As someone who's had to work from the age of 12 (paper route, then computers shortly thereafter starting around age 15) to achieve what I EARNED through hard work and sacrifice, few things frost me as much as hearing people talk about "luck" playing such a big part in someone being successful - or not.
"Luck" does not determine destiny. Hard work and sacrifice do. I grew up in inner city Detroit, in a 50/50 or so neighborhood. True story - there was an event I wanted to go to once and it cost a whole dollar. Mom told me she was very sorry, but we (literally) did not have a dollar for me to go to the event - and that was absolutely true. So, how "lucky" were we? I'd contend..not very. Yet, I somehow managed to go to college (9 years to get my 4 year degree since I worked every day to pay every single dollar of my own way), graduate with honors and retire early at 55. Hmmmm...
Hard work was, and remains, how one gets ahead in life. The popular refrain to allege "luck" is a cop-out, IMHO, from those who think there are some magic bonus points that one receives by being born in a certain neighborhood, being a certain race, etc. Nope. Everyone can succeed (barring something significant like a physical or emotional disability) if they CHOOSE to succeed and make the sacrifices needed to do so..unfortunately, that is so out of vogue nowadays and so many just expect to be "given" things instead of having to work hard for them..
Hi 24602NoMore, I think you got that I was being a little tongue in cheek.
I started the thread
If we can do it, anyone can?. in it I ask, "If a young couple earns near $80k can they do what we did over 30+ years, or, are things really different?"
I got a few comments, (don't really know if they were aimed at me, but probably some)
"I tend to read a sense of moral superiority in these threads"
"No-one here will puncture your personal Horatio Alger story. We all believe ours too."
"Sure, these threads appear every two-three weeks. The tone is generally self-congratulatory."
"Consider those who also did the right things, but had bad luck: Picked the wrong parents, extended joblessness, medical catastrophes, divorces, business failure, a need to support aging parents or special needs children, ... the list is endless. Those folks are not active in the forum. They are silent evidence proving that
not any one can. The truth is that "anyone" cannot. Only the lucky ones win."
"just having the stupendous luck to have been born in a Western developed country at this era of history, especially speaking English, is a massive,"
"Yes. I have a longer version of the "your success is mostly due to luck" sermon that discusses that. Basically for most of us, before we had ever pooped in a diaper we had won the lottery."
Hard work and LBYMs does get you ahead, but Luck "Bad Luck", can negate all that. But, that idea should not take away from spending a life doing all the right things, just to have people say you are lucky. No, you just didn't have bad luck. /Rant complete/