Comparative Successes

Comparative successes

    Success is a word that’s often thrown around and many people have their individual ideas of what it means to them. The Webster dictionary definition of success is: 1) Outcome, Result 2) a degree or measure of succeeding and 3) favorable or desired outcome; also the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.  Since we are emotional beings Success is more than a particular achievement or merely satisfaction with completing a task, success is our life’s work.

    After watching a few videos of the motivational variety, my point of success having a personal meaning seemed to resonate as each individual has his/hers own definition. Steve Jobs the co-founder of Apple computers said, being a success takes a lot of hard work and patience, he also stated that in order to persevere when things get off schedule is to love what you do.  If you love what you do then you will keep it up no matter what happens along the way. Jobs also stated in so many words that you have to have a strong supporting cast or team.

    This attitude would seem fitting for someone who was in his line of business, being a computer mogul in the fast paced world of technology; you have to stay a few steps ahead of the competition. So building a strong team is essential to the success of a man like Steve Jobs because he needs competent people to do the tasks that he doesn’t have time for. Also he needs people to make sure that he as well as others keeps the focus of whatever project they are trying to bring into fruition.

    Will Smith reinforced the point that Steve Job’s made about working harder than the average person will lead to success. Even though Smith grew up in a modest household he was taught to believe that he one day would be very successful at his craft. He also said something that really caught my attention toward the end of the video, he said when he sets a goal there is only a plan A, and that adding a plan B cast doubt on the original plan not working. Doing the impossible is possible was the attitude he adopted, you can feel the confidence in every word he spoke about this concept.

     I think Will Smiths way of thinking serves him well but not because of where he is in life at this point. To be a rapper/actor one has to have a certain amount of cockiness, they have to be very quick on their toes and have a knack for choosing the right producers to work with. As far as the acting part it takes a lot of confidence plus patience, a person has to basically become the role he/she is playing. Another thing I noticed about Will Smith is that he seemed genuine when he spoke. He said that he wanted to make a difference; he wanted his family to make a difference also. I think he has achieved that by being one of the few rap artists to cross over into acting without being cast as a gangster of some sort. Even though Will Smith and Steve Jobs are successful in two different crafts I think they are parallel in the acquisition of that success.

         

Discourse community: fruits of success

Fruits of Success

    Whenever I hear the word vegan I get confused because I really don’t know the difference between being vegan or vegetarian. One of my closest friends is a vegetarian, or is he a vegan?

Admittedly I really don’t know, but I do know that he does not eat meat nor does he drink milk from animals. So would that make him a vegan, they don’t use anything made from animal’s right?  It can get really confusing because of all the vegetarian types such as, Lacto vegetarians who eat diary, but not eggs. Then there are Ovo vegetarians, who will eat eggs, but not diary, the Ovo-lacto vegetarians eat both eggs and diary.

    As I mentioned earlier a true vegan would not eat, bathe in, or wear anything made from animals. I don’t know if this behavior stems from a sense of Altruism or if people who decide to go vegan are doing so strictly for health purposes.  According to the Harvard School of Public Health people who consume 18 ounces or more of red meat per week have a higher risk of getting colon cancer. Studies also show that eating red meat in moderation will significantly reduce the chance of diabetes. So the healthy aspect of the lifestyle has been well documented and as more people crossover I wonder, what is the ultimate goal?

    After listening to Jason from staying vegan.com, I was left with the impression that he was a bit defiant, as he compared vegans to movie stars and people who question their lifestyle as paparazzi. The “us against the carnivores” attitude displayed on the video wasn’t my first encounter with a vegan-warrior.  Earlier this year, the friend I previously mentioned and I were having a conversation about organic food and how I thought it was a scam. He didn’t take to kindly to my suggestion and acted as if I was attacking his lifestyle, in turn he proceeded to inform me of the grotesqueness of ground beef and poisoned chickens.

    I guess a person would build up a defense mechanism if they were constantly questioned about the food they chose to consume. I am in a similar circumstance because I don’t eat pork and every now and then I get interrogated about it or asked am I a Muslim. So I guess the attitude some take towards people outside of the vegan group can seem irritable but who would want to constantly be in defense of their lifestyle? As far as using the naysayers for motivation, I say we all draw our inspiration from one source or the other. If doubters compel you not to backslide and have that double cheeseburger, more power to you.

