He Said, She Said.

Outliers: the Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell, is really the story of rich and high socially ranked people. Gladwell tells the tales of Silicon Valley billionaires, top New York lawyers, star athletes, etc. His view of success, as it seems, is that only the rich and people high in society can be considered successful. How they became successful is not just by their own terms either. He claims that “We pretend that success is exclusively a matter of individual merit. But there’s nothing in any of the histories we’ve looked at so far to suggest things are that simple... Their success was not just of their own making. It was a product of the world in which they grew up.”(pg. 67) This is Gladwell’s attitude throughout the book. He seems to be pushing a point that the way to be successful is already predestined and if you pass up on even one opportunity, then you will be passing up on being successful, according to Gladwell’s term of success. His way of measuring success is seen perfectly when he discusses Lewis Terman and his “Termites”. He states, “But few of [Terman’s] geniuses were nationally known figures. They tended to earn good incomes – but not that good.” (pg. 89) Not once does Gladwell speak of the “Termites” happiness or whether or not they feel self-fulfilled with their lives. So, in all reality, Gladwell’s view of success can be summed up at something of materialistic and shallow.

Mindset: the New Psychology of Success, written by Carol Dweck, is what she claims the book to be. Dweck focuses more on how a person’s mindset can affect how someone becomes successful or not. She shows how someone can fulfill his/her own potential and succeed, according to his/her own terms. Throughout her book, Dweck focuses on two mindsets, growth mindset and fixed mindset, and shows how these mindsets differ. On page 245 of Mindset, Dweck shows the two different mindsets and how they deal with challenges, obstacles, effort, criticism, and success of others. Those with fixed mindsets, as a result, “…may plateau early and achieve less that their full potential.” Those with growth mindsets, however, “reach ever higher levels of achievements.” (pg.245) Dweck states that “Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving.” (pg.98) Though Dweck uses famous athletes, a neurosurgeon, and famous artists to make her point, she does not say that the way success is measured is in the hands of others. Her book is all about bettering yourself and how success is more about achieving your goals and finding happiness.

Though both Gladwell and Dweck’s books are about success, the similarities of the books end there. Gladwell uses his book to just tell a story, while Dweck uses her book to inspire. Gladwell uses his book as more of a conspiracy theory, showing that the rich and high socially ranked people were born at the right time, location, and to the right family. Dweck uses her book more as a motivational work, encouraging people to approach life with a growth mindset and succeed by your own terms, not others. Personally, I agree with Dweck more than Gladwell. Her book just has more personal depth than Gladwell’s does. I actually learned that sometimes I have a fixed mindset to obstacles, and I will certainly work on that.