Success As The Disease

With a subtitle of "The Story of Success", Gladwell's Outliers would seem to be pushing the idea that success is the key to everything good in life. Someone who would write a book with a title like that, would not agree with the statement "Success is the 'disease of me'", so Malcolm Gladwell would not agree with this statement.

Gladwell does not believe success could be a bad thing for an individual. He believes that success is what everyone should reach for in their lives. He also believes success depends on where a person is from and what opportunities that person has. He seems to paint a picture of success being wealth and prestige, and does not realize that the meaning of success means different things to other people. Gladwell would agree with a statement claiming that failure is the disease, however.          

The idea that failure is the disease is supported by Gladwell’s example of Chris Langan’s attempt to go to college. Langan did not graduate from college because he lost his scholarship due to his mother’s neglect to fill out the correct forms to renew the scholarship. His failure to correctly fix the problem to speak to faculty that could help him resulted in him dropping out of college. Gladwell sees Langan’s avoidance of authority as something as a failure. Langan lives now with his wife and formed his own organization called the “Mega Foundation” that allows gifted people to develop their ideas. This seems perfectly successful to any other person; Langan is happy and living his life to help others. Gladwell, however does not mention Christopher Langan’s organization. He just states that his story of dropping out of college is “heartbreaking”.

I agree that success is the ‘disease’ to a certain point. If a person relies on just success of the past and not work forward to the future, having a fixed mindset, then that person will not get very far in life. Gladwell’s view of failure being the disease is also agreeable. If one fails and only focuses on the possibility of failing again, then he will not be able to succeed in the future, due to fear. However, you do learn from your failures. Look at Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and Walt Disney. All three men failed in their journeys to greatness, but had growth mindsets, so they were able to not be defined by failure alone and continued to work hard to succeed.

A Natural?

The idea of natural ability is shoved into our minds at a very early age. I still remember my Kindergarten teacher telling me that I was a natural when it came to reading, but unbeknownst to her, I had already learned how to read before I entered her class. I didn’t have an affinity for words; instead, I just had more practice with them then the other students. So even though I was at a young age, I did not let the label of being a “natural” at reading go to my head; I continued to practice reading.

Coaches tell some of their “star players” they are naturals at their sport. Upon hearing this, the athlete starts to slack off on practice because if the idea of a natural truly exists, then why even bother to practice? Stating that someone is a natural seems to create a certain mindset that since he or she is a natural at something, he or she can go against the 10,000 hour rule which is completely incorrect. Famous athletes have been told that he/she have a natural ability for the sport he/she plays, but the difference between them and the others who were told at an early age that he/she had a natural ability is instead of deciding not to practice, the famous athlete worked hard to gain recognition. Sure, some athletes are built to be star athletes, but physical ability is worthless if someone decides to rely on “natural” ability versus practiced skill.

Michael Jordan is a perfect example of an athlete that was not labeled as a natural at a young age, but then greatly surpassed those who were labeled as “naturals”. Carol Dweck describes Michael Jordan’s struggle to greatness in her book Mindset. She states that Michael Jordan was cut from his varsity basketball team in high school, wasn’t recruited by his college of choice, and even wasn’t drafted by two NBA teams that could have chosen him first. Michael Jordan pinpointed his mistakes and worked at the things he was struggling with, creating his own success. Now that Michael Jordan is seen as one of the most legendary basketball players of all time, some people still see his success as being his physicality and not his willingness to work.  Michael Jordan corrects their mindset by saying “The mental toughness and the heart are a lot stronger than some of the physical advantages you might have. I’ve always said that and I’ve always believed that.” 

I personally do not believe in such a thing as a “natural”. Physical maturation and opportunity is never considered when the label of a “natural” is being used. If someone wants to be successful in life, he or she must not rely on a label. As my track coach always told us “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” This means that the only way to surpass ability is with practice.