    Since there are so many people that are falling off the “fruit cart” according to Jason from vegan.com, from what he described, vegans enjoy small successes. Successes like fighting off the cravings for meat, which I imagined would happen more frequently to the newer vegans trying to stay pure in a grill infested world.  Jason also mentioned how triumphant one would be after he was weaned off meat products, and then you can fully represent the best of the vegan culture. Success was basically measured by simply remaining in the lifestyle which seems to be very easy criteria on the surface, but to seriously consider discontinuing the use of animal products one has to posses a strong will and be ready to defend their beliefs.

    

Source of Discourse In my Community

                                                          Groups I'm Associated with



Family
Friends
College Students
Sports Fan
sSar Wars Fan
Afro-american
Andependent Democrat
Ausiness Major
Dog Owner
Hip Hop
Concerned Citizen
Neighborhood Club

                                                           My Discourse Community: Hip Hop

    To become a member of the hip hop community is not something a person can seek to become, it

is something that a person has to be raised in. Contrary to popular belief it is not about fashion or ra-

pping or even music in general. Hip hop is about a way of life thats translated through the music and

the fashion, those elements are used as a vessel to articulate certain aspects of life ...hip hop life.

   The language we speak is basic street slang with a twist , we make up word as we go along and the

words change meaning from region to region. So you have to learn what a person means when he's

stating a simple phrase like im about to "dip,"  which incredibly takes on several meanings. It could

mean leave, punch, or a special someone, so a quick dual-thinking mind is a neccessity in being a

hip hopper.

   The basic Ideology of the hip hop citizen is to keep things honest (real), in hopes that your friends

and family will return the favor. We practice being "real" at all times any deviation from this 

law will land the offender the title of "perpetrator, " meaning that a person should not represent

themseves as something that they are not. We also believe strongly in standing up for our core

beliefs and rejecting all forms of facism, conformity , and white washing.

   The power in hip hop always has come from the people, we alone decide what is acceptable or not.

Any member has the power to become a leader, its as easy as accepting the responsibility for your ac

-tions, standing up for what youy believe and letting your voice be heard. But the people who are

mostly cast in leadership roles are the members that leave a permanent mark on the culture.  People

who's voices are thought to express the struggles and mentality of the people as a whole. They

usually relate through song or dance the feelings of the masses. When they attain the power to

capture the peoples imagination they can either use it to exploit that attention for fame, or use it as a

tool to help the community.

   The view of the world in the eyes of the average hip hopper varies, since it is such a diverse

culture you might ask three different people their take on the world and would be more than

likely to get three different answers. The one thing we can agree on is the system is broken

and is to our detriment, so we have to find alternative ways at times to support ourselves and our

loved ones. We also have serious mistrust for the law enforcement agencies in america, we dont like

talking to them under any circumstances and anyone found fratenizing with them are labeled

snitches or rats. The paranoia about authority figures and their misuse of power runs rampant in the

community, friends from other groups can sense the anxiety in me whenever an officer is in the

vicinity.

   Success in the eyes of a hip hop citizen may differ from someone that belongs to another group,

since we have dealt with the harder side of life sometimes just getting by is considered being a

success. Too many of our friends have died, fallen victim to drugs, and are incarcerated for us to

take life for granted. A friend once told me that "any day a shooting didn't occure in his

neighborhood\was a good day." As sad a commentary as that is, it is the reality that we deal with on

a day to day basis, the criteria of "keeping things honest" envelopes the community with skepticism.

Success for us is interpretational to us and can not be generalized as success is judged on an

individual, case by case basis.

  

  

    

  

  

  



the 10,000 hour rule

Removing the Devil from our Dinner Plates

    After reading Chapter 2 from the book Outliers; the story of success written by Malcolm Gladwell I have come to the conclusion that practice does make perfect. I know it sounds cliché but sometimes there is a certain amount of truth to be found in a cliché.  For instance when Benjamin Franklin stated “a penny saved is two pence dear” (“a penny saved is a penny earned”) that’s pretty much correct, especially if you have your pennies in a financial institution earning yearly interest. By that same token Mr. Gladwell’s point that it takes ten thousand hours of hard work and dedication to make one an expert at a particular field has a certain amount of truth to it.

