The Many are called but few are chosen.

The Many are called but few are chosen.

The world is full of wannabes and simple statistics tell us that only a small number can succeed: there just aren't enough success slots for everyone.

The filters that separate the wheat from the chaff include genuine ability, suitability, qualifications and things like being in the right place at the right time. Who you know is more important than what you know is another relevant saying here and is probably as true now as back in the days of aristocracy and wealthy capitalists. Some make it by trickery and dishonesty using charm and guile to evade detection and retribution. The human race is a many-faceted group and ingenuity will often find unexpected paths to the coveted goals we, sometimes mistakenly, call success.

And what of those who are left behind? Do they spend the rest of their days in miserable ignominy? Some might but most just shrug their sholuders and get on with it. Success doesn't always bring happiness, as Kipling put it: "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat these two imposters just the same; ... you'll be a man, my son."