Christopher V. Flett

When I hear people say things like, “I want to be famous”, “I want to have my own television show”, or “I want to be like Oprah”, the first thing I think is…’do you really?’ One of the problems with today’s world is we glorify people on television, in the media, and who we have termed ‘worth watching’. Billions of people watch the royal wedding to comment on who is wearing what and if you ‘like it or not’. Everyone has an opinion on famous people even though you never have (and probably never will) meet them. Just because you know of them doesn’t mean you know them.

Seth Godin recently blogged about this phenomenon where someone didn’t like Angelia Jolie. When asked what movie they didn’t like, they said, “Oh, I haven’t seen any of her movies, I just don’t like her”. When you enter the public eye, everyone (and I mean everyone) has an opinion on who you are. They know you as they see you, not as who you are. The criticism doesn’t matter if you know that the work you do is important and contributes; it must be horrible if your only measurement of success is public opinion.

Wanting to ‘be like Oprah’ is just talk by people. If you truly wanted to be like Oprah, you’d get yourself a job in media at the age of 17, position yourself to have a talk show, do so for 25 years successfully, and then you could be Oprah. What most people mean when they say they want to be Oprah is:

• I wish people respected me like they respect Oprah
• I wish I had the money and power like Oprah
• I wish I had the houses and the lifestyle like Oprah
• I wish people thought me important like they do Oprah
• I wish people would add me to their list of people they want to meet

You know what Oprah wishes for?

• To walk down the street by herself, unmolested by fans
• To have a meal out without security having to hold crowds back
• For their not to be public discussions about her sexuality and her relationships
• That people focus on the good she does rather than things that happen outside of her control
• That people wouldn’t obsess about if she is gaining or losing weight

When people become famous, their lives change. If they worked at becoming famous just to be famous, it’s going to be a big disappointment for them. Things they took for granted (eating a meal quietly, going for a walk with their kids, etc.) all changes when people start to know who you are. You have a great deal of fans but sadly, a great deal of critics who all have an opinion of who they think you are.

If you become famous because of your work and your work is your passion, than the ‘becoming a public figure’ is probably a bit more bearable. If however you think that being famous is going to ‘fix’ something in you or will be your ‘quick trip to riches’, you are going to find yourself sadly mistaken. Jonas Salk, created the Polio vaccine, Van Gogh created beautiful pieces of art but was a poor throughout most of his life. Then we have the “Snookies” and the “Situations” of the world. That are famous, but absolutely contribute nothing to society other than acting as today’s jesters.

If you are driven by the external affirmation of your peers, rather than by what really floats your boat (your driving mission in life), you will find yourself after many years of climbing the slippery slope either regretting the fact that you never became famous or worse, regretting the fact that you did.