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The World is Rigged Against You; But You Cannot Let It Win
A primer on privilege and success and what you can and cannot, and should and should not do
The pursuit of “success” is an elusive one. It’s a complex phenomenon that is not tied solely to someone’s intelligence. There are at least 4 factors that majorly determine success:
- Intelligence/acumen (internal, can be somewhat controlled)
- Hard work and persistence — the “10,000 hours rule” (internal, can be controlled)
- Privilege (external, can’t be controlled)
- Luck (external, can’t be controlled, also tied somewhat to #3)
Of these, only #2 is totally in someone’s control.
People are born with varying levels of intelligence. And even for people who are equally gifted, there are various fields to which they are naturally inclined.
#3 encompasses a lot of factors — wealth, influence, access. If two people are randomly born, one in the US, and the other in India, chances that the first person will succeed, on average, are far higher than the second. Considering that the per capita GDP in the US is many-fold that of India, and it is far more advanced in terms of technology and infrastructure, they are bound to get access to better schools, a safer pre-adult life, and exposure to the best in the world there is.
