True. But when you're a smart kid and you get auto-noticed in school with no effort on your own part (aside from the academic effort!), maybe it's time to add a course like "Creating Your Own P.R... And Believing It Too" into the curriculum.
That's true, but everyone has to learn at some point.
There's only a limited amount of attention in the world. Even the smartest are subject to the laws of human whims. The purpose of school and most vocational systems is to best advertise and direct the skills of those with the most potential to where their skills are suited best. However individual firms have their own needs and agendas, and often suffer from failures of pure meritocracy that their success allows them to go on without.