Pursuing status will never bring true happiness
I think rejecting status wholesale is also a huge mistake.<p>Here’s the harsh reality. Many people judge and make decisions based on status. You can purport be above it and bootstrap and work as hard as you want but that one guy with status will get the raise he needed and now you don’t have. You can then try to lie to yourself that that is just superficial status. But it’s not. That guy can now use those resources to get ahead and you can’t.<p>Bootstrapping can become a toxic independence mentality that focuses on lying to yourself on how self sufficient you are — all while you are going nowhere fast.<p>Reality is harsh and doesn’t go by pat philosophies.<p>Also go ask a low status person in society how much status “doesn’t matter” and you’re gonna get some very real answers.  Mostly I find people who already have high status are the ones that rant about how it doesn’t matter.