FIH, I think things work out well for lots of people–more than you might think. As we see on this forum, there are many in the “Pigg World,” and I run into many more–friends, aquaintances, peers, etc. out in the “Big World”–who feel their lives have worked out well.

Since you asked, personally, we attribute the genesis of whatever successes we have achieved to our parents and grandparents. They were/are very smart, savvy people, and they planted the seeds from which most things in our lives have grown.

They gave us a strong foundation, but it was all up to us to make it or break it from there. As was mentioned, some squander these type of opportunities, but we have tried not to make those type of mistakes, and our kids have followed suit.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have our challenges–we’ve had plenty over the years–many, many of various types–some life threatening–but we feel we’re stronger for them. Everyone has issues in life–it’s surviving them and moving on that counts.