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Hannah Caplin
Ms. Dahle
English 1010
14 September 2015
The Magic Number of Greatness

In Outliers: The Story of Success, chapter two, Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes the idea
that in order for a person to be successful, he or she must practice a skill for approximately
10,000 hours. Gladwell begins by introducing a gawky teenager (35) named Bill Joy and
relates the events and opportunities that ultimately led to his success. Joy began attending the
University of Michigan the same year that the schools Computer Center opened. The Center
contained enormous mainframe computers (35) with dozens of keypunch machines. Joy
stumbled upon the Computer Center late in his freshman year, and it quickly became his life. He
spent hours there programming and was able to practice on a time-sharing system, which was an
opportunity that most people in the 1970s never had. Additionally, the Michigan system had a
bug in it, which meant Joy could program all he wanted. Last, the Computer Center was open all
night, which allowed Joy to put in, maybe...ten thousand hours (47).
Gladwell shares many other stories of successful people, including hockey players, the
Beatles, and Bill Gates. All of these people have something in common besides talent and ability.
According to Gladwell, they were practicing purposefully and single-mindedly... with the
intent to get better (39). Each of these people took advantage of some sort of special

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opportunity for practice (47). Without those opportunities or time (10,000 hours) that they
dedicated to practicing their skill, they simply would not be what the world knows them as
today: rock stars, famous athletes, computer geniuses, and one of the worlds richest men.
Gladwells purpose in writing this chapter is this: Practice isnt the thing you do once
youre good. Its the thing you do that makes you good (42). In order to become successful,
Gladwell believes one must distinguish themselves from others by how hard he or she works.
Gladwell instructs that this can be achieved through preparation and, most importantly, an
enormous amount of practice. Ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness (41).
Gladwell effectively portrays his message and achieves his purpose in writing this
chapter through the use of storytelling, numbers and graphics, and questions. Gladwell employes
a specific storytelling strategy to invite us, the readers, to discover the unexpected and to change
our approach because of it. He describes the background stories of Bill Joy, Mozart, The Beatles,
and Bill Gates to convince us that what we thought we knew isnt so. We discover Bill Joy spent
thousands of days and nights programming at the University of Michigan; Mozart didnt write
his genius works until he had thousands of hours of practice; The Beatles slaved away in
Hamburg, Germany for thousands of hours before they emerged as stars. Bill Gates mom
secured an early computer for his school for a computer club so the boys could spend thousands
of hours coding. We settle in for a story that will show what geniuses there men were even from
the beginning. Were shocked. We find out that what truly distinguishes their [successful
people] histories is not their extraordinary talent but their extraordinary opportunities (55).

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Because Gladwell has drawn us in through the use of personal stories and detail, we pay
attention when Gladwell draws the larger lesson that extraordinary-seeming people benefit from
extraordinary opportunities (55). Were convinced through specific, interesting examples, that
what weve assumed isnt true. Greatly successful people arent necessarily outliers because
theyre geniuses. Opportunity matters. None of the people examined would have been successful
had they not had the opportunity and practice. Discovering the truth of their successes, we, as
readers, begin to change our assumptions about what determines success.
In addition to including entertaining and factual stories in his writing, Gladwell also
includes numbers and graphics as a rhetorical strategy to aid in enlightenment and discovery.
Numbers and graphics help the reader visualize the information in order to understand the
significance that Gladwell places on it. The use of numbers and graphics is also a way for
Gladwell to establish credibility with his readers allowing them to discover factual information
and evidence that Gladwell provides. For example, the number 10,000 is meant to shock the
reader and help him realize that it takes a great amount of practice time to become successful.
Most people are not willing to practice a skill for approximately 10,000 hours--only the outliers
are willing, and thats what sets them apart. Gladwell also includes a chart near the end of the
chapter that allows his readers to take a close look at the...seventy-five richest people in human
history (56). People believe numbers and charts thus the author gains credibility for his claims
by incorporating them into his writing while also enlightening the readers about the amount of
practice time each person rendered.

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Finally, Gladwell asks questions in order to draw the reader into the text. This strategy is
effective in helping him achieve his purpose of entertaining his readers and allowing them to
gain insight and to discover ideas. By asking questions, the author allows readers to ponder the
stories, numbers, and charts, and to reflect on them as if they are in a conversation with
Gladwell. For example, Gladwell poses questions such as, And what did virtually all of those
opportunities have in common? (54). This allows the reader to stop and think, and effectively
ties the stories into one main purpose. It also helps the reader to consider that Gladwell wants
them to understand that the thing that distinguishes one person from another is how hard he or
she works. This can be achieved through preparation and most importantly, an enormous amount
of practice. Another example is when he asks, Is the ten-thousand-hour rule a general rule of
success? (47).
The strategy of questioning the reader is effective because I found myself reflecting,
pondering, and thinking about his message. It left me inspired to dedicate my time and effort to
my skills until I have done all that I can. While reading Gladwells comments about the patterns
that emerge from practice and dedication, I considered examples from my own life. I thought
about my work ethic and the amount of time that I put into my drill team and how I can stand out
simply by putting in the extra hours. Gladwell expressed it with great perception when he stated
that individuals dont just float effortlessly to the top (39) without putting in an enormous
amount of hard work and determination. In my own personal life, I have seen first hand that the
ones who ultimately succeed are the ones who are steadily increasing their practice time in order

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to perfect their skill. One example of this is my dad. Hes always the first one in to work in the
mornings and the last one to leave at night. My dad is never satisfied by doing something
halfway. He puts in the time to make his work the best it can be. I have noticed that the more
time he spends practicing a skill, the better he becomes at completing it in the long run. The
thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works (39).
One of Gladwells purposes for writing this book is to inspire his readers and change their
views about success. Before reading this book, I would have believed the Bill Gates rags-toriches stories (120). But if Gladwell has taught me anything in this book, its this: people rise
only from opportunities and an enormous amount of time practicing their skill. Society tends to
idolize successful people because of the belief that their talent alone helped them become great,
and I now believe that is flawed. In order to develop qualities of success, a person must also be
motivated and self-driven, and spend more time than others are willing to in order to achieve
success. These characteristics are essential. Thats what differentiates a successful person from
an unsuccessful person. I believe that if Gladwell was able to deliver that message to even just
one member of his audience, he was successful in writing this book, and he did it with great skill.
Perhaps he has practiced his craft of writing, approximately 10,000 hours.

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Works Cited
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown, and Company.
2008. Print.