But let's be clear, exceptionally hard work is neither necessary nor sufficient. Many people achieve success without working particularly hard. Maybe they worked "smart" instead. Or maybe the path was cleared for them and they were competent enough not to totally blow it.
Conversely, there are countless people who work harder than many of us will ever dream, and will never sniff success on a level that most of us take for granted.
Of course, as an individual, you've only really got control over your mindset and actions. So, from that perspective, hard work is good advice. I just think that culturally, we often go beyond advising, to the point of making moral judgments of a person's work ethic based on their career outcome. If you weren't particularly successful, you just must not have been "self-made".
I think of myself a pretty successful. Certainly I am by any global standard. But I'm not known for being the world's hardest worker. I make up for that with savvy. I know when to push really, really hard, but that's not the gear I live most of my life in.
I've spent significant time with people that run the gamut of the socioeconomic spectrum. In my anecdotal observation, hard work and success are only loosely correlated. But I guess that depends on how you define success.
One place where the hard work vs. success dilemma really plays out is in athletics. What's more evidence of success than winning a championship in sports or being in the Hall of Fame? And yet, even amongst elite players in a given sport, you'll hear about vastly different reputations for hard work and discipline. Take the tennis rivals Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, for example.
I've met people who I would say are 100-1000x better at doing and understanding technical problems than others I've met. They can and do achieve in a decade what would take the others a lifetime, if at all. These gifted people have a much easier time when it comes to survival because they are able to accomplish things that society values. (Happiness, personal meaning, feeling of community, etc is another ball game).
Furthermore, the grandparent was pointing out too that even gifted-ness aside, what family / community one comes from also has a huge impact on what possibilities are afforded them. The odds may be stacked against / for oneself before they even lift a finger.
Conversely, there are countless people who work harder than many of us will ever dream, and will never sniff success on a level that most of us take for granted.
Of course, as an individual, you've only really got control over your mindset and actions. So, from that perspective, hard work is good advice. I just think that culturally, we often go beyond advising, to the point of making moral judgments of a person's work ethic based on their career outcome. If you weren't particularly successful, you just must not have been "self-made".