Fame seems tricky, though. There are so many pitfalls with the benefits. I’ve lately realized it’s best to be only kinda famous. Famous in your world, not the whole world. Famous enough to acquire assets, perks, and esteem, but not famous enough to endure perma-paparazzi and paranoia.

I like your phrase “attention junky.” It really boils it down to the personal desire to be a star, even if for only 15 minutes at a time. Personally, I wouldn’t want peoples’ eyes to ALWAYS be on me; I have too many bad hair days. (Plus, I like “watching people” too much for them to always be watching me!) But once in awhile, attention is fun, and can be a nice, healthy boost to the ego.

But along with the powerful and postive moments, comes the occasional embarassment. We can TRY to block out those oops moments, just like celebrities try. For instance, I can “accidentally” try to erase the old TV interview of me on the ancient Beta tape the next time my grandma plays it. (The handy fruit-shaped magnet from her fridge just might do the trick.) But those truly in the public eye don’t have such an easy out, with their every move documented.

I’ll share my three tips for achieving some degree of fame, (we’re talking micro-fame here) or at least just enjoying some of the benefits.

Number one, BUY your place. You want to go to Sundance or Toronto and rub elbows? Buy a pass. It will cost you, but you’ll be in the action. Once, I bought a real, Hollywood, red-carpet movie premiere ticket, with afterparty included, for a screamin’ deal. My sister and I made a trip of it and had so much fun. After flying home, I saw us on Entertainment Tonight and Wire Image. No one will ever recognize me from that microsecond of fame. Ever. But I had fun, and I have pictures. Other examples include VIP party passes, auction plates, and opening night tickets. These things aren’t always cheap, but they’re sometimes not as much as people think (and can be a tax write-off on occasion!) Time your purchase with celebrity guests/speakers, and you’ll get a taste of going behind the velvet rope. Or if you miss the party altogether, sometimes you can pick up the entire gift bag, chock full, on ebay. There! You have some fancy celebrity chocolates, jeans, and shampoo, and you saved big bucks on actually going to the party.

Number two, TALK and people may listen. Check Oprah and Ellen for upcoming shows and topics. Both have long lists of who and what they want on their show. A free trip and a guest spot is certainly worth writing home about. If you can’t get the ooopmh for the national exposure, go local. Most large cities have afternoon shows and cable spots that constantly need content. Be an expert on something, anything, as long as you can speak passionately. Seriously. Anything. I’ve been on TV for clipping coupons and wrapping presents. These are both activities I love. Sometimes local interest stories even make national news, like the Today Show and Good Morning America. What have you got to lose, right? So start talking it up here and there. Before you know it, you’ll know what it feels like to be mic’d up and going live.

And number three, just enjoy the BENEFITS, without actually having the worry of getting famous. I found my way to your site by reading about your venture into AmEx Black Card territory. There are huge perks with that. HUGE. I’ve been test driving just the Platinum card, and I am loving it. Benefits like free upgrades, special events, and freebies make a big difference in our perceptions, and therefore enjoyment, of an experience. Take for instance the free drink I enjoyed recently while sitting in the airport lounge that I never had access to before. Ironically, that free drink felt like a million bucks.

Anyhow, thanks for the great blog. You’ve got a great sense of humor, and put so much food for thought out there. Keep up the good work! Sincerely, Paula

Sammy Simpson
http://www.thetunein.com

Phil

Cheers,
Albert | UrbanMonk.Net
Modern personal development, entwined with ancient spirituality.

Here’s a quote from George Harrison (The Beatles): “I wanted to be successful, not famous.”

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1. Valid point about Paris.
2. There are exceptions to this rule as you pointed out with Britney, but for most people, they should try and be themselves. If you look at Britney, being her dumb self is helping keep the spotlight on her. Not sure if this is press you want, but it is helping with media attention.
3. With the stupid remarks, there are limits to it. If you are going to say something that is racist or offensive, it is probably best to keep it to yourself. But if you are going to say something stupid that will not hurt anyone… then why not take a chance.
4, 5, 6, 7. Glad you agree.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
Now that is a quote to listen to.
I will add my own two favorites to your list that I personally have used for over a decade and half. I hope you like them. They helped me do very well in life, at least financially.
Zig Ziglar said it best when he said You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. This is extremely important I think. One more is by Robert Heinlein who said – “Always listen to the experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done and why. Then do it.”

http://ihack.us/2007/11/14/character-driven-branding/

Well who doesn’t wants to be popular? Today everybody does. This is the only reason which would bring name, fame to the personnel. Not trying to become famous is the best advice I got. If you know things then sharing it with others will bring you popularity, but if you try to become famous by manipulative ways, won’t help you!

I like the message from the T-shirt “Stop being desperate”. I really think that being desperate gives you no chance – except maybe someone can become famous for it.