Robert H. Frank is the Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management. His “Economic View” column has appeared in the New York Times for more than a decade. His many books include The Winner-Take-All Society (written with Philip Cook) and Luxury Fever. This essay is drawn from Frank’s book, Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy, with permission of the author.