People want their lives to be “easier.”
You can almost see the images in their minds, of them sitting by the pool, sipping margaritas on Easy Street, in their future “successful” life. Yet, there is no successful person whose life, on balance, got “easier” because of their financial success or fame. Of course, they may not have trouble paying rent anymore. They may never wonder where their next meal is coming from, or whether they can afford proper health care. This takes them safely out of worrying about the life-and-death problems that a good part of humanity struggles with.
Yet fame, success, and money, while alleviating these survival-level problems, bring a new set of problems. Sure, these problems are, on average, ones that most people would prefer to have, over the survival-issue, life-or-death problems much of humanity faces. But to believe that successful people don’t have problems at all on account of their success, wealth and fame (and to believe that if you achieve these things, your life will be a perfect dream-come-true) are misguided concepts. And, they are misguided in ways that actually lower the chances you’ll achieve/increase these things in your own life, if you are seeking them. Because they’re based on a totally incorrect vision of what fame, success, and wealth actually are.
Wealth is the ability to command resources voluntarily. Fame has a similar property, yet in the realm of attention, instead of resources. Fame is the ability to command people’s attention voluntarily. Now, commanding over an empire of resources and attention solves many problems for you. You’ll never have to worry about having adequate food, shelter, or health care again. You’ll never have to worry about being alone again—fame and wealth will bring you throngs of people wanting to be around you.Never have to worry about boredom again—all the social opportunity you could want will be thrown in your face. Never have to worry again about getting you laid. And these are all wondrous, for those who have them.
But, being at the helm, commanding your own little empire, is also incredibly complex. If you are wealthy or famous, people want things from you. You have to constantly—dozens or even hundreds of times a day—respond to requests from acquaintances, strangers, and even close friends wanting things from you: favors, connections, money, resources.
You have to sort out who the givers vs. takers are in your life, who the energy vampires, leeches, moochers, bloodsuckers and parasites are vs. the people who actually care about you, who your true friends are vs. potential backstabbers, at a much faster clip, and with a lot more riding on the line.The famous or wealthy person struggles with this, often on a daily basis: “Who are my true friends?” Most of us can’t imagine the level to which powerful people face this problem. It’s not a problem to knock until you’ve actually witnessed how serious and hell-making this problem can be and the emotional pain it can create in people’s lives.
Author of the Source article: Michael Ellsberg