This is a very powerful point. The proliferation and ease of access to media has made it orders of magnitude easier to compare oneself against others. And it's

This is a very powerful point. The proliferation and ease of access to media has made it orders of magnitude easier to compare oneself against others. And it's not the "average" that make it into the media (usually) but the rich and successful as you mention. This is something I struggle with because a big reason why I've managed to do somewhat well in school and in my early career is because of being competitive and using comparison to fuel my work ethic. As an entrepreneur, I've come to realize I can't persist that mindset. There's always going to be people raising money and getting acquired. I have to filter that noise out and focus on building something that people want.