Since you ragged me a bit for only addressing the "steem related" part of your post, i figured id post some thoughts on the non steem related parts. Youre not going to agree with me about this part either.
I know a lot of people who share your worldview... that it's all just luck. I was actually a professional card player for many years, and its a pretty common notion in those circles.
Its worthwhile to note that this statement "Science, and simple logic, show us that life is far more random than our egos like to suppose, and nobody "deserves" their lot in life, for better or for worse." is unsupported by evidence in your post. If there is such science or logic that supports your weltanschauung , you fail to cite it. You cite two fiction novels.
I could probably make a pretty good guess about your backstory, but i suspect you'd take umbrage, so ill refrain. I will say that people who believe this typically have 2 things in common. They usually don't have a vocation that adds substantial value to society (which is why the idea is so common among poker players) and they are usually broke most of the time.
I have no idea why you think bill gates didn't deserve to make the money he made. He was an innovator and he certainly worked hard for it. This sort of example, as well as your fictional postit example (more on that in a moment) are a typical argument used by those who espouse the ideas you do. In essence you attempt to bring everyone's accomplishments "down" to your level by attributing their success to luck rather than hard work and diligence.
The fact is that for most people luck plays a very small role in their professional success. If i told my clients "hey i fucked off all week. and by the way im not too bright. but don't worry everything will work out its all luck anyway", they would be horrified. I don't want the guy thats luckiest to be building my house or the bridge im driving over, i want the guy who is best at building things.
Your post-it story is a great example of how people who think like that tend to gloss over the work part and intellect part. You either don't know the real story, or youre tweaking it to fit your point.
At the end of the day, most people who espouse the "luck" thesis are people who have no skill or value to add to society, so they come up with the goofy notion that capitalism is some kind of get rich quick scheme because merit and hard work doesn't matter. Sometimes the scheme will work and theyll get rich, but they almost always lose it all and more when they move on to the next scheme and the one after that.
What you present is a pleasant fantasy for people who want to make a lot of money with a very little effort, but thats all it is -- a fantasy.
BTW, i didnt want to include it in comments because its a wall of text form me in the thread already, but heres the real story about the "luck" involved with the creation of post it note glue.
I just posted a lengthy explanation of my worldview and how I arrive at it. Read it when you can and you'll better understand me. My worldview flows naturally from a single foundational insight. You'll probably disagree with that insight, but we can debate that another day (and I'll be happy to offer evidence in support of it then).
In an event, you have me all wrong. Like you, I am a lawyer by education. I'm also a CPA by education. I have worked in financial services for decades where I have founded multiple highly successful businesses. I currently employ about 35 people, and I'm quite confident that my annual earned income exceeds your's. Google me and you'll find out other things that I do/am.
My net worth very likely exceeds your own (and yes, I read about you cashing out for $5 million--congrats on that!). Most of my net worth is in my businesses, but I'm also a successful speculator. I was a very early bitcoin adopter, buying most of my coins at an average cost basis of about $6. But, unlike you, my risk tolerance is quite high. So, I've held most of mine (or at least my family has). Let's just say I've done quite will with that, but it still represents less than 10% of my family's net worth.
I also acquired Ethereum in the crowdsale. I've done quite will with that too, despite recent events. But it too is a small portion of my family's net worth.
In short, my track record in identifying and acquiring crypto assets is quite good, and I'm more enthused about Steem than any of the others (and I'm still REALLY enthused about them!).
So, your suppositions about me are wrong. But, given that you tried to psychoanalyze me, let's see if I can do any better in returning the favor:
You've done well in life, but you could have done far better. You've had opportunities to make massive wealth, but each time you bail too early, and that bothers you. You don't have confidence in your ability to skillfully identify opportunities (because, in your heart, you too think, or at least fear, that life is much more random than you like to admit), and as those opportunities becomes bigger and bigger, your confidence in their continued growth declines proportionately. Consequently, you invariably sell out early. Yes, you make good money, but you miss the truly great money. You didn't have the "killer instinct" in poker--often passing on statistically perfect opportunities to go "all in". You bailed on bitcoin too early. You bailed on numerous other things too early. And now you've panicked and bailed on Steem, cashing in most of your coins.
Given your history of being cashing in too early, you don't want to think you've done that again. You want to be right this time. Really badly. You want to think that you sold the vast majority of your Steem at the perfect time, just before Steem failed. So, at an unconscious level, you are ignoring the obvious (for instance Steem's inherent anti fragility) and you're subconsciously rooting for Steem's failure. You are looking for reasons why it will fail instead of why it will succeed. You suffer from confirmation bias.
But, just in case you're wrong again, you kept a few thousand dollars in Steem, and you even recently Powered Up with it. So you've hedged your bet. Why? Because in your gut you know that life is random, and you never know.