--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: there is something profoundly wrong with…" description: "\"“there is something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success. What is the question we always ask about the successful? We want to know wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/malcolm-gladwell-348_personal-qualities_there-is-something-profoundly-wrong-with_2717889.png" --- # there is something profoundly wrong with the way we make… ![“there is something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success. What is the question we always ask about the successful? We want to know what they’re like—what kind of personalities they have, or how intelligent they are, or what kind of lifestyles they have, or what special talents…” quote by Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/malcolm-gladwell-348_personal-qualities_there-is-something-profoundly-wrong-with_2717889.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/malcolm-gladwell-348_personal-qualities_there-is-something-profoundly-wrong-with_2717889.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/malcolm-gladwell-348_personal-qualities_there-is-something-profoundly-wrong-with_2717889.png) > ““there is something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success. What is the question we always ask about the successful? We want to know what they’re like—what kind of personalities they have, or how intelligent they are, or what kind of lifestyles they have, or what special talents they might have been born with. And we assume that it is those personal qualities that explain how that individual reached the top.”” [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success is often attributed to personal traits, overlooking systemic and contextual factors that enable achievement. **In simple terms:** Success isn’t just about personality. Key Takeaway Consider environment and opportunity. Themes success culture misattribution Mood analytical critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - career advice - education reform - talent scouting - entrepreneurship Key Concepts sociology meritocracy Questions to Reflect On - What external factors contributed to the success? - How can we recognize systemic advantages? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on traits can ignore structural inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-successful-634556/) [Personal qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-qualities/) [Qualities Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities-explain-2858305/) [Sense Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-success-890123/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-question-2787395/) ## Related quotes > [“there is something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/there-is-something-profoundly-wrong-with-the-way-we-make-sense-of/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Success is not a question of how much power or money you have acquired. It is a question of how satisfied you are with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordana-biernat/success-is-not-a-question-of-how-much-power-or-money-you-have/) [Gordana Biernat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordana-biernat/) > [To freely bloom that is my definition of success. The question then is, How does arguing with our children advance our goal that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/to-freely-bloom-that-is-my-definition-of-success-the-question-then-is/) [Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/) > [I don't see I'll ever arrive at the point where I'll say, 'Lance old boy, you've arrived at success.' 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To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/it-is-a-grand-old-name-that-of-gentleman-and-has-been-recognized-as-a/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [The personal qualities necessary for attaining office are practically the opposite of those demanded by the office itself. The trouble with the damn system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-hogan/the-personal-qualities-necessary-for-attaining-office-are-practically/) [James P. 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P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [SELF-DISCIPLINE, more than any other personal quality I can think of, is the one thing that separates successful people from the unsuccessful. Think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/self-discipline-more-than-any-other-personal-quality-i-can-think-of/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [People just automatically say 'If this guy is George and Barbara Bush's son, we don't have any question about those personal qualities that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-teeter/people-just-automatically-say-if-this-guy-is-george-and-barbara-bush/) [Robert Teeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-teeter/) [Browse all 33 Personal qualities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-qualities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“there is something profoundly wrong with the way we make sense of success. What is the question we always ask about the successful? We want to know what they’re like—what kind of personalities they have, or how intelligent they are, or what kind of lifestyles they have, or what special talents they might have been born with. 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