Yay, another HN post that seeks to denigrate the idea that individuals have any control over the outcomes in their lives, and tries to attribute everything to luck and uncontrollable external factors.
The reality is, we all live in a cold, uncaring, unsympathetic world, and are subject to multiple random and unpredictable (and uncontrollable) forces. Pointing this out is no great insight, and this notion does little or nothing to change how one should approach the world. In the end you can only play the cards you are dealt, whatever they may be. But what you do with those cards is what matters.
People are born into disadvantageous situations all the time, and yet they manage to escape that environment and go on to have great success. Is is really all just "luck" or is it the case that your choices and actions affect your ability to even take advantage of what "good luck" happens to come your way?
"Luck = preparation + opportunity" might sound like just a silly slogan for Nike t-shirts or something, but there's a lot of merit to that. Maybe using pedantic definitions you can't literally "make your own luck" but in an effective sense, that's exactly what you do. You make your own luck by putting yourself in a position to have good things happen to you. You make your own luck by preparing yourself to take advantage of opportunities that come along. You make your own luck by acting to change your circumstances.
And, yes, "black swan" events (of the "bad luck" variety) can come along and destroy you. It can happen to all of us, but that's just another tautology that isn't a very insightful observation.