No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.
Malcolm GladwellRead
It is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Success often breeds more success through advantages and opportunities.
In this quote, Malcolm Gladwell discusses the concept of 'accumulative advantage,' suggesting that individuals who achieve success are more likely to receive additional opportunities that further enhance their success. This creates a cycle where those already successful gain more resources, support, and advantages, while those who are less successful have fewer opportunities to advance, highlighting the social dynamics that contribute to inequality.
Themes
SuccessOpportunityAdvantageInequalityEducation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a panel discussion about educational inequality and the importance of providing equal opportunities for all students.
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The people at the top don't work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder.
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Achievement is talent plus preparation. The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.
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When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. And this drives me crazy. Why can't there be a stairway? At least make it as easy to exercise as it is to not exercise. It's in society's interest for me to take the stairs.
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Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning.
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