The Myth of Money and Success and That of Gender Essay

Everyone around you can achieve great success. Most people achieve success in things they are good at or strive towards with full courage of completing the task. The question that is now in demand is what is success? Margaret Mead, in her book The Egalitarian Error defines success as, “while we often rejoice in success of people far removed from ourselves… we tend to regard the success of people close at hand…as a threat.” I can’t agree with her statement. To make such a generalized claim about Americans, as if they are all the same and think and act the same way is not credible. Furthermore, in her statement she provides no evidence to support her claim. Therefore, while it may be true of some people, I cannot agree that it is true of all, or even most Americans.

Success is measured differently by every person and each and every culture. The journey to success in most cultures, however, is generally idealized in the same way: one person working harder than everyone else to achieve his or her goal with their own merits as their only advantage. In Outliers: The Story of Success, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, argues about how wrong that ideology is and the truth behind successful people. Throughout his guide, Gladwell employs the help of many argumentative techniques to convince the reader of his message.

Success has been pondered over for centuries. How does one gain success? Is it worked for or is it only designated for a special few? Looking past the multitude of self help books that have been written, many like Malcolm Gladwell have begun to consider factors beyond just “working for it” as a contributor to success. One of these factors are cultural legacies. Though it is true that cultural legacies can be extremely powerful and that we should acknowledge them when considering someone’s success, it should be evident that the extent of power culture has is less than what Gladwell proposes. The place someone originated from has extremely influential effects on how that person thinks and acts, and in turn how they gain their success. The culture they grew up with becomes deeply rooted in their minds and results in different thought processes that shape the mindset they have while developing into an individual. However, Gladwell overestimates how powerful

More specifically, the circumstances and factors that lead to success. In today’s society, success is seen as something brought unto people wholly and entirely through a singular person’s abilities and effort. That line of thinking is inherently flawed, seeing as “success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities,” (Gladwell 155). Where and when a person is born matters.

When I think of wildly successful people, people like Michelle Obama and Steve Jobs come to mind; my name usually does not appear on the list. Granted, I have not invented anything of use to the general public, or dedicated my life to any worthy cause, nor am I making oodles of money by anyone’s standards. But in other ways, am I not as successful as them? I have (generally) earned good grades, I have great friends, I am hardworking and independent, and I have skills that many people do not have. However, in the same vein, how much of my success can I really claim as my own? Just like Malcolm Gladwell observed in his book Outliers, there is always a lot more to success than there appears to be—and as I found out in the course of analyzing

The American Dream is the idea that financial success, upward social mobility, and overall prosperity can be achieved with perseverance and hard work. It’s the idea that anyone, even the very poor, can make a better life for themselves if they are willing to work for it. It’s an idea that has become integral to American society, encouraging us to put in an effort to see our dreams come to fruition. However, when it comes down to individual experiences, it turns out that accomplishing the traditionally agreed-upon American Dream gets a lot messier than it’s made out to be. Using the books Nickel and Dimed and The Color of Water, as well as the movie Enron- The Smartest Guys in the Room, both similarities and differences can be found when it comes to what achieving the American Dream really means.

The meaning of “success” has numerous interpretations, whether it is your own or society’s definition. Within Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell explains that being successful has nothing to do with your personality, so whether you are intelligent and hardworking or lazy and aloof, it depends on your circumstances growing up. Whether your parents are immigrants, you are the smartest man alive or have a habit of rigorous practice, your own personal success differs. However, Gladwell says that the conditions you grow up in affects your success. The idea of being successful varies from culture to culture. Therefore, there’s no definite meaning of success other than one’s interpretation.

Success is what the American Dream is all about. Many people are motivated by the promise of a better life, hence they chase dollar bills all their lives in the hopes of living out the American Dream - a fantasy which only money can buy. The American economic system is designed to meet the needs of the upper class, as it ignores problems of ethnic minorities.

Success is a funny thing. Some define success as having a lot of money or a high power career. Others define it as how happy a person is within their life. No matter how success is defined, Margaret Mead's view on success applies. "But while we often rejoice in the success of people far removed from ourselves-people who work in another profession, live in another community, or are endowed with a talent that we do not especially want for ourselves-we tend to regard the success of people close at hand, within our own small group, as a threat" (Margaret Mead). Mead traveled the world studying different cultures and would be able to observe this behavior in cultures outside of America. Her statement isn't specific to one culture or another; it

To begin with, success does not necessarily mean having the best home in a city, or owning the car of the year. Everyone’s view of success can be very divergent. It can all depend on where a person stands, or what their past was like. For example, there can be students who might be the first in their families to attend college and getting a college degree can easily turn into their American Dream, it may even be their parents’ dream as well. In addition, the view of Individual opportunity for an undocumented homeless man may differ from the views of an American with a college degree. Owning a home, having

What do we pursue as humans? What is our goal in life? How do we get there? Success has many interpretations which are based on values and cultural backgrounds. We view success from different angles for some success might be wealth, for others popularity or simply waking up another day. Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers gives us a perspective of universal success and the many factors that need to be considered to achieve it. The book tells us that talent isn’t a guarantee for success and it shows that culture, timing, and opportunity play a big role in a person’s attainment of success.

“In our competitive society, stress is placed on personal achievement. This is measured by accomplishments, such as economic ones. Success emphasizes rewards. Success is involved with activity; failure is often assigned to character defects. success is often equated with bigness and newness.” Achievement and success drive the modern day American. America is a place where success can be grasped but not by everyone. This is why success and achievement do not accurately describe American society.

The American dream can be defined as the promise of living in America with opportunities for all, regardless of social class, and according to their ability and effort (Schnell, 2010). Proponents of the American dream believe that there is equal opportunity for all in the American society to achieve success. Success is not pegged on social status, race, or creed, but rather on an individual’s own efforts. The definition of the American dream has unique interpretations to different people. The most common meaning is that of a life of abundance and prosperity, characterized by economic rewards that enable one to live a middle class life of comfort. Here, success is measured by material possessions such as beautiful homes, cars, a high

This paper will explore the economic differences between men and women and will talk about the current solutions as well as future possibilities.

In the 21st century, many people believe that we have overcome the obstacle of gender inequality and evolved into a society of fairness and righteousness. As many know, females can be just as proficient and qualified as males at any task. Though some efforts to off-set this gender imbalance is in place, it is still commonly acknowledged that many careers are stated to be a male job such as lawyers, and female jobs such as secretaries. Gender inequality is a visible fact in our society and in this essay, I hypothesize that gender inequality still exists as a result of factors such as post-secondary education differences of the two genders, role of females in families, female objectification, career choice differences of the two genders, and