Fame

I recently read an article online about John Travolta’s son passing away. I don’t spend much time reading about celebrities, but I came across the headline on the CNN.com home page.

Fast forward to last night. I was at the airport, working on my laptop, and I overhear a wife to her husband, “You heard about John Travolta’s son?” He replied, “Yeah, he died. He had a history of seizures and he hit his head.” I found it fascinating that not only did they both independently know about what happened, but some very specific details.

That’s what it’s like to be famous. You suffer a tragedy, and tens of millions of people — or possibly even a hundred million — read about it and discuss it in places like airports in the middle of the night.

Some people seem to want to become “famous” and I’ve even heard people accuse me of having that as a goal. Personally, I don’t see the appeal of being renowned in this way.

I understand where people can get the impression that I want to be famous. I promote myself and I am trying to become well-known. However, there is a distinction in becoming an industry expert. I don’t have any interest in being followed by paparazzi, having people know about my personal life, or even recognize me on the street.

What I do have interest in is being regarded as an expert by people who I respect in the field. My goal is not to be “famous,” but to be someone people go to for advice.