Seeking celebrity is just as shallow as seeking to be a self-respecting entertainer.
We all wanna make a dent in the world. We want to leave a legacy. We want to affect others. When people seek celebrity, I believe they’re trying to replicate people who they saw made a difference in the world.
Let’s drop candy
You have a hundred candy canes and you drop them one at a time from a balcony on people at a cafe. Annoying. Put all 100 in a bag and drop them on one person. That person gets knocked out. Which tactic makes a bigger impact?
- what if the unconscious person is a boxer and being knocked out doesn’t really bother her?
- what if 3 of the 100 are deathly allergic to artificial peppermint?
- what if a cult who believes in sky candy saw one of the incidents?
- what if passers-by were having diabetic attacks?
There are a lot of unknowns. Even if everything was as it seems, and everyone’s equal, it’s still a judgement call whether to make a small annoyance on many or a KO on one.
Is it better to be on a sitcom where you’re reciting lines you don’t believe in or have a poetry night with 1000 people who hang on your every word?
Shut Up, You’re fine
Every time you do anything, you’re making some impact on others and society. I would even say you’re making relatively the same impact on the world no matter what you do.
Popular people are doing a thing that society wants them to do. Break from the thing we want, and yoink! There goes the spotlight. So, celebrities are really playing a role that we want them to, not just doing everything they want.
Measurability
I think the main issue that keeps us in the game is fulfillment. In order to keep on going, it’s helpful to feel like we’re really making a change for people.
A helpful way to horde fulfillment is to stick to one measurable path. If your key performance indicator in life is how many followers you have on Insta, you can look every day, see how many you have, get some more, and you’ll get a lot and you’ll see the progress.
Not everything in life needs to be measurable, but figuring out, “I want to talk to one person after a show who really gets what I do.” Can give you that sense of purpose and help you see how much impact you make. It can make life more of a game.
The roots.
I encourage you, when trying to figure out what you’ll measure, to think back to why you make entertainment? How did it start? That can help to understand what really drives you and what will continue to make life great as you continue to serve people impact.
Finally, Intention
Pick a measurable thing that you feel is really good for the world. Something you truly deeply believe in. Annoying people at a cafe might be exciting, but there are probably better ways to enjoy a balcony.