Of course it can. If you can identify thoughts that are not aiding you, you can actively replace them with more constructive uses of your mind and will power.
There's a spot on the big fat end of the distribution for pareto nihilists.
No matter where you lop the end of the Pareto distribution off the remaining curve still fits the same distribution. I though that was a defining characteristic of the principle.
> ... reliable distributions ... do not control individuals.
The people who've made it always talk to the people who haven't as if they can, by force of will, change their circumstances. That may be true if an individual has an untapped talent but in general luck will determine your outcome way more often than force of will. If it were possible for everyone to be rich there would be examples of that in society all across the world and all throughout history.
I applaud your optimism though.