It's not a guarantee, but the right kind of schooling - in the educational sense, the networking sense, and the passing on of class-appropriate behaviours sense - hugely improves the odds of success.
As this article proves. The ability to invest disposable income is a defining class marker in the US.
You don't get to play the game if you literally have no surplus income - and many Americans don't.
> in the educational sense, the networking sense, and the passing on of class-appropriate behaviours sense - hugely improves the odds of success.
That's fair. I agree on this point. The network at an Ivy League can open doors for you that a state school could never open for you.
But I disagree on one point. It comes down to ambition. It's almost like a fire within your soul. If you have that fire kindled within you, it won't matter where you started from.
I have seen miracles in my life. A man with no arms and legs going around with a motorized wheelchair, using his chin to control acceleration/deceleration. When I saw this man, I realized that I was holding my self back. Anything is possible. If that man who had no limbs could walk, I had no excuses to give anymore.
It's an uncomfortable and often painful truth for many. Climbing an insurmountable mountain, whether it is a personal failing, or desire, one will start to justify their own failings. It's the human psyche after all. But what they miss is belief, a leap, faith, the fire within themselves, etc...
I like to think of Heracles. He had his twelve labours. It's a metaphor for not giving up, no matter how large the challenge is.
As this article proves. The ability to invest disposable income is a defining class marker in the US.
You don't get to play the game if you literally have no surplus income - and many Americans don't.