The most important thing you can know about startups is that it's a game of luck. You can control certain aspects of luck by being at the right spot at the right time, knowing the right people and keeping your startup alive. But in the end it's largely luck and contrary to popular belief it can't be reverse engineered.
Basically: location, connections and timing.
What's better than reading blog posts about start up advice is finding some founders that have been successful and others that are in the same boat as you and talking with them regularly.
You can be lacking in all 3 categories and still be successful. But it's going to be much harder and the odds are stacked against you even more.
You can be proficient in all 3 categories and still fail.