Ryu has it way better though.

20% skill and 80% beer?

I mean common. Now that's lucky!

I started at a British company, a recruitment agency. That means I have to acquire clients and sell them my candidates.

Surprisingly this is as low as it can get for “white collar jobs” in the UK, but all my colleagues in Germany were well educated with a diploma, Bachelors or Master degree.

I had to work on a very challenging market, selling experts for a very expensive Software in the middle of Germany, which is more agricultural than any other industry. It was just not possible to succeed. I did some deals, but nowhere near the guys who were selling in Hamburg, Frankfurt or Munich. But I really worked my ass off. I left home at 06:30, started at 07:30 am and was home about 9:30 pm. Basically every day.

I failed to keep up with my colleagues, even though I worked more and harder than them. This was a crucial situation for my life, because I thought about doing something entirely different. Luckily, I did not.

So I joined two other agency’s, and I did fairly good, especially at the second one, becoming TopBiller for the entire company two years in a row. But I wanted more.

I started my own company three years ago, doing the exact same thing, but better and so much more transparent than my British competitors. I did not focus so much on sales, but more on relationships. I already have my key accounts, I just need to find the right candidates for them. I still work about 50hours a week.

I succeeded with my company so far. I made about 140,000€ last year. This year will be lower thanks to COVID-19, but I will be above 100,000€ anyway.

Despite COVID-19, we hired our first employees and are in need for a bigger office. My goal is to make 300,000€ per year and I will keep on working for it.

So, I think that I am a decent example that you need to work hard and be focused. At least here in Germany, but probably most western countries, I still believe that you can be successful with the right attitude towards education, work and dedication.

I can’t stand it, when people downplay others achievements with “luck”.

But my luck was to be born here. You probably couldn’t duplicate my way in Africa, as f*cked up as it is.

I think it's 90% working smart. You can work your ass off at the burger king, but that doesn't mean it will get you anywhere. The trick is to set a goal and believing in yourself. If you do get stuck in a crappy job, always look for a better opportunity, like starting your own business. Find something you're good at and you'll never have to work a day in your life!

But what do I know, I've been flipping burgers for 10 years now...

I would like to thank the boomersquad for all upvotes
As you can see you can steal content and get success with it

It’s a combination of hard work, connections, and your personality.

Hard work pays off. Being at the right place at the right time certainly helps... But showing initiative and doing the hard yard pays off.

However I "judge" success on how happy and content you are, you only get one life to live, so if you are loving life, then that is a success.
I personally would never change what I do for the world... The pay is shit. Your life is at risk. What more could you want?

Luck plays a huge role in achieving success in life.
Baby Boomer generation got lucky with cheap education and cheap housing.
Young people are working harder and it takes a long time to pay off student loans.
Baby Boomers bought their first house by 20, young people will be lucky to buy first house by 30.

The young people I see aren't working harder, though. Many aren't working at all. Partly because of too many distractions and partly because we did a terrible job preparing them for the real world. Partly because the good jobs that pay well without a degree seem to be going away. In any case, they're gonna have to figure it out. Excuses won't put food on the table.

I say prepare hard and leave luck to heaven

It was luck that got me all of my jobs. Including Tech Rep at Nintendo and Rockstar. It was luck too that got me into working in schools. But my progression to becoming a better someone at anything is hard work.