There are some people, who I'll charitably call snobs, who are dismissive of any conversation that doesn't begin with the full level of complexity. That's just not how the world works. Malcolm Gladwell More Quotes by Malcolm Gladwell More Quotes From Malcolm Gladwell I interviewed one of the most powerful lawyers in the world and he told me, "At the time, it was the worst thing in the world not to be able to get a job at a fancy law firm, but it's the greatest thing that ever happened in my life." It was a humble acknowledgment of how forces much larger than himself shaped his career. I really wanted to bring that point home. Malcolm Gladwell powerful home jobs The successful are those who have been given opportunities. Malcolm Gladwell presence-of-mind successful opportunity A prediction, in a field where prediction is not possible, is no more than a prejudice. Malcolm Gladwell predictions prejudice fields In the act of tearing something apart, you lose its meaning. Malcolm Gladwell blink loses success Why are man hole covers around?" If you don't knwo the answer to the questions, you're not smart enough to work at microsoft Malcolm Gladwell microsoft smart men Where they come from matters. They're products of particular places and environments. Malcolm Gladwell environment particular matter So, it's a very, you know - maybe we're wrong in - you know, we go around thinking the innovator is the person who's first to kind of conceive of something. And maybe the innovation process continues down the line to the second and the third and the fourth entrant into a field. Malcolm Gladwell innovation lines thinking Policy is driven by more than politics, however. It is equally driven by ideas. Malcolm Gladwell policy driven ideas What happens when two people talk? That is really the basic question here, because, that's the basic context in which all persuasion takes place. Malcolm Gladwell persuasion two people Humans socialize in the largest groups of all primates because we are the only animals with brains large enough to handle the complexities of that social arrangement. Malcolm Gladwell groups brain animal It is quite possible for people who have never met us and who have spent only twenty minutes thinking about us to come to a better understanding of who we are than people who have known us Malcolm Gladwell people years thinking Choking is about thinking too much. Panic is about thinking too little. Choking is about loss of instinct. Panic is reversion to instinct. They may look the same, but they are worlds apart. Malcolm Gladwell loss looks thinking An innate gift and a certain amount of intelligence are important, but what really pays is ordinary experience. Malcolm Gladwell important ordinary pay Sometimes constraints actually create success. Not being able to swim made me run. And running taught me the discipline I needed as a writer. Malcolm Gladwell discipline swim running Success is not a function of individual talent. It's the steady accumulation of advantages. It's bound up in so many other broader circumstantial, environmental, historical, and cultural factors. Malcolm Gladwell individual-talent environmental historical Happiness, in one sense, is a function of how closely our world conforms to the infinite variety of human preference. Malcolm Gladwell preference our-world infinite Father: 'Anything but journalism.' I rebelled. Malcolm Gladwell journalism father The Rule of 150 says that congregants of a rapidly expanding church, or the members of a social club, or anyone in a group activity banking on the epidemic spread of shared ideals needs to be particularly cognizant of the perils of the bigness. Crossing the 150 line is a small change that can make a big difference. Malcolm Gladwell small-changes epidemics differences There are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world. Malcolm Gladwell first-impression stress mean Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push - in just the right place - it can be tipped. Malcolm Gladwell tipping looks world
