Success Is Not Achieved by Following a Formula

In chapter two of Outliers, Gladwell argues that reaching success in any field of life can be achieved by practicing a task for 10,000 hours cumulatively. Through the use of anecdote, Gladwell conveys the success stories of individuals such as Bill Joy, Bill Gates, and the Beatles, and how having exceeded the 10,000 hour rule played into their prosperity. Although dedicating mass amounts of time to something like computer coding will result in mastery, 10,000 hours is an arbitrary number. There are many other components that determine success.

Including socioeconomic status, gender, and race that show Gladwell’s premise is not entirely true.

Pschology professor Zach Hambrick conducted a study on chess players and musicians, reanalyzing data collected from related studies. The study evaluated the extent to which high level chess players and musicians practiced in order to reach mastery in their field. The statistical analysis contradicts Gladwell’s premise. Their findings regarding musicians states that “only 30%… could be accounted for by how much time they spent practicing.

” Additionally, “practice only accounted for 34% of what determined the rank of a master [chess] player” (Szalavitz). This disputes the idea that mastery is dependent on 10,000 hours of practice. Passion and natural talent play a large role in mastering chess and the violin. Some may be born with innate ability to have an ear for music, whilst others do not, putting those with the ability for it at an advangtage. Practicing from a young age, consistently, allows the individual reach mastery, before they have even reached 10,000 hours.

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There are many factors that play a role in leading an individual to success, not all being practice time. Practicing is completely necessary and essential to the growth of a musician or a chess player, something that stays consistent. However, practice may not be a determinant factor in fields that are less stable than chess and classical music. In “entrepreneurship and rock and roll, rules can go out the window,” (Baer) and practice is not the most important element. According to Gladwell, “business leaders [tend] to come from privileged backgrounds,” (Gladwell, 63). Having access to opportunities that foster growth puts the privileged few at an advantage over most in society. The most successful entrepreneurs may not be the best entrepreneurs, but they are the ones provided with the best circumstances to rise to those positions.

Success is not achieved by following a formula. The fact of the matter is that those born into wealth and privilege have a leg up in society, while people with a lower socioeconomic status will always have to try harder and work longer to achieve what the wealthy have.