Michael Jordan: A Man of Many Failures

Michael Jordan’s new Nike commercial is the polar opposite than most of his other commercials. Past commercials that Michael Jordan has been in showed his basketball skills that truly excite any basketball fan; flying through the air to dunk the basketball and, of course, the crowd goes wild with excitement. No, this new commercial is something that astounds people, for it lists the legendary Air Jordan’s failures.

In the Nike commercial, Michael Jordan is seen getting out of a black SUV and walking down a hallway to what the audience presumes to be is toward an important basketball game. He seems to be confident in himself, however, not being intimidated by the flashing lights of the cameras, giving high-fives to security officers and head nods to janitors. The setting of the commercial is to show how important and respected Michael Jordan is. The setting is a huge contrast of what Michael Jordan is saying, however. As he is walking to the player’s entrance, Air Jordan is actually listing his failures.

“I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career; I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over in my life. And that's why I succeed.” For someone who ruled the late eighties and the nineties, viewers do not expect Michael Jordan to list the barriers that tried to keep him from success. His dialogue is what makes this commercial have an impact on viewers. He explains that in order to succeed, sometimes you must fail. Viewers should realize that life itself is full of trials and errors. Michael Jordan shows that in order to become an outlier, one must show dedication and a willingness to learn from failures.

Carol Dweck would label Michael Jordan as having a “growth mindset”. He learns from his mistakes instead of denying that his failures even happened. He doesn’t try to blame his failures on anyone besides himself. Society as a whole could take a lesson from Air Jordan. Society sees failure as being bad, but an individual with a “growth mindset” sees failure as being an opportunity to learn something. Michael Jordan didn’t put himself on a pedestal because he wants everyone to know that even the best athletes make mistakes. Even superstars don’t always have the brightest moments and Michael Jordan shows us this through his commercial about his own failures.

So You Got a Bad Test Grade? How Are You Going to Handle It?

College students who performed poorly were granted the opportunity to look at tests of other students. Dweck describes this opportunity on page 36 of her book Mindset and states “those in the growth mindset looked at the tests of people who had done far better than they had.” The students in the “growth mindset” did this because they want to “correct their deficiency” and they want to better themselves and learn from their failures. This gives the students in a "growth mindset" the advantage to become successful later on if they face the same challenge later on in life. Dweck goes on to describe that the students in the “fixed mindset” looked at the tests of people who had done worse than them. This is due to the students wanting to make themselves feel better by thinking, “well, at least I didn’t do as bad as that guy.” Everyone makes excuses sometime or another in their lives, but if you happen to be in a “fixed mindset”, how are you supposed to better yourself if you are not even able to accept your mistakes, such as making a low grade on a test?

Marita's Bargain

Marita is one of the students who attend the KIPP Academy in the South Bronx of New York City. The middle school is an institute in which you do not pass an entrance exam to get in; the students who attend this school are chosen by a lottery, and any fourth grade student who lives in the Bronx is allowed to apply. KIPP is “an organization that has succeeded by taking the idea of cultural legacies seriously” as said by Malcom Gladwell in his book Outliers. Gladwell also says “84 percent of the students are performing at or above their grade level” in mathematics. With expectations high and success rates undeniably high, you may be wondering what is the price for this academy that gives students in the Bronx a chance to get out of poverty and go on to a higher education? The price is not weighed in dollars, but it is instead a bargain you must keep if you attend this school. The school day is 7:25am to 5:00pm on the week days and 9:00am to 1:00pm on Saturdays. Summer vacation is shortened due to classes from 8:00am to 2:00pm held three weeks in July. The students who attend KIPP are “spending fifty to sixty percent more time learning than the traditional public school student”.  Determination and self-discipline are required of students who attend KIPP.

Marita must keep this bargain to attend the KIPP Academy. She wakes up at 5:45am and sometimes stays up till midnight to finish her homework, and then finally heads off to bed to wake up in the morning to do it all over again. This would be difficult for even an adult to do. Marita also has given up the friends she had outside the KIPP Academy. She gave up a “normal” childhood for one that promises to give her the opportunities she needs to get out of poverty and give them a chance to “get out”.