There is nothing stopping anyone in this country being successful. I have gone from free school meals to a high earning City professional. And the comment that still sticks in my mind now, which was made by my first boss twenty six years ago, is that you get on with everyone. That’s been my key to success.
Likewise, I left a crap comp with literally not a single "pass". That was due to extreme/prolonged bullying throughout my years at the crap comp. I'd gone from a friendly/confident straight A pupil upon leaving primary school to a mere shadow aged 16, no friends, no qualifications, no future really.
I dusted myself down and got a crap basic admin job in a local small accountancy practice (father and son!!) under the YTS scheme! Close enough that I could walk to work as I couldn't afford bus fares etc. The dizzy heights of talking the post, making the teas/coffees and filing! There were a couple of older people working there (50+) who took me under their wing and without me realising it were bringing me out of myself, starting to build my confidence etc., even just by talking to me like normal human beings (such a difference after most human interactions during school being abuse and bullying!). They must have realised I'd had traumatic teenage years! They started "forcing" me to talk to other people, i.e. other staff, clients, suppliers, etc., in just simple ways at first, but it was all baby-steps to boost my confidence. I started to realise that lots of people were actually "normal" and nice, and that abuse and bullying wasn't normal in the way it had become normalised for me at school! Part of that was telling me how to be friendly and nice back to people and urging me to be friendly and to get on with everyone. I really took it on board. I went from being a timid "mouse" who tried to avoid people (unsurprisingly!) to being quite sociable, friendly, chatty, and my self confidence literally improved week by week!
At the end of the YTS period, the firm kept me on. Even the father/son owners started to "see" me, the opposite of when I started when they had no part in my recruitment as they'd left it to the senior receptionist to "deal with" the YTS recruitment firm to take on a YTS! To cut a long story short, I did O and A levels by a mix of self study and evening classes. Then I did accountancy exams and finally qualified as an chartered accountant. Not bad for someone who left school with no O levels!
Over the years I'd met loads of people, always been friendly with them. That led directly to two fundamental job changes where I got offered jobs that weren't even advertised to anyone else, as I was a "shoe in" just by knowing the manager/owner respectively. Neither I'd say were "friends" in the true sense, but they were people I knew, and had been "friendly" with at the time.
Same when I started my own business. At the start, I was advertising madly for new clients as I'd left work and needed an income! I noticed someone who I'd met years before through work had set up his own business, and I popped into his office one day when I was passing just to say "hi". I'd only spoken to him a couple of times, work related, but I'd been friendly and pleasant (as always!) and he'd been the same back to me. That led to him appointing me as his accountant, but more importantly, over the subsequent years, he recommended me to several of his friends/relatives/clients, and he/his recommendations ended up forming a huge portion of my client base - about a third!! All because I just happened to pop into his office one day as I'd met him previously. I'd never have had the confidence to walk into anyone else's office who I'd never met!
I got my office in the same way. I'd been looking for a small office close enough from home to walk, but anything decent was too expensive or got snapped up as soon as it hit the open market. I mentioned it to a random client, who knew someone who was closing his business, and made an introduction - I went along to see the guy, and we agreed to me taking over the office, buying his equipment, etc., he introduced me to the landlord who was happy to transfer the lease to me, all done and dusted within an hour! No estate agents, no open market competition etc - everyone happy! All because of a mutual business contact!
I think life is all about meeting people and making contacts. Whether work, social life, romantic partners, etc - you need to get "out there" to meet people, be friendly with him, get on with them, etc. You don't need to be immediate "best friends", just make contacts, talk to people. More importantly don't give them any reasons to dislike you, i.e. don't be nasty in any way. People won't forget if you've ignored them, been unpleasant to them, in any way, etc., and that may cut off a future benefit to you. Yes, lots of people you meet you'll never see again, but if and when you do come across someone again, they'll remember you if you were pleasant to them and more likely to "help" you out, however tenuous/brief your previous encounters were.
The old adage of "it's now what you know it's who you know" is very true! Doesn't matter what social class you are, where you live, your background, your education, your job, etc. You CAN improve your lot by getting out there, being friendly with everyone, etc., make contacts, etc. It may not guarantee huge success, but certainly improves your chances rather than staying in your own small circle, never trying anything new/different, never bothering to meet new people, etc.