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Reasons not to become famous

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Re: Reasons not to become famous

#31

Post by mft_ »

KineticLensman wrote: post #30
ak39 wrote: post #11

What can you achieve with fame that you cannot achieve with money alone? What is this need for wanting others to know that you exist at all? Jobs that demand "fame" of some sorts will always take an emotional toll on personalities that are never comfortable with fame, limelight and podiums. I have been an introvert my whole life but only recently realised this about myself at the tender age of 40! It was a cold slap…

Something I've come to realise is that being introverted isn't necessarily the same as being shy. I consider myself more introverted than extroverted (I'm happy with my own company) but over the years, I've learned to communicate confidently to individuals and groups. A lot of the learning was due to the need to communicate at work (e.g. giving complex presentations / demonstrations to challenging audiences) and also…

Amen. My experience exactly.

I’ve tried to express this a few times online and fallen foul of offended introverts - my observation is that some people like to use the label of being an introvert as a shield or justification of (their dissatisfaction with?) their shy or antisocial behavioural traits.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#32

Post by adventured »

speedgoose wrote: post #9
Expez wrote: post #6

The post has a good quote from Bill Murray: > I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: ‘try being rich first.’ See if that doesn’t cover most of it. There’s not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job. . . . The only good thing about fame is that I’ve gotten out of a couple of spee…

Why trying to become rich? Once you have enough money to have a great quality of life without stress, having more money isn't improving much your happiness. Sometimes it makes it worse. However trying to become rich can be very difficult, tiresome, and disappointing.

> Why trying to become rich?

Because there is an unlimited number of things you can do with it. You're limited only by time and your imagination.

I've never understood the premise I'm responding to, it doesn't make sense, unless a person has zero ambition and zero creativity - and I don't think that's true of anyone.

I could never have enough money. I could never run out of good things to use it on. Give me $100 trillion and a thousand years, please.

You could spend $100 billion and 60 years of your life on just going after Malaria and you might not manage to vanquish it. You could spend tens of millions of dollars and decades on trying to eliminate homelessness in a small city and still not eliminate it (swap out homelessness for any number of problems that need fixing in most any nation, or city). There is what might as well be an infinite number of good uses for money, at every possible scale. I'd run out of time long before I'd run out of positive uses for large amounts of money.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#33

Post by econcon »

ak39 wrote: post #11

What can you achieve with fame that you cannot achieve with money alone? What is this need for wanting others to know that you exist at all? Jobs that demand "fame" of some sorts will always take an emotional toll on personalities that are never comfortable with fame, limelight and podiums. I have been an introvert my whole life but only recently realised this about myself at the tender age of 40! It was a cold slap…

I made lots of money but always felt rejected/ignored by society. So I ended up lonely.

I was sold a dream that become financially well off and affluent and women will flock to you - it never happened!

I stayed a non smoker, non drinker because I consider these uncessary risks. I don't see any upside Aced the classes, did good in sports but still become Mr. Noone.

But lately, I got into body building and started using steroids (I know they are harmful) but I've decided that with all the money - I don't wanna live a long life, just wanna be famous and be desired by opposite sex and if it comes at a price of dying after few years - it meets my risk profile.

So, yes validation, being desired and getting sexual opportunities and so people feel intimidated in my presence is all I want.

Money helps you buy expert supervision, time and quality drugs and outfits and also being able to afford a nice car all helps. But money can't directly help you buy the attraction.

I've been getting lots of attention lately from opposite sex since I've got Greek physique dialed in, so anyone who thinks it doesn't matter and all you need is money - I am just a millionaire, there are many like me. I don't want to become a huge man, I just do minimum required to build a physique that opposite sex finds attractive.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#34

Post by paganel »

mft_ wrote: post #31
KineticLensman wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something I've come to realise is that being introverted isn't necessarily the same as being shy. I consider myself more introverted than extroverted (I'm happy with my own company) but over the years, I've learned to communicate confidently to individuals and groups. A lot of the learning was due to the need to communicate at work (e.g. giving complex presentations / demonstrations to challenging audiences) and also…

Amen. My experience exactly. I’ve tried to express this a few times online and fallen foul of offended introverts - my observation is that some people like to use the label of being an introvert as a shield or justification of (their dissatisfaction with?) their shy or antisocial behavioural traits.

