When you think about what has got you to where you are today, what pops into your head first? Perhaps hard work and determination, aided by a degree of talent? No doubt these have played an important role. But how much do you think that factors outside your control – what we might think of as luck – have influenced your path in life, for good or ill?

I believe that many of us – especially those who consider ourselves successful – underestimate the role that luck has played in our lives. And I’m not just talking about random life events, like winning the lottery, I’m thinking about luck in the broader sense of the circumstances into which each of us is born.

It took me a while to realise that my journey through life has been eased by several tailwinds. I have had the incredible luck of being born in the UK, in a peaceful period of history. I was blessed with an able body and mind, and had a good upbringing, and an incredibly exclusive education. I had the freedom to take advantage of opportunities, to start my own business and pursue my ambitions. In that sense my early years were a heck of a lot easier than many people’s. And I was also extremely fortunate that my particular talents were highly valued and rewarded in the marketplace, which enabled me to become wealthy.

How about you? Maybe you were born in a period when house prices were low, or when university education was free? You may not have had all of these things, but imagine for a second that you had none of them. Imagine that you came into this world facing barriers to your progress at every stage. Your parents unemployed, or needing care from you, or working ridiculous hours in insecure jobs. Your neighbourhood wracked by deprivation, despair, pollution and crime, with precious few opportunities to move up or out. Your plans to buy a house or start a business impossible because of lack of capital, or access to it. Would I have displayed the brilliance and the sheer grit needed to overcome those barriers? Probably not.

In this country we like to think that we live in a meritocracy, where talent and hard work are rewarded by success and status, and opportunities are there for whoever is willing to work for them. Clearly this isn’t the case, when there is a record wealth gap in Britain today, with a mere 50 families owning more wealth than the poorest half of the population, while about a third of children live in poverty, and disadvantaged children are 19 months behind their peers by the time they take their GCSEs. Still, 38% of people think that someone’s chance of success depends on their own merit rather than on factors beyond their control. They subscribe to the myth of meritocracy.

The flip side of the idea that “you can make it if you try” is that if you haven’t made it, you haven’t tried hard enough. This thinking legitimises the status quo by suggesting that inequality is “fair”, allowing those who benefit from it most to frustrate attempts by governments to tackle socioeconomic inequality.

All the while, increasing inequality is poisoning our economy and undermining growth. And yet, while 85% of the British public are concerned about inequality, most politicians see tackling inequality either as a low priority or as too politically risky.

Worse still, the meritocratic myth – that we all deserve our success or lack of it – allows socioeconomic inequality to spill over into an inequality of esteem, status and dignity. This breeds resentment and disengagement among those who are deemed by society to be second-class citizens, damaging social cohesion and undermining public faith in democratic politics.

That is why dismantling the myth that we live in a meritocracy is one of the most urgent changes needed in public life today. We might not all agree on whether a truly meritocratic society is desirable, or even possible – but we should be able to come together around a recognition that we don’t live in one yet and then see if we might do something about it.

Acknowledging the role that luck has played in our lives would be a great starting point, helping to smooth the path for our political leaders to take bolder action to tackle socioeconomic inequality. If more business leaders recognised how luck has helped them, it might also encourage them to act (for example by improving pay and conditions for low-paid or insecure workers).

It is incumbent on people who have achieved some degree of success in their lives – especially those with public profiles – to step forward. All I’m asking is that my successful contemporaries recognise (if they don’t already) that they’ve benefited from some good luck along the way, whatever hard work has also been involved.

At the Fairness Foundation, we want to bring together people who have achieved success in life, and who are willing to recognise publicly the role that luck has played in that. Our aim is to challenge the meritocratic myth, unpicking it from its centre outwards. We want to open up space for better conversations about what we need to do as a society to enable everyone to fulfil their ambitions in life, built on a recognition that giving a few people a helping hand isn’t going to cut it. So, ask yourself: do you feel lucky? If so, we hope you’ll join us.

• Julian Richer is a retail entrepreneur, author and philanthropist who founded Richer Sounds in 1978. He is the founder of the Fairness Foundation