Well said my point entirely. there is no such thing as making your own luck. You can do everything to try to help your career but to make it big you need a huge slice of luck....or a speed dial direct line to the connections necessary.
I watched a Tina Turner DVD where there was an interview with P.P. Arnold who was a former Ikette. Talking about when Tina broke up with Ike and Tina could not find work she said that you could be the best singer and entertainer in the world but without the right backing and management behind you, you could never make it in this business.