Of course the silver spoon catch-22 metaphor of sucess is correct. Even in the case of the 79 year old painter. She survived to the age of 79 so she was successfully healthy and I believe that same woman lived on to a very old age (check an encyclopedia article about her life if you REALLY need more info) Plus it is a simple luck factor as stated by Richard Wiseman who recently wrote a book under that title. you generally meet people everyday if you not a hermit and since every person tends to know at least 300 people one of those people has to be successful in one form or another and at least one person you meet each day knows somebody who can help you in your field of business, or field of interest. Lucky people are more positive, yet they also find the harder they work the luckier they get. Therefore it is only fair to have unfair advantages in an unfair world if you wish to have an "unfair" amount of success. Keep your nose to the grindstone and actually educate yourself in some form or another. I'd suggest classics like Acres of Diamonds or As A Man Thinketh or even The Magic Book from 1906 which have no post modern BS and no newsletters you try to get sold on. Even posting on here denotes your success in actually being bold enough to speak up! Tim JR.