[beersigns]

I generally agree we are products of the environment/circumstance we are born into but it's left to your free-will and choice as to how to best persevere in that environment. I've always viewed talent as the tool that enables you to make the best of the environment you are placed in. Chance/opportunity is not a equally distributed resource but by working hard/efficiently you prepare yourself to make the best of the opportunities you are presented with in life. No one is immune to sheer bad luck but if you did everything you could to set yourself up for success, you shouldn't be derided for it.