Outliers

I'm reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers right now. It seems to be a book that everyone's sister (including mine) has read and told them about. It's interesting so far--basically, people do have hidden advantages, and life is not a meritocracy, even if we wish it were. But the reason why these unearned advantages matter (when you were born in relation to some age cutoff, programs you were able to get into because your parents had money/connections that others didn't have, etc.) is because they  give you opportunity for more practice. And without practice (like, 10,000 hours of it), you aren't going to break through.

I guess what I take away from that is that you can't control the opportunities that are thrown into your lap, but you can keep an eye out for opportunities and take as many as you can that will give you extra practice.