What also wears on my life — not just currently, but for most of my life — is the pervasive realization that working hard and doing your best is not actually enough to result in success

It's not fair! It never is. At least you know this and accept it. There are fools out there who succeed purely by luck, and they are mostly the kind of people who are a pain in the neck. Yet they have the audacity to claim it's all because of their hard work... When it was mostly luck on their side!

I wish you could have a holiday... I’d love to see you pack your bags for the Anatolian tectonic plate! All of it!