>Your reply suggests that you are essentially in control of your life even if not over some random events here and there along the way.
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>Why would I not be? I have been fired from jobs, had to ask employers to lay me off because they could not afford to make payroll, been attacked by a lunatic in a bar who broke my leg in 4 places, run off the road on the expressway going 50 by a drunk driver and broke my other leg in 4 places, lived through my father committing suicide.
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>All gods children got problems. But I take responsibility for the state of my life.

The state of your life, of anyone’s life, is a combination of our own efforts (or lack thereof) and the effects of random (positive and negative) events and our reactions to those events. You list only the negative outcome random events (which we all have) but there will also have been positive outcome random events. I do not take the view that I am where I am just because of my own efforts. I accept that a large influence comes from those events that were beyond my control and for which I cannot assume responsibility but for which I am grateful.

Control over our lives is illusory beyond the relatively insignificant events. However, the one thing within our control is our attitude to events. But even our attitude is due, at least partially, to external influences during our formative years and beyond.