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It's still luck that you had: 1. The ability to move out of your house. There are places in the world where people don't have as much freedom of movement becau

It's still luck that you had: 1. The ability to move out of your house. There are places in the world where people don't have as much freedom of movement because they are not as democratic as countries in the west. 2. Been hired as a bartender. Need I say that this is not a choice that you made, but by your then-employer, or that it was possible for such a job to exist in the first place because you found another town with enough economy to create such jobs, while many other places in the world are not as fortunate? Good for you wherever you are in your life right now, but I hate to break it to you buddy--you didn't do everything yourself, and you were lucky to have an environment that enabled your growth and to have other people to play a part in your success.

AmericanChopper 4y ago
I have worked across many places in the developing world, and every place I’ve been to (apart from perhaps North Korea) has opportunities for people who want to improve their own lives. In many places the path would look different than it does in the west, but I know hundreds of people who have pulled themselves into the middle classes of emerging economies simply through hard work and commitment. Getting a basic, entry level, no skill job has barely anything to do with luck. I guess I’m lucky that I was born, and that my mind and body works. But that’s all the luck you need to attain that level of success, nearly everywhere in the world.
- AstralStorm 4y ago
  If you can call working many hours, creating nothing, earning just enough to get by a success. It also ignores others - human relationships. This is why so many people push it back onto their children to have it better, but it typically does not work for either them or their kids. Having minimal means to survive, including health, is but a necessary condition for being a whole, successful person.
  - AmericanChopper 4y ago
    That’s a rather smug and ignorant way of looking at somebody pulling themself out of what was basically a ghetto. Being able to take financial responsibility for myself was a tremendous success for me at the time, and it was an absolutely essential first step for me to take in building a much better life for myself.
    - AstralStorm 4y ago
      Yes, it is essential, but it is not a success. It is averting abject immediate failure at best. Definition of success for more people would be starting a family or helping theirs out. Which you almost certainly cannot do these days with even copious amounts of hard work, not you can build something just ever slightly more with that. Savings? Don't exist really, are subject to every whim and throw of economy. Use a calculator and multiply how much of forever you will have to work to establish basic stability. As is your boss of that gastronomic business, even in North Korea. Owning an actual place to live that will not be taken from you on a whim, hmm? Even farmers are subject to a degree of luck they're not always allowed to play around...
      - mantas 4y ago
        You're just pushing goal posts. And „basic stability“ in many parts of the world is much simpler than westerners look for. Savings to keep roof over your head and food on the table for next few months in many cases is success. There's no objective way to determine what is success. It depends a lot on one's background.
dalmo3 4y ago
It seems to me your definition of luck is unfalsifiable, therefore useless.

AmericanChopper 4y ago

I have worked across many places in the developing world, and every place I’ve been to (apart from perhaps North Korea) has opportunities for people who want to improve their own lives. In many places the path would look different than it does in the west, but I know hundreds of people who have pulled themselves into the middle classes of emerging economies simply through hard work and commitment. Getting a basic, entry level, no skill job has barely anything to do with luck. I guess I’m lucky that I was born, and that my mind and body works. But that’s all the luck you need to attain that level of success, nearly everywhere in the world.

AstralStorm 4y ago
If you can call working many hours, creating nothing, earning just enough to get by a success. It also ignores others - human relationships. This is why so many people push it back onto their children to have it better, but it typically does not work for either them or their kids. Having minimal means to survive, including health, is but a necessary condition for being a whole, successful person.
- AmericanChopper 4y ago
  That’s a rather smug and ignorant way of looking at somebody pulling themself out of what was basically a ghetto. Being able to take financial responsibility for myself was a tremendous success for me at the time, and it was an absolutely essential first step for me to take in building a much better life for myself.
  - AstralStorm 4y ago
    Yes, it is essential, but it is not a success. It is averting abject immediate failure at best. Definition of success for more people would be starting a family or helping theirs out. Which you almost certainly cannot do these days with even copious amounts of hard work, not you can build something just ever slightly more with that. Savings? Don't exist really, are subject to every whim and throw of economy. Use a calculator and multiply how much of forever you will have to work to establish basic stability. As is your boss of that gastronomic business, even in North Korea. Owning an actual place to live that will not be taken from you on a whim, hmm? Even farmers are subject to a degree of luck they're not always allowed to play around...
    - mantas 4y ago
      You're just pushing goal posts. And „basic stability“ in many parts of the world is much simpler than westerners look for. Savings to keep roof over your head and food on the table for next few months in many cases is success. There's no objective way to determine what is success. It depends a lot on one's background.

dalmo3 4y ago

It seems to me your definition of luck is unfalsifiable, therefore useless.