Well, this isn’t quite true. A herd can make a heck of a lot of noise. But the point is that the individual can’t be heard apart from the herd.
So, if you feel you have a voice that should be heard all by itself then you need to separate from the herd in one way or the other. Some people think what that means is you have to have a superior voice (or some other talent) But it really doesn’t really mean that.
You can have quite an average voice (look at so many rock stars if you have any doubt) but have unique things to say that make you stand out. You can work harder than others to develop that voice or you can be better at finding the audience that wants and needs to hear it. In other words, standing out is, more than anything else, a result of a decision that you want to.
That can come from a number of things, some good, some bad. Perhaps you want adulation and fame and drive yourself to achieve that. You could very well get those things if you drive hard enough. But then what? Was that ultimately satisfying? Most famous people I have read about and most famous people I know (local celebrities of one sort or another, not really FAMOUS people) have given me the impression that being famous isn’t all that great in and of itself.
What word do we so often see alongside fame? Fortune. And for some the drive to stand out is based on wanting not fame but fortune. It’s all about the money. I get that. Money, especially if you have don’t have enough, is a compelling reason to do whatever it takes to stand out so money comes in. It is true that in most areas of sports and entertainment fame is often a precursor to having more money. And obviously money isn’t a bad thing to have in and of itself.
But once again, my experience having been raised in a very wealthy community and then having very little money, there really is not a huge difference in well-being or happiness between the two. Yes the big CEO might be well-known around the world, but that doesn’t mean he or his family isn’t wracked by alcoholism or domestic abuse or some other terrible issue that he or she tries to keep hidden. It’s not the part of their ‘voice’ that they want to be known for.
In my thinking the better and more sustainable sort of desire to stand out is based on feeling you have something of value to give the world, something that the world can benefit from. Fame and/or fortune might come along with that, no doubt. Nothing wrong with either. But neither one is the number one goal, making a positive contribution to the world is.
If you are driven to have your voice, or your art, science, music, engineering, writing, dance, humor, insight, athletics, or any other area of human endeavor stand out because of that, then you can sustain it and enjoy it for your entire life. And who knows, maybe you will get your name in lights and make a few bucks as well!
I heard the quote while watching the TV show, Survivor this season. The person who spoke it was Noura, one of the finalists of season 39. I do not know if she is the originator of the quote.
What are you famous for? Fame at the average person’s level is fame among family, friends, co-workers. If those who know you were asked ‘what is ‘your name here’ famous for?’ What do you think they would say? At work, are you famous for your patience? Are you well-known for your sales ability? Is your reputation all about you being able to get things done fast?
What you are known for is your fame.
Another way of looking at this is ‘what is your brand?’ Your personal brand identity is really nothing more than your reputation. The key of course is that once you have built your identity and have a reputation for something, to not lose it. You see it all the time in businesses and personal lives. People say they are intellectual because they read deep books in college, but that was 25 years ago and they haven’t explored things intellectually since. The restaurant that has the great reputation, but now is mediocre and uncaring about the product.
Make sure you are being who you said you were years ago. Make sure you maintain your brand, your identity, otherwise it will catch up to you while you are sleeping.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by James Howell, 1594-1666, British historian and writer
Have you ever witnessed (or maybe have been in the midst of it yourself) someone who is so desperate for something you just know it is going to slip between their fingers. It might be a relationship, a job, money, or fame. But whatever it is, you almost get the feeling there is a cruel joke being played. The person who wants it the most is not going to get it.
I watched an episode of the TV show Survivor last night. And in the episode there was one man who was seeking to be made the leader. He kept asking for a chance to be leader. He begged to be made leader. And the more he begged, the more people saw him as being too desperate and not likely to be a good leader. The very act of communicating his desire so fervently was the deciding factor in the other people not wanting to help fulfill that desire. He was not made leader. He was voted off the island instead.
Whether you become famous or not, in the end you will still be living with yourself day to day, every day. If you aren’t happy with that person, then being known world-wide is not going to help you. Being confident inside yourself of your own worth and ability is the most secure way to deal with whatever happens, fame or obscurity.
Drawing by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by John Keats, 1795-1821, English Romantic poet
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We have time travelled backward from yesterday, this quote is by Cato the Elder, who lived right smack dab in between Marcus Aurelius and Socrates.
Cato was a bit of an over achiever. He was a diplomat, politician, historian and a farmer. He had seen many a monument to people whom he, no doubt, felt were unworthy of the honor but for their station and influence in life.
His point is simple. Better to let people say you should be more famous than to say you are not worthy of the fame you have.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Cato the Elder, Roman Renaissance man (before the Renaissance), 234 BCE – 149 BCE
Day #2 of ‘Fame Week” at The Napkin Dad Daily. Today we move into the Roman Empire with a quote by my favorite Emperor, Marcus Aurelius.
