I’m gonna go on a little rant for a minute here. I’ve gotten to where I am in my career because of one very lucky break nearly a decade ago. But the reason that was such a lucky break was that I had been doing some very hard work for about a year before that opportunity came along. Working an extra couple hours a night (after my full-time job and 45+ minute one-way commute), every night, for at least 8 months.

See, when Mashable advertised for experienced bloggers back in 2007, I had already been running a topic blog about eco-friendly living for close to a year. I was publishing 5-6 blog posts every day, by myself. They were short, but they were consistent. And occasionally I ran longer posts and series. So when I saw the ad from Mashable, I applied. And Pete Cashmore (this was back when he was managing pretty much everything himself) hired me on a trial basis. And Mashable kept growing, which gave me a ton of credibility when I applied elsewhere.

So yes, I was lucky in that I was in the right place at the right time, but it would not have been either of those things if I hadn’t been putting in a whole lot of hard work before that.

This brings me to the concept of privilege. By many standards I’m privileged. I’m white (and live in the US). I was born into a middle-class family in New England that valued education. I have a high IQ (which really just means I have an easier time learning things than people who don’t have such a high IQ). I have no major health concerns. English is my native language (which is only a privilege because of where I live).

At the same time, I have disadvantages. I’m not thin (which is a huge disadvantage in many circles, and less so in others, but maintaining a healthy weight is something I will probably always struggle with due to genetics). I’m short. I’m not wealthy. I’ve had issues with anxiety and depression in the past. I’m divorced (although I consider that one a plus at this point). I have debt.

And there are things that are neutral, or that can be either an advantage or disadvantage based on the circumstances, namely that I’m female. In some circles, that’s a plus. But in others, it’s definitely a hindrance (have you seen the controversy surrounding the lack of female directors in mainstream film?).

The point is, we hall have privileges and we all have disadvantages. What we need to remember is that neither of those things negates the value of hard work. And at the same time, we need to remember that someone who puts in the same amount of work we do may have different results, just because they were more or less privileged than we are.

For example, someone who wasn’t a native English speaker might not have gotten that first job with Mashable. They might have been blogging for a year, putting in the same amount of work I was, but because their English skills weren’t as developed as mine, they wouldn’t have been hired. And while we can cry about that being unfair, in reality, it’s just the way the world works. Mashable is a business with a certain level of quality to maintain. Articles that are hard to read because of grammar issues don’t help their brand, and having to rewrite all the articles submitted to make them adhere to their standards adds a level of cost that may not work for them.

Here’s the thing: play to your strengths. Virtually all of us have things that we are good at. Stop putting insane amounts of effort into things you’re not good at, year after year, when you’re seeing no progress. (This is different than putting effort into something you love that you’re not good at yet but are making progress at.) If after 6 months or a year you’re in the same place as when you started, it may be time to reevaluate. If you love it, keep plugging away, but come to terms with the fact that it might never be something you’re good at. (I love to sing. I’m not bad but I’m not great. Therefore, I reserve singing for the shower and other times when I’m alone.)

I feel like I’ve gone off on a tangent here. But the bottom line is this: everyone has privilege in one area or another, even if that privilege comes from things that can be disadvantages in other circumstances. That doesn’t mean hard work isn’t required to be successful. Very, very few people are successful just because of privilege, just like very very few people are successful purely because of hard work.

But can we stop trying to negate the value of the work people have put in, just because they had advantages others have not? And at the same time, can we stop telling people that all they need to do to succeed is “work harder”? Nothing is that clear cut, and when we can stop obsessing over both of those things, maybe we can all actually help each other get ahead.