It 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. It’s the rich who get the biggest tax breaks. It’s the best students who get the best teaching and most attention. And it’s the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds who get the most coaching and practice. Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.”
Malcolm Gladwell (b. 1963) Anglo-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker
Outliers: The Story of Success, ch. 1 “The Matthew Effect,” sec. 5 (2008)
(Source)
Quotations about:
accumulation
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
Presidents quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around for the good.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963-69)
Speech, Signing a Bill Extending the Peace Corps Act, Georgetown University (1966-09-13)
(Source)
Broader context:
To hunger for use, and to go unused, is the worst hunger of all. [...] It is true that few men have the power by a single act of theirs or in a single lifetime to shape history for themselves. Presidents, for example, quickly realize that while a single act might destroy the world they live in, no one single decision can make life suddenly better or can turn history around all for the good. But Presidents do know that a nation is the sum total of what we all do together; that the deeds and desires of each citizen fashion our character and shape our world -- just as one tiny drop of water after another will ultimately make a mighty river.