“… If you work hard enough and assert yourself,
and use your mind and imagination,
you can shape the world to your desires”
(Malcolm Gladwell)

What do you think success depends on? Someone will say that success is the result of hard work, wealthy relatives, or just a good chance.

Well, in part, each of these options is true. All these components were described in the book “Outliers: the story of success” by Malcolm Gladwell.

Malcolm Gladwell is the author of five New York Times bestsellers – The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. Gladwell has been included in the TIME 100 Most Influential People list and touted as one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers. He is also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, an audio content company that produces the podcasts Revisionist History.

In ‘Outliers’, Gladwell explores factors that contribute to high levels of success.

“Who we are cannot be separated from where we are from” – This quote perfectly describes one of the ideas of the book: a great influence on the success of people takes place where they were born and raised. For example, why do Asians understand mathematics better than people in other regions? As you know, the main occupation of many Asians is the cultivation of rice. In order to grow a good rice crop, it was necessary to do a lot of mathematical calculations: water level, frequency of watering, the distance between sprouts.

Of course, such work has left а mark on the people, who inhabit this region.

“And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.” I agree with this phrase 100%. If you work hard and sincerely believe in what you are doing, you will surely succeed. Gladwell, like other researchers, comes to the conclusion: talent without regular polishing is nothing.

In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours.  Let’s count how much time you need to work hard. 10,000 hours is about 417 days, that is, a little more than 1 year. The average working day is 8 hours, 10,000 hours = 1250 days or 3.5 years. We remember about holidays and vacations and get about 5 years. So much time you need to work 40 hours a week to accumulate 10,000-hour experience in a particular area. And if we recall about procrastination and constant distractions and honestly admit that we concentrate and work efficiently for 4-5 hours a day, then you will have to grow 8 years to the level of a master.

As a result, there are two news bits- bad and good. The first is that 10,000 hours is a lot. The second – everyone can make great success in their field, regardless of their natural inclinations, if they work hard.

“Let’s look at this theory as an example of the legendary musician”
(Mozart).

Compared to the works of mature composers, Mozart’s early works don`t differ a lot. Many of Wolfgang’s children’s works, such as the first 7 concerts for piano and orchestra, are for the most part a compilation of works by other composers. Of Mozart’s concerts, the earliest considered great were written by him at 21. By this time, Mozart had been composing music for 10 years.

So this book will help you believe that anything is possible, you may be able to identify your strengths that will help you achieve success because “success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities.” It was said by Malcolm Gladwell.