I guess it depends in how you measure those things. A quote I like is: "What one faces in his/her life is destiny. How he/she faces it is personal choice". We are what we make ourselves into. With our last breath we stop fighting for our goals. She is not more or less successful than one fighting to make her monthly wage. She was in a different playground, that's all. If she fought well to get where she is, good for her. If not, well there is not much there for a hacker to admire, is there?

His point is that even if you face your destiny in the best possible way (to put it in your terms), if your destiny does not include Harvard professors that move to the World Bank, there won't be any articles in the New Yorker about you.