I had decided to take out this book called the Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be so good because I read “Blink” by the same author and I thought he sort of stated the obvious. He did, however, do the same in “Outliers”, but I enjoyed it because of the information he gave and ideas to back up his argument. Basically, his book is about success and how it happens. It’s quite interesting because we were speaking about the American Dream and how people gain success. The whole idea of opportunity was involved. What Gladwell argues is that no person that rose from nothing and gained success by himself. Gladwell conveys that a “genius” is not what we think of and through his book, he explains gaining success through luck, opportunity, preparation, and culture.
What do you think about his argument? He uses great examples to describe each category for achieving success, and I’m wondering if I’m the only one that comes to this agreement.
“What Gladwell argues is that no person that rose from nothing and gained success by himself.”
I strongly disagree with Gladwell on this statement. My grandfather was a teenager when WWII broke out in Europe. His family was a wealthy family who owned a butcher shop in Lodz, Poland. When the Germans were taking over Poland, they turned parts of Poland into concentration camps and parts into ghettos. The Germans turned Lodz, my grandfather’s town, into a ghetto. My grandfather, his brother and his parents were members of the lucky 300 out of 4000 people who survived the Lodz ghetto. Although they survived, my grandfather and his family were left with nothing. They came to America (like many other Jews did after the war) and were left to find any job they could. For a while, my grandfather was a taxi driver and he strived to make ends meet. Eventually, my grandfather’s brother and father started a butcher shop in the United States. My grandfather opened up a blockbuster-like video store which he later turned into an appliance store. Today, my grandfather owns two stores and lives a great life. He does not have to worry about food, clothing, money or pretty much anything. Like my grandfather, many people came from Europe after WWII and were able to rebuild their lives from nothing. As long as someone is determined and willing to work their hardest, they can go from having nothing, to being able to afford anything they’d like.
I see your viewpoint gab, however, do you think your grandfather was successful because of luck or any of the other listings that Gladwell makes as factors for success? You said he opened a video store, and it turned into an appliance store. Did he open his video store with nothing? Did luck hit him and he became successful?