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ComparisonGen t1_ixq7e5x wrote

Reply to comment by ComparisonGen in [Image] "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson by Butterflies_Books

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. -- Calvin Coolidge

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ComeFromTheWater t1_ixqbrrk wrote

Wish more people understood this. But post something like that on Reddit and responses are usually “luck” or “rich parents.”

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TheGrumpyre t1_ixqg1qf wrote

Luck, wealth and persistence are all wrapped up together. The odds of success on your first try are slim. If you want to be "lucky" you need to take as many opportunities as you can despite failing. And having wealth to cushion the fall when you fail means life won't force you to stop taking chances.

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DrenkBolij t1_ixqj4cw wrote

Don't ignore what effect luck plays. I often think of what Stephen Jay Gould wrote: "I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops."

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Alpacasaurus_Rekt t1_ixqe2i1 wrote

To be fair, rich parents basically make it so you don't need to succeed to live a good life

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Questions4Legal t1_ixrt8gh wrote

Reddit also has a lot of formerly "gifted" kids who were convinced by adults in their lives that they had an inevitable trajectory towards greatness who didn't end up going as far as they thought because, as the quote implies; persistence matters more.

I don't in general have anything against people like this but I do find it mildy annoying any time a post regarding the downside of being smart yet unsuccessful, "high IQ" or similar subjects that they're all "this is me and I don't like it".

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ComparisonGen t1_ixqnka6 wrote

This is a quandary. Every result stems from different factors, different aspects involved. So socioeconomic advantage has an effect, luck has an effect, and your own persistence also has an effect. It takes wisdom to consider all these levels.

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SavageGardner t1_ixs2iqo wrote

Luck and rich parents allow some people to be persistent through failures. Congrats to them, but some poor folks only have one failure and they are forever down. Being mindful of this isn't jealousy, it is being realistic.

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scurvofpcp t1_ixsdw5k wrote

Most people on Reddit don't understand what luck is, or most people in general. And ironically most of them could meme all day about the reasons to remember the name.

Still though, I've said it before and I'll say it again; if you get good at a couple things luck will find you.

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