SUCCESS STORY
Florence Nightingale and Family Legacy
By Courtney Norlien|Accounting & Finance Major
Florence Nightingale was a woman who did not let anything, or anyone, stand in her way. As a young woman who came from a family of wealth, legacy, and high social status, she always had the inherit drive to get what she wanted. One thing Nightingale did not want was to be married. At the age of seventeen, she declined a marriage proposal that her parents had arranged for her from a man named Richard Monckton Milnes. Nightingale did say she liked Milnes, but did not have the desire to be married (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). “She felt marriage would enslave her in domestic responsibility” (“Florence Nightingale Biography”). Nightingale had a strong desire to focus on a passion of hers. She even felt this passion being called to her attention by God while sitting outside at her parents’ house (“Florence Nightingale Biography”). This passion of hers was nursing.
With all of her drive, family, and other factors, Florence Nightingale is living proof that Malcolm Gladwell’s theories about success regarding family legacy, special opportunities, and accumulating your 10,000 hours of experience hold true.
Born on May 12, 1820 in Florence, Italy as the second of two children (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”), Florence Nightingale and her family lived a very high and mighty lifestyle. Florence’s mother, Frances Nightingale, was an active socialite and took pride in her high social standing. Frances’ husband and Florence’s father, William Shore Nightingale, was a very wealthy landowner (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). With high social standings, Florence Nightingale’s parents knew many people, and many people knew who they were too.
Being born into wealth with parents who had money, power, and connections, one would think Nightingale had the ideal lifestyle. Although Florence Nightingale received an education through her father, she often disagreed and argued with her parents about many things. Nightingale said that she “felt suffocated by the vanities and social expectations of her upbringing” (Pettinger). Florence did not enjoy or accept any of the fame that came with her family name (Pettinger). “Despite her mother’s interest in social climbing, Florence herself was reportedly awkward in social situations. She preferred to avoid being the center of attention whenever possible” (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). Nightingale would often try to avoid the high-class culture by tending to the sick, poor, and less fortunate people of her community. Through nursing others in neighboring communities back to health or doing whatever she could to help them, Nightingale thoroughly enjoyed this and then realized what her purpose in life was. This is when Florence Nightingale felt God calling her to serve others (“Florence Nightingale Biography”).
Since Florence Nightingale seemed to possess the complete opposite personality that any of her family members had, she often had differing beliefs and views on life as well. With the classical education that her father William had provided her with, Nightingale was able to enroll at the Lutheran Hospital of Pastor Fliedner in Kaiserweth, Germany (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). When she told her parents that she was going to attend school to become a nurse, her parents completely disagreed with what she was doing and were very angry with her. The main reason in particular that Frances and William Nightingale did not like this idea was because being a nurse was considered to be a lower class job. At this time in history, nursing was not viewed as a respectable or attractive career (Pettinger). Nightingale’s parents wanted their beloved daughter to marry a rich upper class man and not waste her life away on developing a profession in something so dirty and filthy like the nursing field was.
Even though Florence Nightingale’s parents were against almost everything she did in her adult life, the education that they provided her with as a young child was the base of what she needed to go to college and further her education as a nurse. One of the main points that Malcolm Gladwell stresses in his book Outliers is the idea of where you come from and who your parents are matters. Gladwell says, “It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't” (19). People benefit from many kinds of advantages that they might not even be aware of or are hidden to them. This is why Gladwell says that people do not just come from nothing, there is something there that is pushing and feeding the success of an individual. Brian Lehmann, a successful photojournalist for The National Geographic stated in an interview that he is 100% different from his parents. His parents also never understood why he wanted to be a photographer and did not understand the path he was going down to reach his goal of working for The National Geographic, as this relates to Florence Nightingale. Lehmann also stated that one’s parents can only take one so far, and that the person must find other people to look up to as mentors to really be successful.
