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Reasons not to become famous

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321–330 of 428 posts

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#321
post #234

One person who has talked about another benefit is Dan Harmon: (apologies as I don’t remember where or the exact quote) In an interview he mentioned that his [particular] fame meant that he no longer had to go through the superficial conversations when meeting someone new, that everyone knew enough of his authentic self that they could just jump straight in to meaningful conversation. I remember this because, for me,…

That’s only assuming that, that particular celebrity is known to pour their thoughts out to the world. That same thing couldn’t happen to Leonardo do caprio for instance

Yes exactly. That’s what I meant to say with the word “particular” there. Thank you for making that clear.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#322

Becoming famous requires a lot of good luck and not just hard work. You have to be the right person at the right time kind of thing. I feel extreme good luck invites bad luck because of the negative energy surrounding the famous person. This has very interesting side affects on how famous people look at risk and make their decisions. But thinking of famous personalities like Gandhi, MLK, Kobe, MJ, Bruce Lee, I wonder…

You wouldn't know if their destinies were any different, because if they were not famous, you'd never have heard of them.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Huh? Are you able to downvote articles at your current level of karma? I cannot and I have than you (ie immediate parent to this comment).

Nope, I cannot.

Neither can I, at my level. I don't think anyone can. (Of course, there are those with a lot more than me. Maybe they can... but I doubt it. So far as I know, the only real level in karma is at 500, when you can downvote comments.)

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#324
post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t it possible to become a billionaire without anyone knowing? What if you just get there quietly through private investment? Not a billion, but I’ve built up a decent chunk myself and nobody seems to know or even suspect that about me. Nobody begs me for anything more than spare change, no sycophants, nobody trying to impress me. Marketing for luxury goods doesn’t even reach me. I could easily see myself reaching…

When you say private investment are you just talking opening a vanguard account and putting money into stocks and ETFs?

Both of those methods are accessing the public markets. Private investment means investing in non publicly traded companies. Like venture capital... For example

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#325
post #195

So I only see three reasons to be famous: 1. The attention and adulation is your drug. I think there's no shortage of people who fall into this category. 2. To convert that fame into opportunities you wouldn't otherwise have; and 3. To convert that fame into money. Obviously if you're just plain rich then (3) is moot. If you fall into (1) then money can buy you fame to a degree. So that leaves (2). Wealth will give y…

Isn’t it possible to become a billionaire without anyone knowing? What if you just get there quietly through private investment? Not a billion, but I’ve built up a decent chunk myself and nobody seems to know or even suspect that about me. Nobody begs me for anything more than spare change, no sycophants, nobody trying to impress me. Marketing for luxury goods doesn’t even reach me. I could easily see myself reaching…

The Bloomberg billionaires index does exactly this... Out private billionaires.

First off it's hard being a billionaire and people not knowing. You're going to make a splash somehow. But there's still plenty of billionaires, especially in emerging market countries, that have still to be uncovered.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#326

Funny I'm just a sometime blogger and I used to get weirdos finding my house and sending me handwritten letters. At one point I was tied up with one of Steven Spielberg's schizophrenic stalkers because of some dipshit I argued with on Usenet to pass time in grad school. Now I got my face on a fairly well known startup, which means various 3rd world places I enjoy are non-starters without having actual security precau…

I've always been curious about traveling while famous. You generally have to show a passport at airports, hotels, etc.. So I always wondered how famous people moved around with any kind of annonimity.

Surely a fake passport is far too risky for legal reasons? Yet it would solve a lot of their problems when combined with sunglasses and a cap...

I guess what I'm asking is, what would be the "riskiest" country that you would actually entertain the possibility of visiting without serious precautions?

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#327
post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fourth reason: To be to be remembered after you’re gone.

Thing is, nothing matters to you after you are gone. Unless we become ghosts that can observe. Unlikely

There is such a thing as a-causal trade. Newcomb problem, prisoner's dilemma, that sort of things.

Few people really don't care what happens after they're gone. We almost always want something to linger on, be it descendants, a master works, or just the world.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#328
post #181

If the problem is so widespread I imagine that all the really rich and famous have A few people on staff to filter incoming correspondence, triage and follow up on credible threats, check with police as needed etc. What of the modestly famous and not that rich? There ought to be an agency where one could outsource this sort of work for a fraction of the in-house cost. The agency would accumulate experience and might…

Well, that's definitely where I'd want to work if I was a crazy. Imagine the access! Thousands of wealthy and famous clients contact information and in some cases direct access to their correspondences for filtering purposes... The potential for extortion, bribery and worse would be unprecedented.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t it possible to become a billionaire without anyone knowing? What if you just get there quietly through private investment? Not a billion, but I’ve built up a decent chunk myself and nobody seems to know or even suspect that about me. Nobody begs me for anything more than spare change, no sycophants, nobody trying to impress me. Marketing for luxury goods doesn’t even reach me. I could easily see myself reaching…

Whats your endgoal? I was thinking the other day about fortune, wealth and becoming wealthy. I’d very much prefer to not pursue becoming wealthy and concentrate on a diferent goal. I don’t think I could change the world in a financial sense, I might as well contribute positively from a different angle that is not from a wealthy position. That’s why I am asking you what your endgoal is since you chose anonimity and no…

I plan on following in Warren Buffett’s footsteps. Without his influence, I would be working the graveyard shift at a gas station right now.

End goal career-wise is to amass as much wealth as possible by giving smart and capable people a path to building new things that benefit everyone, and then direct that amassed wealth toward the betterment of humanity before I die.

I’m not sure exactly how I’ll do that.

I actually think most philanthropic organizations do more harm than good. I think an effective non-profit would probably look like a boring faceless middleman, affecting positive change by influencing capitalistic markets to serve the underserved. By serve I mean serve, not provide goods to.

I also have my own idea of what it means to better humanity. I think there are better ways to feed and shelter people than feeding and sheltering them.

Whatever I do, it’ll probably be really boring, won’t provide for any photo ops, and there’s a good chance it might even seem pointless and ineffective to most people.

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