To an extent actually.

My parents told me I was very smart. My grade school teachers told me I was very smart. My high school teachers and classmates told me I was very smart. And heck, I had the proof; 3.98 GPA, 132 IQ, 36 ACT Score. I was ready to go on and ...

... wait ... how come I can't work through this ..? you mean ..?

All that meant completely ZIP. After it's all said and done, I'm pretty much a complete failure (again with proof). Because in the "real" world, being smart doesn't mean Jack. Because in the "real" world, being correct doesn't mean Jack.

Long story short, while many people blame their past for holding them back, my truth is that my upbringing didn't have anything to do with my failure as person. The world is far more complex than being smart or working hard or being a good person will amount to.