The Truth About Success

When you talk about success in minority communities like our own, often times a single

phrase comes to mind-rags to riches. This phrase insinuates that, despite having the odds

stacked against them , individuals are able to make something out of nothing. At first look,

Antonette Loera seems to fit this description; she grew up in East Los Angeles with a family of

five siblings, and was raised by her grandparents because her father was in prison and her mother

was incapable of raising her children. Despite her situation, her hard work and determination

alone propelled her to success, right? Wrong.

To call Tonis life a rags to riches story would be much too simplistic of an

explanation. In Outliers, The Story of Success, the author, Malcolm Gladwell, states, The people

who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are

invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural

legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others

cannot(Gladwell, 19). She has never stood before royalty, but is the recipient of fleeting

opportunities, advantages hidden in setbacks, and the support she would never have had

anywhere else at any other time.

 Antonnette's future as a medical assistant was not always clear. In fact, the discovery of

her career was completely by chance. During interviewing, she revealed that one day, her older

sister came home with dental assistance pamphlets. These pamphlets inspired her to read into the

medical field, and as a result, she realized the direction she wanted to take herself in. Malcolm

Gladwell says, ...what truly distinguished their histories is not their extraordinary talent, but

their extraordinary opportunities .(Gladwell,55 this quote refers to some of the most successful

people of the last three decades, from the Beatles to Bill Gate. Antonnette is not Bill Gates, but

like him, her success was immensely a result of pure chance; Had her sister decided not to pursue

a career as a dental assistant, Antonnettes would have never discovered the pamphlets that

would make her realize the career she hoped to pursue.

Toni was born in East Los Angeles, but moved to Victorville, Nevada in her freshman

year of high school. The move didnt change the family's financial stability; they were still

stretching each and every dollar. However, she feels that she had no barriers growing up besides

constantly attending heavily overpopulated public schools. She had all the books, computers, and

supplies that she needed, and when she had no family to supply her of these commodities, she

walked to the library. She had the drive, she had the initiative, and she had the advantage of

living in solace where she could do whatever she needed to do. She had the advantage of having

access to books, computers, printers, and libraries, advantages disguised by her low income

family that supported her five other family members.

In this way, she is like Joe Flom, a New York Lawyer who began his career as a in 1954,

failing to get a job at the most highly esteemed law firms-even though he was one of the most

intelligent graduates of his class- because of his heritage. However, it was Joe Flom, and other

Jewish lawyers at the time, who unexpectedly turned around and became the most successful
lawyers by the 70s. Joe Flom did not succeed because of his hard work- at the beginning of his

career it had gotten him nowhere besides a hole-in-the-wall law firm. He succeeded because

during his career, the types of cases that the prestigious law firms would not take were the cases

that were becoming popular at exponential rates, cases that the Jewish lawyers were experts in.

Joe Flom entered lawat the perfect time, with the perfect skills, because by the time these

dirtycases were in demand, Joe Flom had attained invaluable experience, the tool that gave

him the edge over the white-collar law firms(Gladwell 145). The luck he experienced is not

unlike the luck Antonette experience when her sister walked into the house with her dental

assistance pamphlets, and in the same way Flom was equipped to attack the cases that were the

most popular in the 70s, Antonette was equipped with the skills and tools she graduate from

high school, and eventually, college.

Antonettes household was crowded- at one point,she and five other siblings, along with

her grandmother and grandfather were crowded into a three room, one bathroom home. Her

parents failed to make a positive impact in her life, as her father was in and out of prison, and her

mother was unable to support herself or her six children. Antonette had support though, as her

grandmother and grandfather filled the gaps left by her parents. Her grandmother, specifically,

played an important role in Antonettes life. Her grandmother is extremely supportive, leading

her to be a strong woman who works hard by example. Antonette said She was always doing

something, working at times and looking after us, she was always busy. Her grandmothers work

ethic rubbed off on Antonette, and along with encouragement from her grandmother, she was

motivated to graduate from high school, an achievement that so far only her oldest brother has

achieved. She is like Joe Flom in this way, too; Malcolm Gladwell writes The most important
consequence of the miracle of the garment industry, though, was what happened to the children

growing up i (Gladwell 151).

Based on Gladwells theories of success, Toni Loera is successful. She is not the tool by

which Success is achieved, she is the product of luck,advantage and legacy. She is not a rags to

riches story; everything shes ever achieved has been achieved as a result of something she was

inevitably not in control of. Had she not had her grandmother and her sister, she would not have

the support and opportunities she experienced, would not have been raised with strong values

and perseverance, and would not have been able to escape the poverty that has hindered her

family. Her success is a result of her hard work, however, it is also a result of her hidden

advantages, and opportunities that changed her life. Today, her dream is to work with children,

to help them heal their wounds, and to make them stronger. She will be able to achieve her goal,

because she is determined and hardworking, but also because she has the luck and resources to

do whatever she hopes to achieve.