Meaningful Returns

People who are wealthy don’t like to think of luck as having played much of a role in their wealth, and this is understandable. Human nature dictates that we like to take all the credit for the good things that happen to us, and none of the credit for the bad things.

But how realistic is that?

Here are some variables that have a not insignificant impact on your life, and which you had zero control over:

• the time of year you were born
• where you were born
• the economic reality of your family
• whether you had a family
• what opportunities you were presented with at an early age
• what obstacles you faced at an early age
• your height

You could probably think of fifty more in no time.

The point is, if you don’t recognize that your wealth or position of influence is at least partly (and probably significantly) due to luck or fortune or whatever you want to call it, then you will find it more easy to think that helping others is not a responsibility, but simply an option.

(interesting read about this here)