A rosy view is that success is mostly due to merit, while a dark view is that success is mostly not due to merit, but instead due to what we see as illicit factors, such as luck, looks, wit, wealth race, gender, politics, etc.

Over a lifetime, people gain data on the relation between success and merit. And one data point stands out most in their minds; the relation between their own success and merit. Since most people see themselves as being pretty meritorious, the sign of this data point depends mostly on their personal success. Successful people see a rosy view, that success and merit are strongly related. Unsuccessful people see a dark view, that success and merit are only weakly related While lots of very successful people will acknowledge that luck played a large role in their success, most will point to the real merit that got them to where they are. They worked harder, were more persistent, delayed gratification, and otherwise behaved more admirably than their peers who were less successful. And, for the most part, they will be right on those scores while overlooking the extent to which luck also factored in.

Of course, defining "merit" and "success" will be controversial here, with reasonable and intelligent people disagreeing, sometimes quite broadly, as to what they mean. We pretend that success is exclusively a matter of individual merit. But there's nothing in any of the histories we've looked at so far to suggest things are that simple. These are stories, instead, about people who were given a special opportunity to work really hard and seized it, and who happened to come of age at a time when that extraordinary effort was rewarded by the rest of society. Their success was not just of their own making. It was a product of the world in which they grew.

But in my view points, success does not necessarily depend only on individual merits; rather it needs industries, patience, diligence, efforts and luck as well. If luck does not favour, it is not possible to be succeed despite being extraordinarily meritorious. Success comes together with relentless efforts, hard-work and good luck.