Correlation:  Look up Sam&#x27;s comments about his parents.  Think of pg&#x27;s background.  Of the successful people from broken backgrounds, they were usually successful by moving on to affluent universities where they recovered.<p><i>It&#x27;s one thing to be really good at what you do... to even be the best. It&#x27;s another thing entirely to convince other really good and sometimes the best people to work for you, your company, and your ideas.</i><p>This is in fact the central argument of my original comment:  Merit is mostly communication, and your ability to communicate is <i>defined</i> by the context you grow up in.  Not in spite of it.<p>When the world shapes you, reshaping yourself is not the only thing that matters.  Your old mistakes can brand you for life.