I think Machiavelli had it right: fortune is more important than anything else. Secondary to that is the capability to adapt to or take advantage of fortune. To

I think Machiavelli had it right: fortune is more important than anything else. Secondary to that is the capability to adapt to or take advantage of fortune. To do so (or to advise others so), Machiavelli studied history and drew conclusions. If you invest time in learning things you can't apply, that may seem unprofitable to you. However, if your attitude inhibits learning, whatever fortune does befall you may as well be useless. But I think "attitude" here is code for the unreasonable optimism that keeps one trying again and again despite repeated failure. It really seems intended as a religious tenet of faith to replenish the entrepreneurial spirit.