I'd hope I have disparaged rather than demeaned.
Yes -- if you have all the money in the world, flying a lot and attaining status is easy. For most, however, reaching status by strategically booking a limited number of flights is the real challenge.
HTB.
My colleague acquired HON status off the back of a project we worked on in India. I feel not a jot of envy for his elevation within M&M, and he is unlikely to write a book about his achievement.
The OP
has written a book and appears to be using FT to promote it.