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Achievement is talent plus preparation
Malcolm Gladwell
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Achievement results from both natural ability and adequate preparation.

This quote by Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes that success is not solely determined by inherent talent; rather, it is a combination of one's abilities and the preparation they undertake to refine and enhance those abilities. It suggests that diligent practice and groundwork play a crucial role in achieving goals, indicating that effort and perseverance are as important as raw talent.

Themes

AchievementTalentPreparationSuccessEffort

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote during a motivational speech to inspire students about the importance of hard work.

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No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.
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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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