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>>So what is the moral of the story here? Life is what you make it. If you do not like the state of you life, it is up to you to take steps to change it, just like I did. There is nothing extraordinary about me and if I can do it, so can anyone else.
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>The mistake in this point is the degree to which random events, utterly beyond your control, actually influence your life - it is not just up to you at all. The role of randomness is far greater than we tend to realize (or want to admit). Being smart and having a willingness to work hard are only pre-requisites for success in life, without them you will almost certainly be on the wrong track. But being clever and willingly to work play only a (perhaps relatively small) part in the final outcome. Hence the moral of the story is be smart and be prepared to work hard and then hope for the best.

...and get something good. It is important to say that hope (i.e. good luck) is pre-requisite to catch something extraordinary, i.e. the best. At the same time, reasonably good achievements are quite normal, i.e. one should have really bad luck to miss them if other, personal prerequisites, mentioned by you, are in place.