~99% of my success is that I happened to make friends with the right coworker at my first job, who happened to be a genius, and happened to refer me to better places. Otherwise, I'd still probably be making 1/4th of what I'm making now - simply because I didn't go to the right schools or be born to the right family, etc.

I think Thinking Fast and Slow talks a lot about maximizing your surface area for luck.

Nothing beats luck.

Sorry to all the unlucky people. I wish you could all be lucky, too!