Outliers By Malcolm Gladwell: Belief In Success

Belief in success

In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, he highlights key reasons on how to find success. Gladwell features Annette Lareau and her study about parenting styles affecting the success of a child. During the 1990’s, Lareau and a team of grad students studied around 88 families from diverse settings. Black, white, middle class, working class, and the poor. She conducted in depth observations of 12 families. In her book called Unequal Childhoods, she explains that middle class families raise their children differently than working class families. Although Annette Lareau believes that middle and upper class children are more likely to be successful, reality shows that success is more complicated than that. The middle class kids may have an advantage later in life, but that does not necessarily mean they will be happier. Lareau points out that these kids were exhausted from their schedule driven days. They are on the go constantly whether it be going to practice, school, lessons, or even jobs. Trying to juggle all these events can be very stressful for a teeneager. Lareau calls this style of parenting concerted cultivation. She states,

If you surround yourself with the right people, you can achieve greater things. Friends affect success both directly, indirectly, deliberately and non deliberately. A 2015 study conducted by researchers at the HSE Centre for institutional studies showed that those who hang out with people that are more successful in school will also improve in school. Conversely, hanging out with the wrong people will drop your grades. Having first hand experience with being surrounded by the right people I can attest to this having a positive influence on decision making, effort in school, and belief in yourself. Having self confidence drives a person to accomplish what they wish to do. The first step in being successful is believing in yourself, and friends can help you achieve