2. My cousin has a connection to cheap money and invited me into a social circle where I could use it
3. I was willing to make people angry and unhappy along the way
4. I somehow fit into someone else's plan, and I get some decent scraps of riches for existing and pretending to do something important
These seem to be the main keys to success. I will admit that someone who's completely incompetent is less likely to succeed with access to just one or two of the above (excluding 4, which can stand on its own for a period of time), but if he's got all of the first 3 or 4 alone, success is pretty well guaranteed, regardless of ability or worthiness. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the vast unwashed rabble of successful people I believe have something from the above list.
2. My cousin has a connection to cheap money and invited me into a social circle where I could use it
3. I was willing to make people angry and unhappy along the way
4. I somehow fit into someone else's plan, and I get some decent scraps of riches for existing and pretending to do something important
These seem to be the main keys to success. I will admit that someone who's completely incompetent is less likely to succeed with access to just one or two of the above (excluding 4, which can stand on its own for a period of time), but if he's got all of the first 3 or 4 alone, success is pretty well guaranteed, regardless of ability or worthiness. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the vast unwashed rabble of successful people I believe have something from the above list.