OP. I'm in a similar boat, but with opposite friends. All of my friends were born here, had parents pay their way through school, lived with them in adult hood, paid for their weddings, etc.
I am the only one of them who was not born in the US, and with every disadvantage, I managed to succeed while they are still failing well into their mid to late thirties, even with all of their parents help.
Meanwhile I got no help, had little opportunities as a non-citizen at the time, lived on my own, and paid my own way through school.
The end result: I make more money than all 3 of them COMBINED, and I pay more in taxes than any of them gross in a year.
It wasn't until one of them got married recently that I realized that just because you've been friends with someone for a long time doesn't mean you need to keep being friends with them. People grow and change over time. I buy houses paid in cash since my mid twenties, while they are struggling to put food on the table in their mid to late 30's...even though they had all the help in the world to get ahead and every advantage.
I recently realized that I need to find friends who are more aligned intellectually and financially with where I am at in life. Not hang out with the people who have, essentially failed at life no matter how much help they got. That's harder said than done, and forums such as these are the only way I really can do it right now. Not a ton of people walking around with incomes similar to those who post on this forum. We are the minority but through forums like this we are concentrated in one place. Maybe I will post a thread for a Seattle meet up one day...
What you read and who you associate with is where you will be 5 years from now.
Caught my attention. Mind sharing a little more about your path to success? Always enjoy reading interesting rags-to-riches stories.
Socrates was approached by a young boy who asked him how HE could gain knowledge like him. Socrates took the boys hand and led him to the water, then proceeded to hold the boys head under water until he was gasping for air. Socrates then released the boys head and waited until he regained his composure. The boy then asked Socrates why he did that. Socrates asked him what he wanted most while he was under water. "Air", the boy responded. Socrates said that when you desire knowledge as much as you desired air when you couldn't breathe, you will get it.
At the end of the day, unlike my friends, I had to work for what I had, nothing was handed to me. I built a burning desire to succeed, and I firmly believe what Napoleon Hill said was true. The starting point of all success is a burning desire. But for me it wasn't a burning desire to move toward something. It was a burning desire to move away from poverty that was developed as a result of lack, in my life.
More detail:
Became a SME on a specific thing at a young age. I was determined, driven. I lived and breathed the subject even on my free time because I had an interest in it. I rose to the level of management and eventually had frustrations with that job, so I changed jobs. Each time I changed jobs I learned something new, took on more responsibility, was eager to impress by getting things done that others weren't doing. I learned a new technology everywhere I worked.
That job eventually led me to look for a better job out of frustration after a few years and THIS was my big break. A very fancy big name organization as an FTE, very hard to get in. I worked hard, kicked but and excelled, just like other jobs. Eventually I got frustrated and moved on. Repeat, over and over again, and now I make 150K a year, working from home as I see fit, reporting directly to the CIO, and I have a team under me (though I've been a lead for some time now, at multiple jobs).
Essentially I learned as much as I could, became a SME in various different technologies, got certs like crazy, while going to school. On the weekends while people were partying or going to bars, I was up until 6 AM learning my craft. Not all the time, but still. I spent my free time at work learning new things related to my job, so I could do more than others on the job were capable of.
Changing jobs frequently out of frustration ended up being a winning strategy. While everyone was politicking I was learning new skills and getting better offers elsewhere. Eventually everyone I worked with at jobs I left got laid off within a year or 2 max, of me leaving. But it worked out for me in the end. With 12 IT certifications, a portfolio of rental properties and an MBA on the way, and when I interview and they call my references, they tell my manager that out of all the people they interviewed, I was the only one that was able to solve the technical problems presented. Not to mention the interview with a MCM/MVP who told me I was a true IT professional, a real Engineer.