People may argue that Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell is all about family background and family heritage. Others may say that what matters most is how someone is raised and how much time and dedication they devote to a skill or goal. People can also say that all of these factors are what the book focuses on for success. The book doesn't talk about family history, the "10,000 hour rule" or "rice fields." All of this encompasses something very important, the possibility of actually applying these theories. The most important theory presented by Gladwell is that opportunities are the key to success, more than other theories. Many of the people covered in the chapters would not have succeeded without the opportunities presented to them. Opportunities provide chances to succeed and become better at whatever you want to do or accomplish. Opportunities help these people achieve their goals. For example, Bill Gates came from a wealthier background than most people. Just being from a wealthy background was the first opportunity to become a computer expert. Gladwell says that "opportunity number one... Gates was sent to Lakeside [a prestigious school]... number two... which Lakeside mothers had enough money to pay the school's computer costs [Gates' mother donated 'money to start the club]…' (54) and the opportunities multiply again and again. He was able to be part of the school's computer club and later had the opportunity to leave campus in the spring and spend time programming and creating code. He lived near a computer terminal where he could access and train. All these opportunities are what made Gates, Bill Gates. Also, The Beatles, one of the famous people mentioned in the book, had a kind of opportunity, as if the Beatles were together for a while before coming to the United States. . They had the chance to rehearse and rehearse before becoming one of the best bands in the world. It wasn't a chance of faith, it was a chance they had to become a great musical group. Gladwell empowers readers to think and analyze things that people would never think of. He gave people theories about how many people became aberrant. Whether it was the 10,000 hour rule or the Roseto mystery, he showed people that the most important theory is opportunity. Odds are the foundation of these other theories in the book, because without them, the other theories would be nonexistent. Therefore, opportunities are what mattered most in outliers, because without them, most of these people would not be who they are today, outliers..