Charles Baker, a man whose staggering luck and good fortune allowed him to be born to a well-off family in a prosperous part of the country, attributes all of the success he experiences today to “my hard work and determination.”

Baker, who was lucky enough to be born to a family who valued education, “worked his ass off in college” to get a degree in finance. He was fortunately able to get a job straight after graduation after he had the good luck to be introduced to a founding partner of Dunning-Spongent by his father. “It wasn’t easy.” Baker said about the job search. “I really had to work to show that I was better than the other candidates.”

Charles, who could have had the misfortune of being born anywhere else, then described how, through sheer serendipity, he met the love of his life and got married. “Yes, I’m extremely grateful for my family. I don’t know what I would do without them. To anyone who is looking for love, I say you need to keep your head up and keep looking. Keep putting yourself out there.”

When questioned on what advice he should give less lucky individuals who are struggling to reach the levels of success that blind chance has brought to his professional, personal, and romantic life, Charles said that “the most important thing is to not be lazy. Nobody just handed me all of the nice things I have today. I worked extremely hard for them.”