Actor Bryan Cranston, who worked for years doing guest appearances and commercials, felt “stuck in junior varsity,” but persisted in his self-promotion efforts nonetheless:

The whole idea is to put yourself in a position to be recognized for your work so opportunities increase. False humility or even laziness could prevent that.

(Tad Friend, “The One Who Knocks,” New Yorker, September 16, 2013)

Author Tad Friend ascribes that even

…luck is the residue of design and devotion.