[drieddust]

Exactly where they would have been if they were born in Afghanistan. Probably maimed or dead.

I have asked this question to myself repeatedly and never arrived at satisfactory answer.

What pisses me off is the shear intellectual dishonesty with which these successes are reported.

Growing up my parents would always give references to such stories and make us feel how lazy we were for not succeeding like those kids.

Those who come from humble background can still make it big but only when all the stars align for them and they are too constrained to only do that one thing.

Rags to riches opportunities are risky bets and only those who can either afford the loss or don't have anything to lose and don't have any other opportunities apart from that one bet wins.