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I had a comment in mind I was going to go with but when I clicked reply in a new tab, I notice you ninja edited putting in the last line where you came clean an

I had a comment in mind I was going to go with but when I clicked reply in a new tab, I notice you ninja edited putting in the last line where you came clean and admitted that there was a little something you did that made a difference. My question is this, ignoring your edit, if you say it was all luck based on the 8 points here, am I to conclude that anybody with these advantages would all have the same outcome no matter what they themselves did (taking into consideration the likely variability of behavior in context of your profile). If they worked their asses off, they would be no more successful than you are now and if they had just did the minimum, they'd be just as successful as you are. I'd surmise this would not be the case so it seems likely that how hard one works, given the hand they're dealt, means a little more than you think.

ap22213 11y ago
What I mean (and tried to put into context with my last paragraph) is that for someone below poverty, luck is the most important factor. Moral factors like work ethic don't matter. I've known lots of people with incredible work ethic for whom that quality has not helped. They're still working hard at their retail jobs (or laid off from their hard labor ones) 20 years later. Some work ethic is required, no doubt, but it's much less than most people out of poverty believe. In contrast, if one is well-connected and wealthy to begin with, luck and work ethic aren't important at all. Even being financially irresponsible doesn't have much effect in that case, in my experience.