I went to high school with Molly Picoun's niece. She bore an amazing resemblance to her famous aunt. But she couldn't act. Someone had told her at some time to face the audience and say her lines good and loud, and that was what she did. Watching her do "Mame" or "The Chalk Garden" was painful.
But she was cast in a vast assortment of plays and musicals because of her famous aunt.
In short, she succeeded with no effort and no ability. She didn't get into Carnegie Mellon, but she did go to a good college as a theater major.
She didn't start serously failing as an actress until she started making the rounds of auditions.
Sometimes people who have no business succeeding do. Sometimes success has nothing to do with effort or ability. Sometimes failure is, indeed, a learning experience. It's a rotten shame Molly Picoun's niece didn't fail sooner and more often.