contains strong evidence that supports his findings, persuades the intended audience, and appeals to readers. Gladwell can persuade his readers to believe that 10,000 hours is the perfect number.
In Outliers, Malcom Gladwell deconstructs the misconceptions in modern society surrounding the idea of success. Gladwell jump starts the book with the intriguing thesis that “it’s not enough to ask what successful people are like,” but that it is only important to ask “where they are from so that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t” (19). It is often assumed that individuals with grand achievements, from the field of athletics to computer programming, have an innate ambition or talent that propels them to greatness. This, according to Gladwell, is only a piece to the puzzle of success. In Outliers, Gladwell supports his thesis that success is often resulted from where someone comes from rather than solely individual will by arguing that the likelihood of achievement
However, the purpose of Outliers is not to brag about the lucks that successful people had, but to remind readers that opportunities are always available and that it solely depends on oneself to make each opportunity special and to make it to be the guide to one’s success. It is a waste of time and energy to believe that there will be that one perfect opportunity and complain when it does not come. In chapter two, Gladwell writes “Achievement is talent plus preparation”. (38) This quote exactly explains how that it is not about waiting for the one perfect opportunity, but always preparing, so one can be able to recognize and be ready for the opportunities that continuously show up in life. No one knows which event or chance will lead to success; either Bill Joy, Bill Gates, or the Beatles knew that certain events will lead them to success.
In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell uses the persuasive techniques such as figurative language, rhetorical questions, and analogies to persuade readers that the American view of success is wrong, and that success is the product of opportunities, hidden advantages, and hard work. In Chapter Two, these techniques are used to describe his idea of “The 10,000-Hour Rule” - that belief it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Gladwell’s basis for the 10,000-hour rule is that people who are experts in their field became so good from hidden and rare opportunities that allowed them to practice their skills. One example gladwell uses are The Beatles, whom Gladwell identifies as one of the most famous rock bands ever. He first mentions that as a struggling high school band, they were invited to play in a Hamburg, Germany
They work much, much harder." This said by Gladwell explain that people who work to get into a high level have to work extra harder to reach their goals. We can control what we
In the novel Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell gave a well put together read that gives us much to think about when trying to define success and what factors are important in shaping whether a person becomes successful or not. Prior to reading Gladwell’s Outliers my views probably were like most that success usually comes from one’s hard work and genius and that we all have an equal chance for success, but after reading Gladwell’s theories and explanations on how many outside factors can influence success, I now have some different conclusions about intelligence and how outside factors such as socioeconomic background and the way we are raised are also important influences of who and what we become and not just simply how high ones IQ or intelligence is measured. Malcolm Gladwell’s The Outliers chapter three and four, The Trouble with Genius Part 2, explains how where we come from and how we are raised influence our success and even those with similar above average IQ’s may not have the same opportunity for success because of these factors. Even though a high IQ may set us apart as an outlier, because of our economic background we may not have the same opportunities as someone with the same IQ. Gladwell explains this by using Terman’s study in which Terman tested a random
People always try everything that is within them to achieve their dreams. This happens because since little people think big without looking at the circumstances that are around. People think that they could become anything if they work for it. They are excited thinking about what they can do to be better every day so they could be able to reach their goals, nevertheless, then there comes a time in life when all dreams start to become impossible and more distant every day. In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell reveal several stories that talk about different people that have become successful in different ways.
Success presents itself as the individual ability a person holds, but those who are successful follow similar patterns that are greatly affected by opportunities, parentage, and cultural heritage. Gladwell explains that we owe our accomplishments in life to the Passion, talent, and hard work are important to create a successful life, but with that the need for a spontaneous opportunity allows for an extreme head start. In the Outliers, Gladwell showcases an opportunity that gave hockey players an advantage that could potentially lead to a major career. He states, “ Hockey players who make it to the professional level are more talented than you or me. But they also got a big head start, an opportunity that they neither deserved or earned