[kylebrown]

Its amazing how self-defensive some successful people can become about their socioeconomic status. An implication that luck had any more than a very minor contribution is blasphemous. Some can become outraged at the suggestion that they might own one penny that wasn't earned fair and square. Completely on their own, with no help from anybody. Not even scholarships count as help (they're earned).

And for some reason, admitting that one received assistance from one's parents is taboo. Just look at the Romney campaign for a prominent example:

"I could have stayed in Detroit like him and gotten pulled up in a car company," Romney said at the debate. "I went off on my own. I didn't inherit money from my parents. What I have, I earned. I worked hard, the American way."[1]

1: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jan/...

[sopooneo]

What about someone that fought their way out of endemic poverty? For me, I was fortunate my whole life and while I have worked hard for what I've achieved, it is all largely dependent on the love, encouragement, mindset, and financial help I received from my family. I have a friend, though, that is one of my personal heroes. He came from disadvantage and dysfunction. But, by some spark that frankly I still find intimidating, he started fighting his way out from early childhood. Every challenge available in high school. Ivy League. Finance. Politics. He doesn't like to visit home now, which makes me sad, but I can understand.

So how much luck with him? We could argue that people like him are lucky for their innate drive and passion, but that's a tricky one.

[btown]

On the other hand, this person who fought their way out, could have easily failed if they were sufficiently _unlucky_, no matter how hard they tried, no matter how "intimidating" that spark. Heck, they could have been hit by a bus or something immediately after getting their dream job! A contrived example, to be sure, but nobody becomes successful without at least a little bit of luck. The point of the talk was that even people who fight their way through the entire process should recognize that they were somehow lucky, and that they should strive to help others who might not be so lucky.

I was one of the graduating seniors at Princeton who saw this talk live, and non-Princeton readers have to understand that the line "Never forget: In the nation's service. In the service of all nations" at the end is not just a concluding remark - it is both Princeton's motto and, IMO and according to many of my classmates, the thesis of the entire talk. The entire speech builds up to make this point: you are lucky, and by default you'll forget that you are sometimes... so make sure you remember to help people who aren't.

[zasz]

I'd argue a lot, still. Was he born in America, or Somalia?

[ralfd]

Perhaps his innate drive and passion would have made him a mighty pirate? Arrr.

[MartinCron]

Not even scholarships count as help (they're earned)

And heaven forbid you count student loans as getting help, even though they are taxpayer subsidized to keep the interest rates artificially low.