John said "Talent and hard work doesn’t always equate to financial success. Of course there is an element of luck involved. There are only so many “cream of the crop” opportunities out there. And thousands of hardworking artists, songwriters, composers, producers, etc. are scratching and clawing for them. Not everyone will be rewarded appropriately, thus the element of luck is real."
I think that the opposite is also true in that many people without any apparent talent or hard work ethic still make it big.