Do you think being intelligent, good looking, tall, successful, etc, matters as much if you already came from a rich or successful background?

[MCheetah]

Rachel Pizzolato, a 6' tall, 18 year old genius and model who is perfect at literally everything.

Growing up, I've always wanted to be super intelligent, accomplished, tall, athletic, and good looking. I am none of those things. Barely could even count as "smart." One could blame it on the fact that I had an abusive mother, grew up dirt poor and "barely not homeless," and came from a family of ugly overweight freaks. But I don't buy it as an excuse. I have to own up to my own failures in life. Do you think your background plays a huge part in how successful of a person you'll end up becoming, or does it not matter?

No, it's not as significant if you were already given every opportunity to succeed.

Yes, it's still significant despite all the extra advantages.

Don't know or care; results.

Updates

1 y

Another way to word the question:
Is being successful still as valuable or noteworthy if you basically had no chances to fail due to wealth or societal privileges?

[exitseven]

Most of the people that I know that are successful came from wealthy backgrounds. They got to go to nice colleges and could afford to live on campus and never ad to work a crappy job to pay for tuition. They could play sports and go on nice vacations. Also they had better connections.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[RealMarek]

It depends. I’ve seen people from wealthy backgrounds who would have never risen out of obscurity without their background. I’ve seen some who are truly resourceful and would arguably have done well anyway, although in most cases perhaps not quite as well.

[MCheetah]

I wrote a MyTake a while ago about how I had nothing growing up, how even today I still have no looks, no height advantages, and literally nothing to call an "advantage" in society, and I still get pissed off at that. How I work my ass off throughout life and have nothing to show for it, yet some tall attractive women from Californian can start an OnlyFans and become multi-millionaires. I get life is super unfair and all, but still get angry that I'm 35 and have nothing to show for myself, despite all the hard work I put in. And the "doomed to die alone" crap because I was born with the wrong genetics extra-infuriates me. It makes life seem completely pointless.

I can never tell if it's solely my fault that I have literally no positives or advantages in life and I ended up this way, or if some external circumstances like my background, play a part.

[RealMarek]

We can tell that, at least for Americans, things are becoming much more unfair. I was raised to think if you worked hard, you would be rewarded. That used to be generally true. Now if you work hard you’re still apt to get laid off or, if lucky, end up with “inflation raises” that don’t keep up with inflation. Corporate culture is crooked as hell and is in many cases nothing to do with merit. Our elite are voracious and are acting with the intent to drive almost everyone out of their assets (making them dependent and easily controlled). Social instability, gender confusion, and the abandonment of monogamy have resulted in a radical and continuing increase in young men who cannot find girlfriends or spouses and many women without family after failing to gain commitment from the men they chase. The internet has arguably been very bad for many people, with social media causing an increase in self-harm among girls and with many men addicted to porn or video games.

[RealMarek]

Viewed from the perspective of progressive history, which is the only history taught in our institutions, this is all part of the inevitable onward and upward march of progress and liberation. However, from the perspective of cyclical history, all of these phenomena fit well and are not surprising in a late-stage, declining civilization. The top-line numbers (GDP, technological power, etc.) improve but become more and more concentrated in a voracious, amoral elite. All of this is to say that if we were in 1980 relationships and finances would have been much better for a large number of people, even though the West’s cultural decline had set in well before then.

I grasp for answers myself and trust me, I have not gone through life unscathed and have had to adjust my expectations in some areas and get used to uncertainty in others in ways that were difficult. That said, I don’t for a minute think either of us are doomed to anything. Anyone reading your posts can gather that you are hard working, creative, well spoken, and authentically who you are. Those count for a lot, even now.

[Sonorous]

Well, it all depends on one's goal.

