“It really seems (at least if you read popular media) that who you know and whether you get ‘picked’ are the two keys to success.  Luck.  The thing about luck is this: we’re already lucky.  We’re insanely lucky that we weren’t born during the Black Plague or in a country with no freedom.  We’re lucky that we’ve got access to highly leveraged tools and terrific opportunities.  If we set that luck aside, though, something interesting shows up.  Delete the outliers – the people who are hit by a bus or win the lottery, the people who luck out in a big way – and we’re left with everyone else.  And for everyone else, effort is directly related to success.  Not all the time, but as much as you would expect.  Smarter, harder-working, better-informed, and better-liked people do better than other people, most of the time.” ~ Seth Godin, Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?