Day 234 (Two-Hundred & Thirty-Four) of 365 days
Most people think being famous is heaven, but it’s more like hell. What do you think? The phenomenon of fame is widespread around the world. Being famous today is not the same as it was 50-100 years ago. Andy Warhol once said: "In the future, everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame". Well, in my opinion, that time has come. People from all around the world are trying to get their way out there on the stage.
It has become easy to acquire fame, but difficult to keep it. People get famous for doing nothing and the ones who want to become famous don’t have many obstacles.
Fame. We don't always feel comfortable admitting it to our friends; it's embarrassing, but secretly the idea of being famous has great appeal. Fame seems to be the solution to so many problems. When you're famous, people will make way for you in crowds. You'll get warm smiles from admiring strangers. You'll be safe from rejection. You won't have to explain who you are on every new occasion. People will be convinced by you before you even meet them. If ever you're unhappy about something, your complaints will be taken very seriously. Your happiness becomes the focus of everyone's effort. You'll be the boss.
Some can just apply for a reality show and soon their names will be on the top of "the most searched" lists on Google and Yahoo, and not to mention the yellow press. Little girls and boys from all around the world are, when asked what do they want to be when they grow up, usually answering that they want to be famous. Fame has lost its value. Celebrities with or without justified reasons to be famous are followed by a bunch of paparazzi each day. They are getting interviewed and photographed for worthless magazines intended for the masses.
Their private lives become a matter of abstraction and endangered. As for those whose fame is a result of hard work, talent, high IQ or great achievements, their fame is well-earned. Such are, for example, great writers, mathematicians and artists. They are usually the ones who are, no matter how good they are at what they do, less famous than those who deserve it less. That is good because they don't need to sacrifice their private lives, they have their freedom of expression and, in most cases, make a lot of money. As for me, I'm not a fan of fame and I think it's lame.
At an individual level, the only mature strategy is to give up on fame. The aim that lay behind the desire for it remains important; one still wants to be appreciated and understood. But the wise person accepts that fame doesn't provide these things. Appreciation and understanding are only available through individuals we know and care about, not via groups of a thousand or a million strangers.
Did you know that some famous people would rather be unfamous at home? Studies show that happiness is dependent upon more personal and private feelings with your attitude. Fame and fortune just exert some little amount of happiness. Would you want your privacy leaked? Everyone would know how old you are, where you lived, and maybe even your phone number! If it were your birthday you would get excited about the money you'll get. If you were already very wealthy you would be less appreciative of the money you would have gotten. I believe that fame and fortune do not bring happiness because you can still be happy and not wealthy.
