Thinking About Success

In rank of importance: Skill, Hard Work, Opportunity, and Luck
   
     I rank skill first when thinking of success. Skill is the most important factor, because without it, it's impossible to be good at something. I rank hard work over opportunity, because I have encountered first hand people who do not succeed, yet have great opportunities handed to them. The difference in winners and losers is the effort the winners put in compared to the losers, even if the losers have been handed a maybe undeserved opportunity. I rank luck at the least important, because luck is just a saying, it's not actually a concrete thing. If a person does not have talent combined with hard work and opportunity, and still wins, it isn't because of luck, it's because they actually have talent, hard work, or an opportunity.

Exploring Business and Clothes Industry

My family's dinner table conversations have always involved business innovations and how to do improve on today, tomorrow. Reading these articles for me was things I'm used to hearing, such as taking new approaches on things, and constantly innovating the strategies yet remaining true to the companies strong foundation. For a retail business to be successful, they need to always have the customers wants in mind, and do all to their ability to make the customers experience with the company memorably impressive compared to others. Reading about the production of clothing was a new topic I learned today. I hear about car companies, which is quite similar to clothing, production always being prepared for the next new trend, but I have never learned about what goes in to the production. Zara and Uniqlo take different approaches to their clothing line production, but maintain the same goal throughout. What are these companies doing to be successful is a question constantly coming to mind as reading these articles. In the Bloomberg article, Felipe Caro states the negitive possibles Zara could encounter: "As soon as they decide to localize, to have two brains, one in Spain and one in China, it will be a different Zara." It is unclear to me the ways that the split would change the company, and what the pros and cons would be. 

Letter Home

Dear mom,
   I miss you and dad a lot, but I couldn't be happier with my decision to move here. Baltimore is a great city and I have been meeting other immigrants that I've become friends with. The Americans aren't very welcoming, but I have found a great job. I'm working for a man who's family also moved here from Europe. We all stay in very tight knit groups.
   Baltimore has been hard to adjust to, because cities are so much louder and smellier than our peaceful farm. There are so many people all searching for the same things: a good paying job and to fit in. Finding a job was more difficult than expected due to all the others just like me. The waste disposal us nasty, and I do not think the town leaders know how to deal with it.
   Our culture is being assimilated by the Americans, which is challenging to accept. I know you always tell me to control the controllable , and I know that there is nothing I can do in this situation, because they never asked for permission, but it has been hard for me to stand by as they take advantage of us. This is a good home for me, but I feel as if I shouldn't live in a place where the people wear our religious systems without knowing the meaning. The best way for me to continue happily living here is to assimilate with their culture and try my best to fit in. I hope all is well.
Sincerely,
Caroline