Malcolm Gladwell Quotes

There's very few people - like Shakespeare - who, no matter what, were gonna do what they did. For the rest of us, there's a lot of events that have to happen in order for things to end up the way they are.

Ability is nothing without opportunity.

Ability is of little account without opportunity.

You are only as great as the opportunities that are given to you.

I think there's a million talented people out there, it's just a matter of luck a lot of the time.

Take me as an example. I happen to have a talent for allocating capital. But my ability to use that talent is completely dependent on the society I was born into. If I'd been born into a tribe of hunters, this talent of mine would be pretty worthless. I can't run very fast. I'm not particularly strong. I'd probably end up as some wild animal's dinner.

It's no good being talented and not being in the right place at the right time.

Whatever we do, whatever our backgrounds, we've all had some kind of advantage somewhere along the way. Some break that might have gone to someone else. Some edge or inside track we couldn't have counted on.

Certain people get an opportunity because they happen to be in the right place at the right time. It has no bearing on their talent. I don't think we should look at it and feel bitter about it. That's the way the cookie crumbles in all professions.

The first thing to do is to arrange to be born in Paris. After that, everything follows quite naturally.

The Beatles are lucky, very lucky. But what has happened to them has nothing to do with them, in a sense. They came along at the right time. Attention was focused on them. They've had the chance to grow in almost any direction they wanted. Very lucky. They are not exceptionally talented.

The foundation of your life is luck. Hard work and talent make up the difference.

So much luck! I'm not putting myself down, I'm not saying I don't have talent - I must have, to have got this far - but I honestly believe that some of the greatest actors in America are tending bar and waiting tables and driving taxis, and it will never happen for them.

The luck of having talent is not enough; one must also have a talent for luck.

I'm not saying people shouldn't apply themselves and work hard. You do have to try to make your own luck. But I know people firsthand who worked incredibly hard, who were really smart, who never got into trouble, and still didn't get a break.

I feel like I have just been really, really lucky to meet some of the most successful and great actors alive today.

I feel fortunate that I'm able to play diverse roles. I don't think everybody in Hollywood gets the opportunity to do that.

Luck is a component that a lot of people in the arts sometimes fail to recognise: that you can have talent, perseverance, patience, but without luck you will not have a successful career.

I've come to learn that you can be very, very talented, but if you're not at the right place at the right time... It's a lot of luck.

There are a lot better musicians than me out there that just haven't had the luck to fall into everything like I have.

I haven't really ever had to audition for anything.

It seems to never occur to fools that merit and good fortune are closely united.

Acting is a mix of luck and choice. I got lucky.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Most political journalists come to Washington because they're snappy writers, big thinkers, or news breakers. Me? My ticket to the big leagues had little to do with talent. It was mostly about the governor I was covering, Bill Clinton.