--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My wish and hope, every year, is that…" description: "\"My wish and hope, every year, is that people's life chances - their chances of having a happy, prosperous, healthy life for themselves and their family..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/michael-elliott-67407_accidents_my-wish-and-hope-every-year-is-that-peop_1906174.jpg" --- # My wish and hope, every year, is that people's life… ![“My wish and hope, every year, is that people's life chances - their chances of having a happy, prosperous, healthy life for themselves and their family and friends - should not depend on accident of birth. It shouldn't depend on where you're born. It should depend on who you are and what you do…” quote by Michael Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/michael-elliott-67407_accidents_my-wish-and-hope-every-year-is-that-peop_1906174.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/michael-elliott-67407_accidents_my-wish-and-hope-every-year-is-that-peop_1906174.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c9/michael-elliott-67407_accidents_my-wish-and-hope-every-year-is-that-peop_1906174.jpg) > “My wish and hope, every year, is that people's life chances - their chances of having a happy, prosperous, healthy life for themselves and their family and friends - should not depend on accident of birth. It shouldn't depend on where you're born. It should depend on who you are and what you do. But it shouldn't depend on the chance and the luck of being born in the U.S. or in a poor village in Sub-Saharan Africa or India or wherever it may be.” Michael Elliott ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote calls for equal life opportunities regardless of birthplace, emphasizing merit over luck. **In simple terms:** Life chances should depend on effort, not where you're born. Key Takeaway Promote fairness and equal opportunity. Themes equality social justice meritocracy Mood hopeful determined Type social philosophical When to use this quote - education policy - immigration reform - wealth redistribution Key Concepts economic mobility global inequality Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reduce birth‑place inequality? - What policies best ensure merit matters? A Different Perspective Implementing fairness is complex across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Family and friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-and-friends/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Healthy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-life/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/india/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prosperous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperous/) [Sub saharan africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sub-saharan-africa/) [Village](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/village/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [But at the end of the day, the lottery of birth shouldn't determine your value to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-famuyiwa/but-at-the-end-of-the-day-the-lottery-of-birth-shouldn-t-determine/) [Rick Famuyiwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-famuyiwa/) > [We're sending you best wishes And hope your day goes well And that you'll find some memories With stories you can tell Of how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-horne/we-re-sending-you-best-wishes-and-hope-your-day-goes-well-and-that/) [Janet Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-horne/) > [The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-moment-you-wake-up-each-morning-all-your-wishes-and-hopes-for-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Learn from yesterday, live for today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/learn-from-yesterday-live-for-today/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Almost no one as I think most leadership books are a joke. They are, as I note in Leadership BS, frequently based on wishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/almost-no-one-as-i-think-most-leadership-books-are-a-joke-they-are-as/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-that-perches-in-the-soul/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [The world seems to belong to those who reach out and grab it with both hands. It belongs to those who do something rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-world-seems-to-belong-to-those-who-reach-out-and-grab-it-with/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [It is with art as with love: How can a man of the world,with all his distractions, keep the inwardness which an artist must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-with-art-as-with-love-how-can-a-man-of-the-world-with-all-his/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“I have had my mother's wing of my genetic ancestry analyzed by the National Geographic tracing service and there it all is: the arrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-had-my-mother-s-wing-of-my-genetic-ancestry-analyzed-by-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There's always a joy in newness as a painter, and in sub-Saharan Africa, I encountered different realities with regard to light and how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-s-always-a-joy-in-newness-as-a-painter-and-in-sub-saharan/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There's so much stigma around HIV/AIDS. It's a challenging issue, and the people that already have been tested and know their status find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/there-s-so-much-stigma-around-hiv-aids-it-s-a-challenging-issue-and/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [The Middle East is the only region in the world outside of sub-Saharan Africa where rates of malnutrition actually rose over the past decade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/the-middle-east-is-the-only-region-in-the-world-outside-of-sub/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [I've been studying how quickly we can get energy out to the poor countries - a lot of which are in Africa - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-ve-been-studying-how-quickly-we-can-get-energy-out-to-the-poor/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Missionaries in the developing world waste a lot of time and money (not to mention the goodwill of non-Christians) proselytizing to the needy. .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/missionaries-in-the-developing-world-waste-a-lot-of-time-and-money/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Birth control has almost completely and totally disappeared from the global health agenda, and the victims of this paralysis are the people of Sub-Saharan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melinda-gates/birth-control-has-almost-completely-and-totally-disappeared-from-the/) [Melinda Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melinda-gates/) ## More by Michael Elliott > [When you go to Africa and you see people who are just like you and me - this is always my starting point. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elliott/when-you-go-to-africa-and-you-see-people-who-are-just-like-you-and-me/) Michael Elliott > [There are always things that you see that are pretty tough, sure. But what keeps you going is when you see people rise above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elliott/there-are-always-things-that-you-see-that-are-pretty-tough-sure-but/) Michael Elliott > [There's a transparency revolution sweeping the world. The more you can have transparency of payments, the more you'll be able to follow the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elliott/there-s-a-transparency-revolution-sweeping-the-world-the-more-you-can/) Michael Elliott Explore all 4 Michael Elliott quotes ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. 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You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/) [Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) [Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My wish and hope, every year, is that people's life chances - their chances of having a happy, prosperous, healthy life for themselves and their family and friends - should not depend on accident of birth. 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