Book Review Of Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell

In society, there is a common misconception that success simply arises from a combination of an individual's innate talent and drive to acquire success. However, in the book Outliers-The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell introduces a new and different perspective of the foundation of success, and proposes that other factors contribute and can even determine the likelihood of someone succeeding. Aspects such as hidden advantages, upbringing, timing, and cultural legacies play a significant role in how well one will do in this world. Society's outliers are the individuals who, because of their chance opportunities, have cultivated their inner talents and abilities to become successful. Hidden advantages play a tremendous role in

Good fortune and a succession of chance opportunities are vital in allowing one to get the practice and preparation necessary to achieve success. Gladwell investigates the backgrounds of professional hockey players and successful figures such as: Bill Joy, Bill Gates, and the Beatles to prove that hidden opportunities served as the foundation of their journeys to success. Gladwell noticed how an overwhelming majority of professional hockey players were born from January to March and players born later in the year were less abundant. Cut-off dates were the sole reason behind this perplexity. Individuals who were born directly after the cut-off dates, subsequently, had more time to develop and cultivate their skills, creating a head start and an advantage against those born later in the year. Initial lack of success creates an even larger barrier between those born earlier in the year and those born later in the year. Success is “what sociologists like to call ‘accumulative advantage’”(30) and individuals lucky enough to be born at the perfect time, a hidden opportunity, had an increasingly higher

Can the timing of a person’s birth also determine the prospect of success? According to Gladwell, it definitely does. Gladwell compares the stories of two individuals who started out on the same path but ended at different places. Maurice Janklow, the family intellectual, was an aspiring lawyer who came from “a family well schooled in the rules of the system.” (130) Maurice Janklow was predicted to become extremely successful as he was educated and was living in an economically vibrant city, however he struggled and faltered unlike his son, Mort Janklow. Mort Janklow built his own law firm in the 1960’s, created one of the earliest cable television franchises, and started one of the most prestigious literary agencies in the world. Maurice Janklow, born in 1902, during the beginning of the Depression fell to the limitations of his generation. The Depression was the ultimate factor into why Maurice Janklow failed. On the other hand, Mort was born in the 1930’s shortly after the Depression ended. A period in which 600,000 fewer babies were born which created smaller classrooms and more opportunities with less competition. Needless to say, there is a specific time for everything. Gladwell expresses that the timing of one’s birth ultimately decides the opportunities given and serves as a