All of those things happened to me, but my life hasn't been ruined. Not even a little. It was after my greatest failure that I finally learned to be happy. It w

All of those things happened to me, but my life hasn't been ruined. Not even a little. It was after my greatest failure that I finally learned to be happy. It wasn't easy, but it was important. The lone exception from your list is family. Failing in a startup cannot wreck your relationships. Only you can wreck relationships. Turning it around, when I think of all the people I know who have gone through the problems you mention, few did so as a result of starting a company. In fact your list seems well within the bounds of normal life. I'd love to hear an example of a person whose life was really ruined by a failed attempt to start a company.