The Horatio Alger myth, as it is popularly referred to, comes down to us from the late 19th century writer Horatio Alger, Jr. He wrote dime novels that told stories of American youths rising up from adversity and achieving the American Dream of success and wealth through hard work, determination, and courage. Though these stories are often deplored by sociologists as creating unrealistic expectations in the underprivileged, the ideas they encompass might be worth revisiting these days.
It is absolutely true that there are economic and social forces that can work against success. Almost anyone who has achieved success will freely admit that at some juncture they experienced some kind of good luck. However, they will also admit that they had to see the opportunity and sieze it when that luck came. There is the crux and fulcrum on which the Horatio Alger myth fails or succeeds. Even when luck comes along, it is not necessarily going to be an easy road. It still requires work, usually a great deal of it, to turn that luck into success. This is where most of those who decry the Horatio Alger myth become lost. They presume that the myth implies meteoric and instant success, which simply is not the case.
What the myth is saying is that when you mix a little bit of luck with unwavering belief in hard work, self-determination, and courage, you can turn that into real success. Where the myth seems to fall apart in practical terms has more to do with culture than with the myth itself. There is a sad reality that American culture has become more and more focused on instant gratification over the last several decades. Instant gratification and hard work rarely go hand-in-hand. If a person won't accept that working 40 hours a week will result in greater financial stability than working 30 hours a week, that it's more important to surf the internet that pick up $20 helping someone move, that society somehow owes them success, than the Horatio Alger myth is as mythical and unrealistic as its detractors claim.
If you can be convinced that spending more time focused on working hard is to your benefit, most people will find that it is. To an extent, it is a simple question of volume. When it comes to money, more is more. You still need to be willing to put in the time for it manifest in your life. You have to be watching for the luck that you can transform into success. You need to exhibit the determination to follow through when success does not seem inevitable. Most of all, you need to courage to fail along the way.
