> if someone decides not to put in the effort required to succeed at the job I read this rhetoric constantly, then I look at a bunch of hard working people tha

> if someone decides not to put in the effort required to succeed at the job I read this rhetoric constantly, then I look at a bunch of hard working people that I know, who are poor. Luck is the opportunity to succeed, hard work is the way to capitalize on that opportunity. One without the other means no success. And on that same note, you can make "good decision" that cause you to miss out on amazing opportunities, and "bad decisions" that end you up in with great opportunities. I've made plenty of decisions that I thought at the time were kinda dumb, but put me in serendipitous situations which ended up landing me great jobs. So really, the luckier you are, the more chances you'll have to escape poverty; if you're willing to work hard at those critical times, you'll actually succeed.