One of the biggest misconceptions and mistakes I see, is how much the thought of social recognition, the thought of being famous, drives people.
Fame drives some people so much they are blinded by it. It can affect them in a variety of ways, and of course it can affect the work that person produces during their life.
Here’s the thing about fame though, it is extremely fleeting.
In fact, it’s so fleeting, that there is basically no world where the pursuit of fame is worth it.
The pursuit of becoming famous, generally, requires a tremendous amount of energy, work and luck. But even when everything falls into place, the rate that fame disappears is extremely fast.
Let’s look at 90s boy bands. The 90s were 30 years ago now. The Backstreet Boys, N Sync, 98 degrees, etc.. These boy bands had multiple members each, and each band was huge. They were at the top of the music game. Doing world tours and they had fans in various countries around the globe. But now? If you saw any member from any one of these bands, besides Justin Timberlake, would you recognize them? Probably not. And that was only 30 years ago.
Fleeting like snow
Let’s go back further and look at Hollywood.
Here is the wikipedia description for the actor “Clark Gable”
“William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American film actor. Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood"he had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gable )
The KING OF HOLLYWOOD. Does it get more famous than that? And now just a few decades later, the vast majority of people haven’t even heard of him. He was the fucking king of Hollywood. So it’s just comical to me that there are so many people constantly striving for fame, when even if they achieve it, even if they become a star so big they earn an awesome nickname like the king of Hollywood, they’ll be forgotten just a short while later.
You’ll eventually pass a mountain range as you drive by.
This post isn’t meant to bum you out, it’s just an observation. It’s a good thing to keep in mind.
Till next time,
-Oliver Endahl