Those whose success is the result of steady accretion

From How They Succeeded (1901) by Orison Swett Marden, Ch. 2. Quoting Alxander Graham Bell.

The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. That intellectuality is more vigorous that has attained its strength gradually. It is the man who carefully advances step by step, with his mind becoming wider and wider — and progressively better able to grasp any theme or situation — persevering in what he knows to be practical, and concentrating his thought upon it, who is bound to succeed in the greatest degree.

Interestingly, the sentiment echoes Thomas Sowell's discussion about the success of minority middlemen in his Black Rednecks, White Liberals which I am currently reading and will post on separately. One of several key points Sowell makes is that the pattern of success amongst minority middlemen has been relatively stable across countries, cultures and centuries. They come in with little in terms of either expertise or capital, work much harder than the locals, consume much less, take more risks, accumulate more capital, invest in the future (particularly in next generation education), and rely to a greater extent on intra-group trust. In other words, their strategy is one "whose success is the result of steady accretion."

As a consequence of their success they are frequently scorned, shunned, or persecuted. Because they are so often ethnic or religious minorities, the prejudice against them is usually attributed to ethnic or religious bias but Sowell makes the strong case that ethnicity and religion are simply proxies. The persecution is better understood as envy and prejudice against the behaviors and the role of middlemen.