Ask HN: What should I do as a loser in meritocracy?

I think I'm objectively a failure of our systems of meritocracy in education and in the workplace - I didn't go to an elite institution, and don't work at an elite institution now. It does seem like all of the pathways to upward mobility have been exhausted for people like me, and a reason may be innate. What should losers of meritocracy like me do in society?