Basically, it's all about persistence. More than talent, more than luck, more than money or privilege, even more than who you know - persistence. You can have talent, luck, money, privilege and connections, all are golden, all help immensely - but none of these qualities can substitute for plain dogged persistent, sustained effort long enough to do something enough to get really good at it.
This does require hanging in through a fair-to-huge amount of frustration as we travel along the learning curve, but it's worth it. It helps to enjoy the journey.
Check out artist David Shiyang Liu's very cool 'kinetic typography' presentation of Ira Glass giving his best advice for beginners.