Let’s consider two different scenarios here.
Scenario One: Bob grew up as the oldest of three brothers, with a very supportive mother and father who weren’t ‘rich’, but considered themselves ‘comfortable’. Once a year they could take a family holiday which was great bonding time on top of their already fantastic family relationship and exposted Bob to many different things. Being the eldest brother, Bob found himself in positions where he would often have to take responsibility and leadership for his younger brothers. His parents encouraged his leadership skills all the way through his great private schooling, where he was High school Captain. His grades weren’t brilliant, and he did like to go out and have fun as most other teenagers do, but his parents had flexible jobs which allowed them time to share the importance of good grades, and how the partying route can often lead to trouble. Bob’s parents were university graduates and were both working professionals with a lot of life experience. Bob understood this, and seen how his parents words were reflected in their own actions and success, and put his head down and worked hard thanks to their advice. By the time Bob was 25, he had attempted to start multiple businesses with varied success. A few of them required some capital and his parents were always ready to chip in. Knowing if things went wrong he could always live back with his parents was a huge pillow of comfort.
Scenario Two: Chris was an only child to a single mother who loved him very much, but found it hard to spend good quality time with him while balancing her two minimum wage jobs. She didn’t have a lot of money, and definitely couldn’t afford a computer and internet connection for Chris to waste time on. Chris’ mother had never left her small home town, and struggled to picture a life outside of working hard for 45 years and hopefully saving enough to retire comfortably. Chris didn’t see his mother much, and had a hard time making friends at school, even getting bullied here and there. This affected his confidence later in life greatly. He was a bright kid when he was younger, but soon found himself falling in with the wrong crowd, surrounding by drugs and alcohol as a young teenager. He rebelled against authority and dropped out in year 10 with little resistance from his mother. He tried a few ‘little business things’ early, but he didn’t really know what he was doing and had very little guidance or money to start with. By the time he was 20 he couldn’t even imagine how someone would make money on their own, even though he hated his job in unskilled labour.
The point of these scenarios is to illustrate how those that consider themselves ‘self made’ can only ever be half right, as there are so many external factors outside of their influence that have affected and created who the are today. To consider ones self ‘self made’ when finding success is obvious. The ego will love it, and you will have no problems looking down on anyone who is facing struggles as ‘lazy’. But if you find yourself in that position you must be humble and consider that there were many stars that aligned by sheer chance to get you to where you are today. By simply being born with access to internet and reading this, you have a leg up on 60% of the world.
But the good news is regardless of what scenario aligns more with your life, there are amazing examples of both types rising to entrepreneurial success, from all walks of life. Never stop trying and never stop learning.
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” – Seneca.