I JUST WANT TO BE FAMOUS
On his album Recovery, Eminem has a song called Almost Famous. The hook of that song ends with the words, “I just wanna be famous, But, be careful what you wish for.”
I’m not exactly sure what’s behind his warning, but the entire song is about reaching for the next rung in the ladder of success, and finally getting there. Which then brings up a haunting question, “Now what?”
This is important for us to consider. Research shows many more people in our world today not only want to be famous, but believe they will be famous one day. It’s safe to say, as Joel Stein points out in his article, “The New Greatest Generation” in TIME Magazine, we are "fame-obsessed."
And what happens in the event we do become famous? We are faced with the question, “Now what?” Because whatever it was that made you famous – wealth, looks, or talent – that is not the thing that will keep you famous.
Because people want more, new and different.
In our world, now more than ever, fame has a tremendously short shelf life. It’s not about what you’ve done, but what you're doing. And before you done doing what you’re doing, people want to know what you will do. We live in a world that is always on the lookout for the next big thing, the next hot story, the next best athlete and the next coolest band.
This can lead us to believe that no matter how great a success, or how well we did something before – we have to do better the next time. Over time, we set for ourselves a bar that is always getting higher, ignoring the reality that at some point it will be too high and we will never stand a chance of clearing it.
Perhaps the best antidote to this current trend in our world today are two simple, old-fashioned, down-to-earth attitudes: contentment and commitment.
I’ve noticed that I rarely hear people speak about being content anymore. It’s not often someone speaks of being thankful because they have enough. I don’t recall the last time I’ve heard someone speaking of wanting nothing more than they already possess.
We need to practice contentment, and allow ourselves to enjoy the place we currently inhabit. Not in a complacent way, of course, but in a way that gives us a moment to look around and give thanks for all that has been given to us. There’s a chance that if we do this more often, we may find ourselves needing (and even wanting) less.
And what about commitment? There is something compelling in those who choose to take a long walk in the same direction. In our world today we see the instant nature of everything, the convenience of things being disposable, technology that is 6 months old becoming obsolete and everything from houses, to jobs, to marriages being something we use and leave – commitment is peculiar in our world today.
And just like contentment, we need to practice commitment. It would do us good to arm ourselves with the resolve to wake up day after day, and continue on the same journey we were on the day before. Sure, at times, it can be boring. Really, really boring. But that’s normal. The fact is, our world has fed us the lie that life will and should always be exciting and new. Not true.
Much of life is mundane, routine and constant. It’s easy to find beauty in the midst of excitement or something new. It takes discipline to stop and see the goodness in the “everyday” of everyday life. Sometimes, it’s not about outdoing yourself again, but being faithful just to complete the task before you.
With all of the temptation toward fame these days, perhaps a little contentment and commitment, will cause us to stop and be careful what we wish for.