It's easy to tell yourself you are as good as Musk or Jobs or Bezos. And comforting. But there's also the possibility that they are truly different. More talented, more focused, more hard working, more driven. And more willing to take risks.

I don't know any of these guys, but I know plenty of people who got much farther in life than me because they were simply better than me in some respect.

I also know some people who got farther by pure luck, but the thing is, when I look around me, I find more cases of merit- than luck-based advancement.

So, yes, this, or that or that can hold you back in life. But, conversely, when you don't succeed in life, we always find excuses, don't we? It's never "I wasted hours on social media sites", it's "I didn't have the same connections as Gates".