I have always thought about what makes the well-accomplished and extremely successful people we all talk about highly so successful. Of course hard work, determination, and persistence to achieve life goals comes into the equation of success. It isn't surprising that a little bit luck is also a factor that comes into play; however, when reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, I never knew how much luck really is a factor is in the success of people such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Some examples of the types of luck a person can acquire are birth dates, location, and the success of a person's parents. Although a person's birth date is in an unchangeable fact for a person, location is changeable. As explained in Outliers, opportunities can arise in the location a person was raised in.
A famous example of such a person is Steve Jobs, the co founder of Apple Computers. He wasn't born into a wealthy family, but that type of luck wasn't a factor in Job's story. Location was. Jobs grew up in the city of Mountain View, California, which was the epicenter of Silicon Valley. Jobs grew up in a city filled with inspiring engineers who were observing technology is a different way. Gladwell remarked, "Jobs came of age breathing the air of the very business he would later dominate." This was undoubtedly true since took advantage of his location in the Silicon Valley and took summer jobs in a dominating global electronic firm.
Gladwell's thoughts about location being a factor to a person's success had me thinking about my own life. What opportunities would have arisen had I been born into a rich, upper class family? Would I have become enthralled in engineering had I grew in the Silicon Valley, like Steve Jobs?
What are your thoughts on location being a key factor in success?
I didn't read this book, but the points that the author makes are true. Yes, many people are successful through hard work, but a lot of their success comes from having luck. If you live somewhere unknown, then your discoveries won't be known worldwide, but if you live somewhere well known, there is always a better chance of becoming wealthy and popular. However, if someone truly is well accomplished then it is inevitable that they will eventually become known.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle! I agree that luck and location are major factors on whether or not you would be able to succeed. Throughout the book Gladwell mentioned people that were highly intellectual, but it was for the most part their surroundings and luck that enabled them to have more opportunities to expand their knowledge and ideas that led them to be successful. The book also mentions those that weren't successful were the ones who, though intelligent, didn't have the resources to fully use their knowledge.
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