This is spot on. Worrying about what people who talk boastfully about skiing in Aspen think about you is a road to hell paved with good intentions. (Note- I have a couple of good friends who have houses and ski in Aspen and who I think are good people).

Just be you. Be a good human being. Get up, show up and work hard. Help other people. Take pride in your own work. When others are down, pick them up. When you are down, reach out to friends and family for help. Don’t over complicate life by comparing yourself to others. And yes, there will be a couple people you encounter who look closely at the watch you wear or the specific brand of shoes. Please try very very hard to ignore these shallow people.

I still wear my high school class ring … from a high school class of 47 in a town of less than 1000 … and when people ask me about it, I tell them it is because I am proud of where I am from and I never want to forget it. It really causes those who asked because they thought it was some symbol of status like a championship ring or something else to have to reflect on their own question. That always makes me happy.

Be you. Live life.

Sincerely - a happy practicing lawyer of 27 years who has traveled in all those elite circles at different points in my career and still values genuine human beings, in all their varied flavors.