When thinking about success, people automatically think about how hard people have worked to be successful. In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that we should look at the world that surrounds successful people such as, their culture, family, experiences, and their upbringing. Gladwell has made an interesting argument about how people become successful.
Gladwell wants to convince readers that different kinds of explanations of success do not work. Meaning that everything you do in life affects your future. It really makes a difference where and when people grew up. Gladwell says, it is not enough to ask what successful people are like. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't. Gladwell is saying that where people
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He grew up very poor without a father figure in his life, but was a highly gifted student, and ended up going on a full scholarship to Reed University. Chris Langan’s brother says, “I don’t think the school ever understood just how gifted Christopher was” (Gladwell, 2008, pg.92). Langan’s mother failed to fill out a financial aid form correctly, which caused him to lose his scholarship and drop out. He worked as a construction worker for a year and a half before enrolling in Montana State University. One day his car broke down on the way to class, and he asked to be transferred to a different section so that he could avoid having an absence. His teacher denied his request and he dropped out, deciding that he was done with the higher education system. Langan’s lack of education and family support caused by the situations above, had a significant effect on the path of his life and career. Even though some people’s family and upbringing might have had an effect on them from becoming successful, Bradley Byrne’s story is different .Langan did not have family support like Bradley did, which supports Gladwell’s claim about family’s influence on