The significance of being a Stanford MBA or YC founder is entirely arbitrary and meaningful only to a small number of people in certain circles. I grew up in th

The significance of being a Stanford MBA or YC founder is entirely arbitrary and meaningful only to a small number of people in certain circles. I grew up in the Midwest. No one cares about such things there, and it may even be seen as a negative. It’s not some objectively significant measure of success, it’s only worth whatever weight you want to give it. I have seen this line of thinking play out with several friends in the Bay Area: if you’re unhappy because of these of similar reasons, you’re being eaten alive by capitalism. It’s consumed your mind. If it’s to the point where you’re suicidal, you need to leave the bay (or wherever else you are that is making you feel this way). The rest of the world does not think like this. The way you are thinking is not reality. But it’s difficult to see through it when it surrounds you.