There’s nothing wrong with avoiding social relationships if that person so desires, if anything accusing said person of “antisocial behavioral traits” does more harm than good.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#35

Post by keiferski »

econcon wrote: post #33
ak39 wrote: post #11

What can you achieve with fame that you cannot achieve with money alone? What is this need for wanting others to know that you exist at all? Jobs that demand "fame" of some sorts will always take an emotional toll on personalities that are never comfortable with fame, limelight and podiums. I have been an introvert my whole life but only recently realised this about myself at the tender age of 40! It was a cold slap…

I made lots of money but always felt rejected/ignored by society. So I ended up lonely. I was sold a dream that become financially well off and affluent and women will flock to you - it never happened! I stayed a non smoker, non drinker because I consider these uncessary risks. I don't see any upside Aced the classes, did good in sports but still become Mr. Noone. But lately, I got into body building and started usin…

The majority of the most "desirable" men in the world have lean, muscular physiques, not bodybuilder physiques. Think Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

So, if your main reason for using steroids is to attract women - seriously reconsider, as your premises are wrong.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#36

Post by woofie11 »

Law suits. The big one missing is law suits. That's a higher level of fame than this blogger has hit. That includes:

1) Nuts and idiots. For example, people who genuinely believe what you're doing is out to get them.

2) Jackals and vultures. People want what you've built, and see the legal system as a good way of extorting you to get it.

I hit this level of fame, and quickly backed down from anything which might give me more visibility.

I also stopped believing random accusations of famous people until there's proof or unless the accusers are really close. If someone is CEO of a 20,000 person company, and their closest associates accuse them of sexual harassment, exploitation, fraud, or otherwise? That's a plausible accusation. If someone runs a 20,000 person company, and 20 seemingly random people do? Well, that's almost guaranteed by statistics.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#37

Post by balfirevic »

speedgoose wrote: post #9
Expez wrote: post #6

The post has a good quote from Bill Murray: > I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: ‘try being rich first.’ See if that doesn’t cover most of it. There’s not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job. . . . The only good thing about fame is that I’ve gotten out of a couple of spee…

Why trying to become rich? Once you have enough money to have a great quality of life without stress, having more money isn't improving much your happiness. Sometimes it makes it worse. However trying to become rich can be very difficult, tiresome, and disappointing.

> Once you have enough money to have a great quality of life without stress, having more money isn't improving much your happiness.

If you mean without having to continue working, that is indeed what many would consider being rich.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#38

Post by woofie11 »

speedgoose wrote: post #22
richthegeek wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"have enough money to have a great quality of life without stress" is how many people define "rich".

True. I guess "rich" because you can pay your family bills and have the hobbies you love and "rich" in "rich and famous" don't mean the same kind of wealth.

The threshold is whether you need a job.

The difference in stress of needing to hold onto a job, versus of being their voluntarily, is huge. And it's not binary. If you have a few years cushion saved up, it's a huge decrease in stress. If you have a mortgage paid off and enough to retire off of, most people in the world would call that 'rich.'

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#39

Post by woofie11 »

amelius wrote: post #5

I think it highly depends on the kind of fame. If you connect emotionally with your audience, then sure. But if, say, you are a famous researcher then I suspect you are facing far less of these problems.

Nope. More famous researchers face the same problems. It doesn't kick until it's popular fame, as far as I know. In other words, if most computer scientists know who you are, you might still be okay unless you get unlucky (but you might definitely get unlucky too). If Joe on the street knows who you are, you've got all this and more.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#40

Post by weinzierl »

Expez wrote: post #6

The post has a good quote from Bill Murray: > I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: ‘try being rich first.’ See if that doesn’t cover most of it. There’s not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job. . . . The only good thing about fame is that I’ve gotten out of a couple of spee…

The unspoken premise of this quote is that fame and fortune don't easily convert into each other. The believe that both go hand in hand is what most people get wrong already.

And there is also a certain asymmetry, because popularity at least can be bought to some degree but converting pure fame into lasting wealth is hard work if, depending on the circumstances, possible at all.

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