[GreenLanternI0I]

Of course background matters a lot. I live in United States and we have a serious crime problem, why? because there are no good fathers or uncles around (no nuclear family structure). Mothers are raising children alone which forces their children to join gangs and cartels, again why? because just like any living creature, humans (kids) want to be part of a family or a pack and that is something that gangs and cartels are offering (of course it is a satanic lie, but for them it is real and they do want to believe in this lie, so they can have a so called family or a pack). Background and family structure matter A LOT, it is THE most important part that will define you as a person and whoever says otherwise, is lying or have no idea what they are talking about. Now, about looks, a good looking person, especially a really Really good looking person, will have a MUCH easier time getting whatever he or she wants than an average person, because humans are visual creatures and when it comes to looks unfortunately you either have it or you don't, there is nothing in between. Intelligence is something that you can get through countless hours of studying and researching (brain is a muscle). Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are the most richest people on earth, NOT because they are geniuses, but because they had and still do have some SERIOUS and Very exclusive to few people in the world connections and their family had them even before all those people that I have mentioned before, became what they are today. Again, background matters Super a lot. without the background (nuclear family), without heavy connections, you are 90% dead in the water and as I said before when it comes to looks, you either having a great gene pool in you, or you don't. Unless you have a perfect gene pool of your skeleton structure, right muscles and ligament connections, height etc... no matter how many decades you be working out, you will never look like a Ronnie Coleman or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[MCheetah]

This probably would've made MHO.

[GreenLanternI0I]

I'm not here for that lol, I'm here to share all my life experiences, knowledge and wisdom in hopes it might help some one out there.

[Nomoturtle]

Regarding the title, many of those are hereditary, so partly yes.

Regarding the bottom part:
I think a successful background can matter a lot in the short term, but it's not all that defining of class mobility, in both directions, in the long term. Especially in a free market.
From what I can tell, successful familial dynasties aren't that common. You tend to get one or two people that strike gold in a family, and maybe their kids maintain that, and their kids kids, but after not too long it's either squandered or lost by someone selfish or foolish. It's something like the fourth turning, but within families: strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create bad times, bad times create strong men.
Heck, with lottery winners it's not uncommon for the winnings to disappear in a matter of years.
Somewhat related, but we might also see google die relatively soon, since apparently they're internally screwed according to an employee leak. Rife with wokeness, massive turnover, and almost nobody there would be able to recreate their systems. Many similar companies only seem capable of removing things at this point. Very apt for an ideology specialising in deconstruction.

[Nomoturtle]

Regarding the update: Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Celebrities seem to be venerated regardless of if their success was given or earned.
Wealth is often hated sometimes even for those that are self-made, but especially when they aren't.
There are also many things that require such privileges, like needing to be attractive to be an actor.
Not as related, but I'm also pretty grateful we live today rather than hundreds of years ago. Most of us would be farmers that would likely never become much else. We wouldn't be able to have much success at all if not for the philosophical, economic, and technological developments that give us the privileges we have today.

Personally, I don't tend to judge people's successes and evaluate whether it is "correct" for them to have them or not. Their successes are generally still accomplishments, or at least the accomplishments of someone else compounded (wealth, upbringing, genes, etc.)

[purplepoppy]

There's more to success than just gaining qualifications and experience. Your background can open doors, you'll move in the right circles and you'll learn the right social and verbal skills others won't. It's why one student with a degee in medieval poetry gets a high paid job in management while another with a chemistry degree flips burgers.

But another way of looking at it is people from wealthy backgrounds tend to be taller, better looking and more intelligent than poor people. How you turn out is a product of what was invested in you as a child. Give me a room full of naked men and I'll separate them into social class without making too many errors.

[exitseven]

@purplepoppy You don't care about social classes. You just want to see a room full of naked men.

[Stoner710]

Yes and no if your Jeff bazos kids probably not if your Ben Shapiro kids yes he’s right but not super ultra rich so it’s still important that his kids be both smart and good looking

[Dinklex3]

I mean.. i think it's more "inspiring" when people hear success stories from people who came from a rough background. It gives others hope.
I think they're both equally significant though i guess.

[joshctlee]

Define successful. I dropped out of high school and started an apprenticeship ship learning a trade and started a business in that trade and now make 80,000 a year. I’m 5’8 I have no education but I work hard and made something of myself.


Is that considered successful?

[notawomanagod]

tall men are so scary once a tall guy bumped into me and laughed and said "sorry i didn't see you there, dork" i think he called me a dork because its slang for an apology or something I don't know why he would say it otherwise but yeah i dont like tall guys

[laconique]

why do people care so much about physical appearance lol XD

[Chthou95]

Ugh have you been living under a rock?

[moonpie89]

Unfortunately no in today's society. Sucks.

[clampfan101]

What matters is what you use it for.

[Fuentes]

Yeah cause u still can have everything

[JesseJayNeak]

No, don’t think so

[Anonymous]

İ dont think.