Returning home to London after finishing school in Germany, Nightingale took a nursing job and within a year of being employed there, they promoted her to superintendent. While she was superintendent of this hospital, Florence Nightingale had a few goals that she wanted to achieve. “Nightingale made it her mission to improve hygiene practices, significantly lowering the death rate at the hospital in the process. The hard work took a toll on her health. She had just barely recovered when the biggest challenge of her nursing career presented itself” (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). During the Crimean War in 1854, Florence Nightingale was asked to get a group of nurses together to help tend to and care for the sick soldiers. With the time that Nightingale spent at the hospital where she was the superintendent, they were very impressed with her education and performance — this is why she was asked to help out during this war. The problem during the Crimean War was that more soldiers were dying from infection than actual wounds from battle (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). “Speaking of Scutari hospital, Florence Nightingale, said “The British high command had succeeded in creating the nearest thing to hell on earth”’ (“Florence Nightingale Biography”). The hospital at Scutari was a complete disaster and the nurses were working under terrible conditions. “Nightingale wanted both improved patient care, with attention to health promotion and disease prevention, and a worthwhile and challenging means of livelihood for women” (McDonald, 722). Florence Nightingale’s success really shows how hard she worked under such tough and challenging circumstances.
Through her efforts to provide comfort and treatment to these soldiers, she was given the name “Angel of Crimea” or her most famous name, “Lady with the Lamp.” The patients called her Lady with the Lamp because at night, she would make her way around to each person, making sure they were well taken care of (“Facts About Florence Nightingale”). Many patients and soldiers loved Nightingale because of her hard work, dedication, and passion to help others. Not only did the patients and soldiers love her, but her country was more than proud of her for her hard work in less than perfect conditions. When Florence Nightingale returned back home, she was given an engraved broach called “The Nightingale Jewel” and a $250,000 gift from the government (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). In 1860, Florence Nightingale used this gift to establish St. Thomas’ Hospital. Within this hospital, she started Nightingale Training School for Nurses (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”).
Special circumstances and opportunity are two more big concepts Malcolm Gladwell emphasizes in his book Outliers. If Florence Nightingale was not able to grow up in a wealthy high class family, maybe these special opportunities would not have come her way. Because of their wealth and status, Nightingale’s father was able to provide Florence and her sister with a proper classical education. With that education, she was able to go on to college and learn the correct nursing practices of that time. Since Florence Nightingale was so well known and educated, she was asked to help out in the war and put her nursing education and leadership skills to use and received a very large gift because of it. Most people at this time would not be receiving such a large amount of money from the government, and most people probably would not chose to spend this money on something other than themselves. “Even before she established her nursing school, with money raised in her honor during the Crimean War, she sought to reform hospitals” (McDonald, 724). Nightingale was truly a woman of generosity and care.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell says, “Lucky breaks don’t seem like the exception with software billionaires and rock bands and star athletes. They are the rule” (56). Without these special circumstances leading to other opportunities, Florence Nightingale would not have been the successful, educated woman that we know of today. One opportunity leads to another and that is why people become so successful, which directly apples to Florence Nightingale’s case. “Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunity (Gladwell, 155). Like Gladwell says, we can predict the people who will succeed and so far, all of the circumstances and opportunity in Florence Nightingale’s life seem to be coming together perfectly to fit this model.
Florence Nightingale’s family legacy and special opportunities influenced how much experience she acquired in nursing. Today, Nightingale is known as the pioneer of modern nursing and a major force in the improved quality of hospitals and overall health care system that we now have. “Nightingale was a legend in her time, the revered ‘lady with the lamp’, the major founder of the modern profession of nursing, a statistical pioneer and a renowned hospital reformer” (McDonald, 721). In 1859, Nightingale published “Notes on Hospitals” which was a collection of writings on how to run civilian hospitals (“Bio: Florence Nightingale”). She was able to write and publish this information because of all of the work she had done throughout her nursing career.
It is very clear that Florence Nightingale gained a lot of experience in her nursing career and even as a young adult before she became a nurse. Another major concept Gladwell discusses in his book Outliers is the 10,000 hours rule. The 10,000 hours rule is described as how many hours it takes an individual to truly master or perfect something. Gladwell says this about 10,000 hours: “It is all but impossible to reach that number all by yourself by the time you’re a young adult. You have to have parents who encourage and support you. You can’t be poor, because if you have to hold down a part time job on the side to help make ends meet, there won’t be time left in the day to practice enough” (42). Florence Nightingale got part of her 10,000 hours in during her times when she was young through administering to the poor in her community and during her college years when she was training to become a nurse. One could pose that Nightingale accumulated a large amount of these hours during her time spent in the Crimean War, caring for the soldiers and learning more and more about what it takes to run a clean and good quality hospital. She also carried her hours over when she started St. Thomas’ hospital with her own nursing school.
