It is a pretty decent quote, from someone who certainly took a couple of risks so far in his life. I would like to introduce a inflection point of view, and is the following: Having been born in a well educated family (Father was a dentist and mother psychiatrist) and with a lot of support (his parents hired private computer tutor David Newman to come to the house once a week and work with him) and of course having access to Harvard, what could be his risk-reward ratio and tools / support to decide that ?.

So my main point will be, as the book says, Talent is overrated, there are the other important elements like the country you are born, the social circle you live in, your parents education and the nearby institutions you have access to get education. Perhaps we worship randomness of the paths taken by famous people, but behind them, in many cases, there are the contrary elements: steadiness and humble people who made those lifes easier, richer and more productive.