Your two points are really one point - the mistaken idea that one can 'change the world' in a significant way if only he/she works hard. That's a tough idea to

Your two points are really one point - the mistaken idea that one can 'change the world' in a significant way if only he/she works hard. That's a tough idea to shake when people connect their self esteem and meaning in life to it. The solution is to re-discover what you want your life to be about and then get to it. People usually either figure it out somewhat by the time they're 30 or they get burdened by self-imposed obligations to a point where they give up trying and just go with the flow. So really, a temporary hurdle in the scheme of things :)