'Captain America' star Anthony Mackie: 'We're lying to our kids' when we say success comes just from hard work—luck is key, too
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Marvel star Anthony Mackie says success has as much to do with luck and connections as with talent. Highly successful people like Mark Cuban agree.

Put simply, being in the right place at the right time, and having connections, can be as important as having the skills and experience.

    • Reyali@lemm.ee
      4·
      4 months ago

      Talent, dedication, and luck. Spot on.

      I am very successful in my career and earn more than my school-age self ever expected (tbf, I expected to be a teacher). I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all three, though.

      Lucky points include:

      • Being the kid of small business owners who gave me/made me get a job with them at 16.
      • Knowing someone at a company who recommended me for an internship.
      • Working adjacent to a badass development team that made the best proof of concept to build a new app, so they brought me to their team to support it.
      • My Lead retiring so I was able to move to her level after only a couple years.

      I wouldn’t have gotten those opportunities if I didn’t also have the dedication and talent, but luck was a huge factor.

      I have tried the metaphor that luck opened doors for me, but I had to get to and walk through them. I will never take where I am today for granted.