“You are not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis.” (Tyler Durden in "Fight Club").
There is no correlation between success and product ownership. Not a bit. How many times, however, did you try to compensate your lack of motivation with consumerism? How many times did you buy state-of-the-art equipment before you even got started with whatever you wanted to do? Products provide us with the illusion of accomplishment, the illusion of belonging. They send the message that we are part of something bigger, that we live a certain lifestyle; they offer us a pillar to hide behind. They are the easiest way to show the world what we want to represent without actually doing something or being good at it.
That of course is what advertisement tries to make us believe. You want to be a photographer? You simply need to have a state-of-the-art camera. You want to be a hip bohemian artist? Rent a trendy loft-studio in a chic neighborhood. You want to be a martial artist? Buy a fancy hoody made by a MMA apparel company. You want to gain some muscles? Just get the most expensive protein powder from your local supplement dealer. No work required.