Do you want to be famous or successful? Anyone can be famous in the 20th century but only a small percentage of people are truly successful. What’s the difference between fame and success?
Andy Warhol said everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame. Fame is defined by people knowing who you are but that doesn’t necessarily come from doing something successful. Recently people have achieved fame by creating sex tapes and scandals, creating a fake event like Balloon boy and gaining widespread media attention. Other people have cheated and lied their way to fame. Others have failed in the glare of the spotlight because of addictions, indiscretions or excess. People that achieve fame at the expense of success become famous for a short time and do not get the respect that true success brings.
A good example of fame versus success was demonstrated by the Osborne family when they had their first reality show.
Ozzy Osborne’s success and
Sharon Osborne’s management skills created the reality show but the family paid the price that fame brought with it. Kelly and Jack Osborne both became the famous offspring of Ozzy and Sharon because of the reality show but neither one of them was prepared for the fame it brought into their lives. Both Kelly and Jack suffered under the glare of the spotlight with both developing serious drug addictions in front of the television cameras. They both became famous just for being the children of Ozzy Osborne and without earning or demonstrating any sort of talent or success. But success and stability came later for Kelly and Jack when they both had success at rehab and turned their lives around. Jack has gained success and respect from challenging himself to perform extreme sports for his own tv show while Kelly has been demonstrating her dancing abilities and her passion for performing on the Dancing with the Stars Show. They both have success with their fame now and the credibility, respect and happiness that goes with it.
People such as
John and Kate Gosselin,
Octomom, balloon boy and others only achieve fame and the misery of judgement seems to go along with it. They are being judged by the general public at large who are shining a very hot and bright spotlight on them. They will never achieve success and respect because they did not earn their credibility through accomplished goals.
There are others that have sustained success and fame in sync and those are the people that have the most power and respect. People like
Oprah Winfrey who is famous but has achieved her fame through hard work and good deeds and in turn has the power to influence a whole generation of the public and her peers.
Richard Branson has achieved business fame and success by creating credibility in his business and challenging ideas and the limitations of himself and others. He has built a huge corporation, broken some molds and given back to the world in the process.
The ultimate fame and success is president
Obama who has achieved fame through his campaign for change and has influenced a generation of people that seek a new direction in their lives. He has achieved the ultimate goal of inspiring people that were apathetic and thought that there was no hope and he has achieved the goal of becoming the first black president through positivity and sheer determination.
So do you want fame or success? I believe we should all strive for success and if we achieve fame in the process we should use it to influence and assist others to change the world. If we ALL strive for success we can achieve and change anything for the better.
