Depends in the definition of success. Most people I know consider themselves successful when they have a nice (upward) career, nice healthy and happy family, cl

Depends in the definition of success. Most people I know consider themselves successful when they have a nice (upward) career, nice healthy and happy family, close friends, 36 hr workweeks, vacation(s), car & house and early retirement. For instance, for programmers in, let’s say the Netherlands starting out now (today) fresh from uni, there is no worries achieving that kind of success without working like a beaten horse, ignoring your friends and family, running around an office trying to make everyone happy etc. You won’t get rich but you’ll retire comfortably and will be the envy of most (which should be incredibly unimportant to anyone, but I guess people who think ‘am I successful?’ often need some kind of measurement tool). Advantage of this view of success depends far less on luck besides where you are born (or able to immigrate to).