Rationalization = excusing your lack of success based on factors beyond your control, circumstance = accepting the factors beyond your control and playing the hell out of the factors that are in your control.
It's too bad that Marc Andreesen took his career advice blog post off the Internet, because he had some of the best advice I've seen. It was:
1. Build skills & relationships.
2. Take advantage of opportunities
Basically, all of the big leaps in your career will happen because some random big opportunity outside of your control will open up. When it does, jump on it. Immediately. Drop everything you're doing for it. Most people don't, and that is why most people slave away their lives in cubicles.
But to seize that opportunity, you need to be qualified, and you need to hear about it. So all the time that you're not actively seizing an opportunity, you should be building your skill base and getting to know other people. That's the important part: opportunities happen to everybody, but the vast majority of people aren't in a position to take advantage of them.
It's too bad that Marc Andreesen took his career advice blog post off the Internet, because he had some of the best advice I've seen. It was:
Basically, all of the big leaps in your career will happen because some random big opportunity outside of your control will open up. When it does, jump on it. Immediately. Drop everything you're doing for it. Most people don't, and that is why most people slave away their lives in cubicles.But to seize that opportunity, you need to be qualified, and you need to hear about it. So all the time that you're not actively seizing an opportunity, you should be building your skill base and getting to know other people. That's the important part: opportunities happen to everybody, but the vast majority of people aren't in a position to take advantage of them.