So, we started with Socrates talking about the perfume of heroic deeds being what fame is made of. Now, 500-600 years later we read the Emperor Aurelius saying it will all fade away, fame and the famous. What happened to make that transformation?
Well, most likely it was Marcus Aurelius’ own observations of the history of his time. The golden age of Greece was ancient history to him by then, they were unearthing old remnants of that era and reconstructing some element of it but overall they saw it as long gone. Even the rich and famous and powerful of his day were supplanted and forgotten. The death of Caesar was already almost 200 years in the past. That is roughly akin in our era to remembering back to the death of George Washington in 1799.
Yes, George is still famous. Yes, Caesar is still famous. But the Emperor is not really talking about those exceptions to the rule. He is talking about the hundreds and thousands and millions of others who thought themselves so important, so indispensable who are now forgotten by all.
It’s a sad thought in some ways, but it is a good thought in many more ways. It keeps us focused on the reality of now. We may be remembered for a while, maybe hundreds or even thousands of years in some cases. but it’s not likely and it’s not something to depend on.
What we can depend on is now. You are here now. What deed can you do now? What obscure and unseen gesture can you do now to help a friend, encourage a co-worker? Will it lead to fame? Not likely. But will it lead to love and kindness growing? Yes, it will. And that is worth more than all the fame you could ever gather for yourself.
Drawing by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Marcus Aurelius, 121-180 CE, Stoic philosopher, Emperor of the Roman Empire
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l Oct. 15th, then, if I reach the finals, the voting starts again.
Let’s have a ‘Fame Week’ at The Napkin Dad Daily, shall we? I want to go through history and see how the perception has changed. First up, Socrates.
Not much has changed since Socrates lent this quote to history. Back in the day, the mythic stories were all about the Greek military heroes. Epic battles for the love of a woman, the pleasure of the Gods and the admiration of the people combined with the need for land, food, slaves, power, and glory to make for military sagas on land and sea, with the resulting fame for the men who prevailed, or in some cases died valiantly in the pursuit.
But the truth is no different than it is today. Military fame is founded on ‘heroic’ deeds, but war is a terrible and wasteful way to find glory. Any man or woman in combat will come back and tell you, it is anything but glory they are going through. But nonetheless, heroic deeds that sometimes demand their life are found throughout military history, on good and bad sides of the battle.
Let’s see through the week how the perception of fame over the centuries has been amended and expanded.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Socrates, 469-399 BCE, Greek Athenian Philosopher
Here in America people who pay attention to the popular culture tend to see a lot of desperate attempts at fame and stardom. These fame pursuers see the greased pig and think they will be the one who can hold on to it. They think they have the right idea or the right looks or music or art or invention or style. They are better than the other ones, they will succeed where the others failed. They are most likely wrong. The reason is they are pursuing the pig of fame instead of the path of success. I don’t mean that in some cliché marketing way. I simply mean that if fame is the end goal, you aren’t on a path, you are on a hunt defined by your desperation and fame’s fickle route through the prickers and thickets, a route you have to follow mercilessly. If you’re end goal is success (which may include fame as a by-product) you can make a plan, you can follow through on it, and you can gauge your success on that plan. Most importantly, you will have substance that will sustain you whether fame comes or not.
“Fame is like a shaved pig with a greased tail. It is only after it’s slipped through the hands of thousands, that some fellow, by mere chance, holds on to it.” – Davy Crockett, 1786-1836, U.S. Congressman, frontiersman.
Think of all the things people are paranoid about that have a truly miniscule risk. maybe it is elevators, or boats or sidewalks or spiders or a million other things. Is it really likely you will be hurt by any of those? No.
But think about your desires; drink, sex, gambling, money, fame…Man, those things can kill you!
A circular dilemma: you want to be noticed, seen, known, paid attention to. You do what you can to make that happen. Then you realize that the ‘you’ that got the attention made the rest of ‘you’ invisible. So, you try to downplay the attention-getting part and you discover you are still mostly invisible. You don’t like that so you go back to emphasizing the parts that got looked over. Then you feel the rest of you is invisible again.
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“It’s better to be looked over than to be overlooked.” – Mae West
It seems to me that the desperation for fame usually does not lead to it, it just leads to more desperation, then disappointment. The key is to not ignore the possibility of fame, but to understand it’s reason.
The question can be asked about anything that is pursued for its own sake. Why stay fit? So you can live a long life in health? Why live a long life? So you can do what exactly? What will you do with that long life? What will you do with that fame? What is the reason for reaching for those things (and many others)?
Pursue the next question after the question. See where that leads.
“Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
