Outliers

When reading the last chapter, Epilogue:A Jamacian Story, of Outliers I felt a deep connection between Gladwell's family story and my own. Both of our ancestors were born into poverty and through a series of events that were a mix of luck and skill, our families eventually tasted success.

As Gladwell writes, "My great-great-great grandmother was bought at Alligator Pond. That act, in turn, gave her son, John Ford, the privilege of a skin color that spared him a life of slavery … and my mother’s education was the product of the riots of 1937 and industriousness of Mr. Chance. These were history’s gifts to my family -- and if the resources of that grocer, the fruits of those riots, the possibilities of that culture, and the privileges of that skin tone had been extended to others, how many more would now live a life of fulfillment, in a beautiful house high on a hill?”

I wonder the same about my family. Because of the violence in Ireland from the Irish War of Independence, my great-great parents decided to migrate to the U.S. My great-great grandmother had been a seamstress and daughter my great grandmother how to sew. Therefore, my great grandmother got a job in a garment factory, where she met her future sister in law. Since my great grandmother valued education she decided to send my grandfather to Catholic school despite their horrid living situation. My grandfather received a decent education yet he could not find a stable job. But then luck struck.My great-aunts stunning beauty caught the attention of a mobster. If it were not for her beauty, she wouldn't have married my Uncle Tony. If my great-aunt didn't marry my Uncle Tony, then my grandfather would not have gotten a job at Pegasus, which allowed him to earn enough money to move to Dyker Brooklyn. If my grandfather had not moved to Dyker, he would never had met John Bellino, a handy man who offered my grandfather side jobs. If my grandfather did not bring my father to these side jobs, my father would have never realized his natural talent to build things and assemble appliances. Furthermore, if my father had not decided to leave college to work with his brother, he would never had met Greg, who was the first person to take him seriously and offer him a job. This is where my father’s skills and work ethic come to play. By working hard and for long hours, my father quickly rose up the corporate ladder, giving him the confidence to eventually start his own business. As you can see, all of these events are connected and have ultimately led to success. As Gladwell mentions in the chapter Epilogue: A Jamaican Story, “The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all.” My father became successful because of a mixture of luck, being at the right place at the right time, meeting the right people, and being charismatic. Of course he had a natural ability to put things together; a skill that was developed at a young age because of the exposure my grandfather gave him. Therefore, I agree with Gladwell, that a serious of luck and opportunistic events can lead to one’s success. I wonder if another uneducated handyman had the resources, charisma, and job opportunity that my father had, would they too be running their own successful business?