Luck or skill?

This post is going to discuss a little of my philosophy on life. The debate about someone being truly lucky or creating their own luck through certain behaviors, i.e. skill or talent associated with hard work. This an open ended question and forgive me for this post's length. Personally, I believe it is a combination of both.

One point I want to initially make is about a certain trait that will make any and all forms of luck or skill meaningless, self-destructive individuals. Many individuals end up unnecessarily losing opportunity or squandering gains through their own actions. Often these actions are found in antisocial behavior, laziness, substance abuse, self-absorption, disregard for all rules and my favorite, chronic denial. All people have weaknesses, but most people keep their weakness in check. Win the lottery and spend every penny the following day on illicit items is not going to help any one's situation. No amount of luck or skill would end with a net gain if squandering through anti-productive behavior. What causes individuals to be self-destructive is a topic beyond this post.

Let us start with an argument for those who use skill and talent to make their own luck. In most professions, there is a minimal skill set requirement to practice. In professional sports, an individual needs to be an outstanding athlete. Musicians are musically gifted. Writers are good with language. Politicians are good at debate. In my profession, engineers need a knack for mathematics before even beginning core curriculum. It can then be argued that the best in any given field rises to the top through possession of greater skills in comparison to the pack. In our egalitarian society the best of best will find a way to achieve. From the poorest of neighborhoods up to leader of the pack. Capitalism at its best! I would like to believe this, as many of us were taught as children, "You can do any thing when you grow up." Rags to riches stories occur, but it is not that common. Hard work brought a better life, but many of their poor cohort with undeveloped talent never improved their lot in life. Here is where the skill exclusively brings success argument fails. If skill was the only reason why individuals succeed, the top tiers in all professions would have an equal representation of our society. Most of us know, this is not true.

It is an obvious statement to say that the wealthier classes have a greater representation in the higher paying professions: medical doctors, lawyers, stock brokers and corporate executive positions. Entrance into the bottom rung positions require at minimum an undergraduate college degree. Medical doctors and lawyers require advanced degrees. These all take money. If a high school student has mediocre grades, enough money and some private college would enroll them. The same deal applies if the student faces dismissal. Donate to the alumni groups. When the lackluster student eventually graduates, contact an old friend of the family who owes a favor. I could go on and on. One book of interest on this topic is The Millionaire Next Door. The vast majority of people are not wealthy. They vast majority does not possess the money or contacts. It is easy to say that skill or luck do not apply to the wealthy. I disagree. Those who are born into the privileged classes are lucky in the material sense. For any one who has the opportunity to enter a desired career, the luck was obtained from birth status or situation.

Let's be more arbitrary. Take two white, male, middle class, US citizens finishing their equivalent undergraduate degrees from a university with similar grades. Why does one end of as CEO of a company and the other at bottom of the corporate ladder? Let us say both graduates have their greatest strength as being sociable, well liked fellas. For our example, one graduate ends up being a computer programmer (grad A) and the other as a salesman (grad B). Both positions have similar potential for advancement. Grad A may do well at his programming position, but his greatest strength is not utilized. He may be capable in his work requiring skill, but his greatest attribute remains untapped. Now grad B as a salesman takes his position and excels as his greatest attribute is a vital part in his job. He becomes the best among his peers and moves on up the corporate ladder. Grad B was lucky to land the right position in comparison to grad A. Even if both grads take sales positions, many lucky characteristics take play such as a good company with upward mobility. Avoiding any devastating unlucky event (layoffs, illness) is itself a form of luck. The luck factor kicks in as an opportunity to use an individual's talents or skills.

Personally, I believe a combination of hard work and luck creates success in any endeavor. Hard work allows one to develop talents and skills leading to success. Hard work is vital, not optional. Luck on the other hand opens the doors to opportunity. Without opportunity to utilize talent, success will not follow.