&gt;<i>The 20 year-old version of Mark Zuckerberg beats the 20 year-old version of me every time.</i><p>No, he doesn&#x27;t. FB&#x27;s success due to 20+ random meetings, connections etc he had. And of course that there wasn&#x27;t already a capable competitor in that space.<p>And the non-random facts of his rise, you can&#x27;t control anyway (being born to rich parents, going to an Ivy League school, etc).<p>The idea that we as individuals are somehow &quot;special&quot; and odds don&#x27;t matter is a fallacy.