but there will still be those that follow the boring old fashioned hard work, and do the things you say - but still won't get that promotion, The jobs just won't be there.
My dad spent almost his entire working life "chasing" qualifications/jobs. Trying to get that next step up. No sooner had he completed a qualification......the jobs wouldn't be there and he'd end up doing something else that required a different qualification.
And lets not forget that a whole range of things may occur to those young successful families in their 30's (or even when they have their carefully saved up for and planned child) that can throw all best laid plans out of kilt.
Of course only the priveledged few have success because it was handed to them on a plate. However, as somsone further up said most people work hard for what they have. But only a limited number of those will get further than the bottom rung no matter how smart they are, how hard they work, and how ambitious they are.
I remember at school (was a specialist music school) we needed a director of music. 3 candidates made the final short list. They were all excellent, highly skilled, great communicators, years and years of similar experience. Only one of those people could get that coveted job as Director of Music at a specialist music school and there was nothing between them at all. They were all perfect for the role........but only one of those highly driven, ambitious, and intelligent people could get the job
The same goes when you go down to the jobs of the working poor. 30 people on the factory floor, 10 hard workers all equally capable of moving up , one line managers job - 9 unlucky people.
Without hard work you will achieve nothing - hard work opens up the opportunities, but by no means guarantees them, that part comes down to luck.
It was luck that means I'm living where I am now, in a house in a reasonable area, at a very cheap price, (approx £60 a month cheaper than anything else in this area), at a price that once I start working I should still be able to comfortably afford to live here. With a landlord that was willing to accept housing benefit. There was absolutely NOTHING I could have done to get somewhere like this that will enable my future working life to be easier in terms of being able to leave DS1 at home during the holidays (thus opening up more chance of finding a job in the first place), and in terms of being able to afford it even when I start off at the bottom on minimum wage.
Had I had to move a month earlier, or a month later I would not have been so lucky - it would have been a more expensive property, and in an area that I couldn't leave DS1 on his own