I don't think you or the others really got my message. Sorry for possibly being unclear.
What I am saying is that a lot of people who have been lucky will not acknowledge that luck (like some on this board). Some people are lucky, and don't have to work hard to obtain success. Some work hard, but are unlucky. Others work hard and are lucky.
For example, working at a startup. You worked hard, and the company was successful. However, there was some element of luck involved. Call it market timing, getting with the right group of people, just plain being at the right place at the right time. I know a lot of people in SV who worked just as hard in such an environment, and didn't make it. I worked at unsuccessful startups, 100+ hours a week. It is not all just working hard, people. There is an element of chance, luck, divine fortune, whatever you choose to call it.
I will agree that PERSISTENCE can affect the luck portion of the equation. It took me 4 startups and 20 years of persistence before I was lucky enough to 'make it'. If I had not been persistent, then I wouldn't have been able to cash in on my hard work and luck.
As for labor, you have to admit that having a job as a software developer at $100K per year, working from a nice office w/stock and other benefits, beats being a migrant farm worker. It is very LUCKY that I happen to be very good at a profession that I enjoy and which pays great salaries.
I hope your labor experience showed you how hard some people really work. It was also an eye opener for me.
I include liberals and conservatives in my comments on those who got without hard work. Did I ever make that distinction?
By the way, was Newton a Liberal or a Conservative? Doesn't really matter, does it? |
