When you think about what has got you to where you are today, what pops into your head first? Perhaps hard work and determination, aided by a degree of talent? No doubt these have played an important role. But how much do you think that factors outside your control – what we might think of as luck – have influenced your path in life, for good or ill?

I believe that many of us – especially those who consider ourselves successful – underestimate the role that luck has played in our lives. And I’m not just talking about random life events, like winning the lottery, I’m thinking about luck in the broader sense of the circumstances into which each of us is born.

It took me a while to realise that my journey through life has been eased by several tailwinds. I have had the incredible luck of being born in the UK, in a peaceful period of history. I was blessed with an able body and mind, and had a good upbringing, and an incredibly exclusive education. I had the freedom to take advantage of opportunities, to start my own business and pursue my ambitions. In that sense my early years were a heck of a lot easier than many people’s. And I was also extremely fortunate that my particular talents were highly valued and rewarded in the marketplace, which enabled me to become wealthy.

How about you? Maybe you were born in a period when house prices were low, or when university education was free? You may not have had all of these things, but imagine for a second that you had none of them. Imagine that you came into this world facing barriers to your progress at every stage. Your parents unemployed, or needing care from you, or working ridiculous hours in insecure jobs. Your neighbourhood wracked by........

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