To add to this it bothers me when these kind of people refuse to acknowledge the role that blind luck plays in outcomes. My husband does well, makes a very nice income, etc. He's a smart guy and works hard but I've been with him from the beginning of his career and I know that ending up where he did was not intentional. It was pure luck of the "right time, right place" variety. He actually wanted to do something totally different that doesn't pay nearly as much money but when he started his first job he was lucky enough to attract the attention of a good mentor within his company who later ran it for a number of years and brought my husband along with him as his right hand man. That doesn't happen to everyone. Not everyone gets a break like that. Yes, he made the most of his opportunities but not everyone gets an opportunity like that in the first place. It's luck. Fwiw, he does know that and he tries to be a good mentor to younger people because of it.