Character isn't what we think it is or, rather, what we want it to be. It isn't a stable, easily identifiable set of closely related traits, and it only seems that way because of a glitch in the way our brains are organized. Character is more like a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstance and context.
Malcolm GladwellWhat is learned out of hard work and trial is inevitably more powerful than what is learned easily.
Malcolm GladwellThere 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 GladwellIt is those who are successful, in other words, who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. Itโs the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. Itโs the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And itโs the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call โaccumulative advantage.
Malcolm Gladwell