Another thing Brian Lehmann discussed in his interview was his thought on the 10,000 hours rule. Lehmann started accumulating his hours in photojournalism at a young age and believes it could very well take more than 10,000 hours to perfect something in his opinion. Setting goals high and finding his creative path was something he stressed as well and also can relate to the things Nightingale did to further herself in the nursing field. “ –The people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder” (Gladwell, 39). Regardless of all of the other achievements Florence Nightingale made, without these 10,000 hours she would not have had the experience she needed to change the healthcare system or be the well-known famous nurse we continue to study and praise today. “Thanks to Nightingale, nursing was no longer frowned upon by the upper classes; it had, in fact, come to be viewed as an honorable vocation” (Bio: Florence Nightingale”).
Florence Nightingale was trusted by and impressed everyone who was around her. Without her family background, it is quite possible she would not have gotten as far in life without her education and social status. The special opportunities she was given with large money donations and knowing people in the nursing field was a force that drove her success. The amount of hours Nightingale accumulated over time was another thing that contributed to the success in her nursing career. Where Nightingale came from and the special opportunities she was presented with may have been two things that played a major role in the amount of hours she collected over time as well. As Gladwell points out, one cannot become successful on their own. A person’s successful amounts to many different factors and contributions. But no matter if your life is ugly, beautiful, good, or bad, where you come from really does matter for your success.
Works Cited
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Print.
James. “Facts About Florence Nightingale.” Facts About Florence Nightingale. 28 Sept. 2011. Web. 12 May 2015.
Lehmann, Brian. Personal interview. 26 Feb 2015.
McDonald, Lynn. “Florence Nightingale a Hundred Years on: Who She Was and What She Was Not.” Women’s History Review 19.5 (2010): 721–740. Web. Nov (2010): 721–740. 23 February 2015.
Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of Florence Nightingale.” Biography Online. Oxford, 25 November 2010. Web. 03 May 2015.
“Florence Nightingale: Biography.” Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web 03 May 2015.
“Nursing in Peace and War.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 May 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Courtney Norlien, a freshman at Bethel University pursuing a bachelors degree in accounting and finance. Norlien enjoys being outside with her dog Lily, playing basketball and softball, and traveling with her friends.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED
Great writers drop you in a moment. Moments make your writing unique, interesting, and tell a story.
Within these moments, you should “name the dog” using authentic dialogue and detailed writing.
Don’t be afraid to add elements of suspense to your writing. Readers love suspense and this will keep them engaged and actively reading.
The Bethel University library has staff that love to help students! Seek professionals for assistance with writing if you need it- do not be afraid to ask for help.
Gladwell tells us that you do not have to be talented, but opportunity is what matters.
When you’re writing, make characters that readers will care about, like Eric Adler did in Sarah’s Hope.
Clichés are so cliché. Use your own comparisons in your writing through similes and metaphors!
Malcolm Gladwell taught me in Blink, that snap judgement can be educated and controlled.
Showing the readers the story is much better than telling it. After all, wouldn't you want to read something you can picture in your head?
Cover letters do not always have to be so serious or have a certain formula. Do not hesitate to brag about yourself and share your special moment.
You must do a lot of research and get many articles to create a successful research paper. More sources make you more credible and adds variety.
Brian Lehmann made me realize that it really does take 10,000+ hours to master something, just like Malcolm Gladwell says.
You cannot be successful all on your own. Opportunity you get from others helps you make little achievements along the way. Lehmann said this in his interview and Gladwell said this in Outliers.
Do not feel bad about not being the smartest person in your class. Gladwell tells us you do not have to be a genius to become successful, just smart enough.
Do not be afraid to let it all out. Deep honesty is what great writers achieve in their compositions.
The Writing Covenant is judgement free. I've learned that writing is art, and you should not be afraid to share your art with the world.