    Having the opportunity and the resources to be able to perfect your craft would also help one’s cause tremendously. For anyone to spend countless days and nights immersed in studying, practicing, and perfecting one skill has to mean the person doing so has to be very interested in what he/she is pursuing.  So if I could become an expert at anything I think I would dedicate my time and effort to biological engineering. My goal would be to develop food that is rich in vitamins and nutrients minus the toxins and fatty cells that lead to heart disease, obesity and in some cases cancer but. I understand that we are living in the “organic” age and there are a lot of alternative low fat foods available but most of those items simply don’t taste good. The “New Food” as I would call it would not compromise the original taste at all.

    I understand to do this type of work I would have to experiment with live animals, but before you call PETA and have them picketing my laboratory I would also develop a way that is totally pain free and harmless to animals. Besides I’m a pet owner and I wouldn’t dare harm a defenseless animal, even if it meant I would earn Einstein status for removing the devil from our dinner plates. I understand the idea seems far fetched, but imagine how this would impact the world, imagine how many lives it would save. No longer would my girlfriend have to eat like a rabbit when we dine out at The Olive Garden. Parents would no longer have to beg their children to eat their veggies or drink fruit juices and milk to build strong bones and healthy bodies. This would indeed be a nutritional revolution. I think it also would make the world a happier place as a whole because this would be something for all people.

    The downside of my biological breakthrough is that health clubs, workout DVD’s, and expensive diet programs would become futile. I believe that the clothing market would also take a serious hit because who would buy a pair of running shoes or jogging shorts if they could eat as much as they want anytime they want without worrying about weight gain?  Produce sales could eventually drop as a result of this food revolution, but I think the majority of people in the world like the taste of their fruits and veggies. Despite the economic consequences I think the world would welcome the new food with Arms and mouths wide open.

   

   

   

Response to "Outliers..."

Christopher Jackson

                                                                                                                                            

Outliers…the story of success

    The Outliners chapter one: The Matthew Effect Raised the question of success being a matter of time rather than a result of lineage, education and determination. The Graph containing the birth dates of the professional and semi-pro hockey players was very convincing and further solidified his thesis. To be honest it had me at a loss for words when I first read it, I looked at it again to make sure I was reading correctly. But as I read on I discovered the time in which these athletes were born meant that they were at the perfect age to mentally and physically to excel. And he also explained how being good athletes exposed them to the best coaches and they trained almost three times as much as their lower echelon peers.

     As a middle child who was born in February I find myself in a better position in life compared to my siblings. By no means am I wealthy, but I was always considered the “smart kid” by all or most of the members of my family.  Early in my “academic career” I didn’t feel smart as the other kids in class. I was constantly staying after school to study with teachers and honor role students. I was struggling to keep up with the rest of class as it seemed everyone would pick up lessons really quick but I would have to study extra hard to understand. But I did excel at sports which influenced my opinion about the theme of the writing.

    Perhaps being good athletically opened the doors for me to receive extra help.  I think It heavily depends on where you attend school. All schools are not created equal, the amount of tax dollars funneled through property taxes vary from district to district. The higher the property taxes the more funds flow in those districts schools. The results of those funds are a multitude of programs and resources aimed at helping the students excel in sports as well as academically. The schools in the lower tax brackets have very limited funds. They cut athletic programs and other extracurricular activities while increasing the amount of kids per class.

    Maybe the lack of athletic programs in the poorer districts is linked to the poor performance of the inner city schools. Could Gladwell’s thesis only hold water for kids in a higher tax bracket? The point about the hockey players was well taken. But what if their parents didn’t have the time or means for their kids to participate in organized sports? Is this the reason so many inner city youth gravitate so strongly toward basketball? All you need to play is shorts, gym shoes, and the ability to put the ball in the hole. Physical ability will only get you so far, the environment surrounding the child has to be conducive for success, and a child athlete has a better chance of being successful in a school with a good athletics program.

    As for success, it is defined and measured differently on an individual basis. I think to be successful a person has to choose what area of life they want to succeed in, and work hard at it. Even the Hockey players Gladwell spoke about didn’t make it merely because they were born in the first quarter of the year but because they took full advantage of the opportunity they were presented with. Determination and hard work was detrimental to their achievement, like they say “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink it.” So even if some kids have the physical advantage over other kids in their grade level it is ultimately in the hands of the individual to his perception of success.

Hello everyone my name is Chris Jackson, im a pretty outspoken deep thinker (well at least i think i am). You will find that my demeanor is a little intimidating but underneath the rough exterior i am someone who takes in consideration every word a person says even when joking. i have experienced a lot in life and have encountered several personality types and find commonality with almost everyone. the world is a colorful place and i want to do more than just blend in.