Success = Luck plus Talent plus Skill plus Persistence

Yep.  You can have all the talent in the world, finely-honed skill, and the persistence of a saint---but still fail.  Luck in being at the right place, the right time, with the right stuff still rules.  But Lady Luck is a function of probability.  One's odds of being in the right place with the right stuff at the right time increases as one persists.

So persistence beats luck, maybe...

Hope that helps.

Dan L.  5-5-2014