December 24About Something Else
Nothing is so common-place as to wish to be remarkable. Fame usually comes to those who are thinking about something else—very rarely to those who say to themselves, “Go to, now, let us be a celebrated individual!” The struggle for fame, as such, commonly ends in notoriety—that ladder is easy to climb, but it leads to the pillory which is crowded with fools who could not hold their tongues and rogues who could not hide their tricks.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.—The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table (1858)
Another pretty strong indictment for the act of chasing fame. (Ba-dum ching!)
Know anyone who might utter something like this, even if only through their acts: “Go to, now, let us be a celebrated individual!”
You were meant for a ladder harder to climb.
Challenge Question
- Look at your last 10 social media updates; do they hint of the struggle for notoriety or of thinking of something else?
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