[jleask]

Just as anecdotally, I know many people who have put that work and it has made no difference, or they've been made redundant etc. Equally I know drifters who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Hard work buys you more tickets in the game of life, but luck is always there to some degree. How much is luck, who knows :)

[yayana]

I've seen more of the paradox effect than hardwork paying off.

For example, when a large company collapses, being the very worst can be an asset to get out and into new companies earlier and through less critical processes (that then end up overly critical of the people trusted to shut off the lights).