Introduction
The secret of becoming successful might remain unveiled for many people until the end of their lives. However, evidently, according to the course readings there are some hints and check points which a person should undergo in order to reach success. There are a lot of ideas that occupy people’s minds since the times of Confucius that help other people get educated on various topics like human nature, and ways to develop your own virtues.
Outliers
One of the great books that make you indulge in reading is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. This book is a nice representation of unearthing the details of the path of well-know people to their recognition. Of course, it is not a combination of biographies of celebrities and their ways to success. More, it is a book of the hidden circumstances that follow the rising of the stars due to specific circumstances rather than the innate abilities or IQ. The author calls those uncharacterized features the “intangibles”. The author presents completely new understanding of the necessary attributes for a person to become successful in career planning. Those are the child’s birth time, the person’s tenacity and agility, and the income level rather than IQ and talent.
Moreover, the best example of this book presents the lives of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc. in terms of their being famous in computer science. Gladwell says that they might not be so famous if they were possibly born ten years earlier. They would not have an access to the high school/ college computers, hence the interest would not appear, Subsequently they would not get the best out of their abilities in that sphere by the mid of their thirties when the computers really took over almost everything.
Besides, a key to success might not really lie too deep. To belong to the specific culture really matters in terms of achieving overall success. As per Gladwell, American students do spend less time in school than, for instance, Asians do. Without any doubt, Americans are short of academic experience unless they truly decide to continue studies on their own. However, it has to be noticed that Gladwell is a good story teller rather than a statistical analyst in terms of achieving success theme. One can get completely disappointed in case wanting to find some scholarly examples in the book. Moreover, when thinking about the success components according to Gladwell you can’t really find the justified proofs to what he states, just the fiction – like stories. For example, in contradiction to the theory of Bill Gates’ predestination in this world it is possible to draw the opinion of destiny’s mighty power. Who said that success of a specific person depends on times he/she lives in? It is pathetic to think that a person having some talents cannot make a go of it just because he happened to be born in a wrong time and place. If the theory of our destiny is taken seriously then Bill Gates would reach his utmost no matter what century he is born in.
Confucius The Analects
Another brilliant book that represents different insight on being successful in life is Confucius’ The Analects. It is a prominent book written by the students of Confucius many centuries ago and successfully translated into many languages nowadays. This gives modern people a precious opportunity to get acquainted with wise advice on how to achieve success. Unlike Outliers this book is looking at the matter of success from inside disregarding the surrounding circumstances. Confucius claims that the root of your success lies in your inner self. In order to achieve best results I life one has to change own attitude and view on it at first place. No one is to blame in your own failures, ups and downs. There is a certain chain of self-developments that a person needs to undergo. Among them is wisdom, self-courage, and love. The actual philosophy is being a good person for your own good not for the sake of achieving success via this mean. The main theme Confucius is conveying to people is not seeking the beneficial ways towards success. On the contrary, the success might not be needed afterwards because a person might already feel completely rich in terms of soul filling. It is very interesting how Confucius makes fun of people who are longing to know about life after life. The interesting thing is how a person who knows merely nothing about life can care about death more. It is evident that this very philosophy makes one think about the world around you and what you really mean to yourself. This is probably a key to success, indeed. Neither no one is responsible for other’s failures nor does nothing impact other’s achievements, as per Gladwell. The right thing is to look inside yourself and start changing the world from the bottom of your soul.
The Essential Feminist Reader
One of the most prominent books on the history of feminism is The Essential Feminist Reader by Estelle Freedman. Reading it would be a great opportunity to know more about the women’s rights development through times and ages. Everybody who starts to learn the feminism subject and its origin should definitely get this book for more profound reading. Moreover, the book is not only a good manual of history, but a perfect representation of needs of a specific gender in specific historical periods which is subsequently implied as success’ essence. No wonder people are looking for the ingredients of success throughout centuries in different spheres of life because the categories of success and happiness are different for every person.
In the book The Essential Feminist Reader it is explicitly shown how the rights of women within different time periods were violated. This boo may serve a perfect implementation of manifest of women’s rights, if needed. Thereby, we can clearly understand what it takes for women of previous centuries to be successful. Bound with household chores, giving birth to kids, and the latter upbringing women had to occupy these roles and not even try to cross these boundaries drawn by men. In the book there is reference to Bible for authority that says that women should be equally treated throughout. Many issues like adultery, sexual liberation, right to vote, etc. are touched upon in The Essential Feminist Reader. The success here is regarded as a certain politically outlined goal achieving of which will entail complete happiness of women.
Critical Race Theory
“The critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power” (Delgado, p.2). Talking about race, racism, and power in this book is the main theme which development leads to the theoretical results that supposedly lead the country to success. The question is what a reader should derive from the content of the book as a key to success. Of course, the book is really powerful in terms of unveiling the specific traits of how we live, some major examples are presented, and some very crucial life situations are described. However, the purpose is not to sympathize or regret about the things, the main aim is putting the theories aside but use those in order to understand what the reasons for our society being latently split are.
Once again the main theme of the book is subsequently moved to promotion of equality – racial this time. So, to be concise, it has to be said here that the actual way to success of the entire American society is become equal and cohesive as a nation disregarding the backgrounds. Therefore, the main point discussed in between the lines of the book and also directly is the ways to achieve this unity. Although we have a long background history of the racial discrimination and civil rights movements the author Richard Delgado claims that it is possible to achieve mutual success within the country’s domestic issues by actually admitting we have those at first place. As a matter of fact, this has much in common with Confucius theory. In order to solve the problem the society has to face its existence and then therefore find its roots. Besides, if we start examining the daily interactions and find racial component in them it can help move the society toward racial equality, indeed.
Thinking of the racial issues critically may prove to open new understanding to the problem in general. The book offers to imagine the situation when people see each other in the street and one smiles to another and the second doesn’t. So, the facets of adopting the critical race theory are various depending on which of the persons in the street is black, and which one is white. Hence, the theory gives a hint on thinking about race issues differently, from different perspectives, having dome views changed; thereby the actual attitude might be changed, too. This is how a self-improvement method works here within too. The reconsideration of personal feelings, attitudes, and views always leads to new understandings and hence success.
Conclusion
The key to success is a very diverse topic. There are no precise guidelines that one should follow in order to achieve one. According to Gladwell the success is something really far from being merely talented and that’s all. The outliers’ success entirely depends on the circumstances they live under and born within, because “they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities… ” (Gladwell, p.19). However, there still is a wonderful way to become successful within your inner self and, hence, might become successful in the outside world, too according to Confucius:”When you make a mistake, do not be afraid of mending your ways” (p. 60). So, it is possible to change yourself in order to have another look at this world. Indeed, some people contemplate their deeds and actions precisely and as a result change the views. This subsequently leads to the change of personality whose life values change, too. Sometimes, people do get to the point of success via reconsidering their being. Just like women did when they understood that “…they have minds skilled in conceptualizing and learning, just like men, why don’t women learn more?” (Freedman, p.7). So, the battle for equality flamed up. Eventually women will gain their freedoms in the twentieth century. So, hopefully all people will acquire their own success sometime.
Works Cited
Confucius., Lau D. C. The Analects. New York: Penguin Classics, 1998. Print.
Delgado, Richard., Stefancic, Jean. Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York: NYU Press, 2001. Print
Freedman, Estelle. The Essential Feminist Reader. New York: Modern Library, 2007. Print.
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Print.