I'm sure I'll get down voted for this comment but yes, I actually do think this result is available to everyone willing to work hard but not the only reason.

The town I grew up in was very polarizing. We had both extreme wealth and extreme poor. As a retrospective, we had very equal opportunities from all income brackets. There were wealthy kids who had huge success but many others who fizzled out and didn't do anything. Some ended up with extensive criminal records.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some of the extremely poor kids I grew up with could barely afford ramen as a family. Some ended up drug dealing and in jail, others ended up with massive success.

There were a few key attributes that I think determined success vs. failure for all wealth brackets. We had some very key teachers in shop classes who encouraged folks who didn't think they could go to college to specialize in trade skills. Those who took it seriously and worked hard at it are largely stable or well off. Those who didn't fizzled out.

Obviously this is all anecdotal as it was one graduating class in one city in one state. However, in my own experience the desire to work hard dictates much of the success of an individual. It would be foolish to say that it is the ONLY thing contributing to success but I believe that it is a large portion of it.

Also, that word "lucky" drives me nuts but I'll save that for another time :)

I'm not sure why that word should bother you, or anyone. I was a C student and never went to college, and I can say from firsthand experience that all the determination and hard work in the world wouldn't have meant a damn thing if I hadn't had a lot of things break just right.

Determination and readiness to work hard enable someone to take advantage of an opportunity. But you still need the opportunity.

I kind of used it intentionally as a trigger word but there does seem to be a lot of chance in success stories. Also, how many people are going to tell the story about how they started a boring company that never hit it big? You are not going to hear about all the failed companies, you hear about successes. I agree with you that persistence and work ethic are probably major drivers in success but to say there is no element of chance and it is entirely on you if you succeed or not seems highly unlikely.