Why are some people more successful than others? is it education, luck, connections.........
At the heart of it, no matter what field you look at, there is a common set of skills that distinguish those who are successful from those who are not.

Here is a very interesting book on the subject:
10 Things Employers Want You To Learn In College.
by Bill Coplin, 10 Speed Press.
http://www.amazon.ca/Things-Employers-Want-Learn-College/dp/1580085245

Here is the website for the book:
http://sites.maxwell.syr.edu/dogooddowell/DG&DW/DoingWell.htm

Bill has summarized the most essential skills very succinctly into the following 10 categories:

Taking responsibility
Develop physical skills
Communicating verbally
Communicating in writing
Working directly with people
Influencing people
Gathering information
Using quantitative tools
Asking and answering the right questions
Solving problems