Post: #1

I am curious what you guys think about pursuing fame.

In this forum there's a ton of threads about how to make money - oil sands, location-independent, entrepreneurship etc. .. But few people actually talk about getting fame. What I mean by that is making a name for oneself in a certain field - pushing ones name and expertise out there. It doesn't necessarily have to be acting or being a musician - it could also mean becoming an expert in a certain field and leveraging that for consulting gigs etc.

Are some of you guys doing that? Are you in the fame business? Is it worth going down that route?

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Shit this is in the wrong section - Travel - it should be in Lifestyle - how to get it there?

Post: #2

Build a following. They will defend you against those who persecute you.

It is obviously a lot easier for Justin Bieber to get a following than Zack Braff. Why? Think about what they offer people.

Post: #3

Hey Ice...

I have actually tried to pursue that route. I am currently learning guitar and taking singing lessons. Now obviously there's a game impact and if any chicks wanted to fuck me over it, I wouldn't say no. But I didn't start learning guitar for any other reason than the idea that I have something to contribute. I wrote a few songs when I was younger but had no idea how to compose and perform them. I procrastinated for many years which I deeply regret.

The thing about pursuing fame is that it is VERY expensive. Most people have this impression that professional musicians have all this "Natural talent", get somewhat lucky and then get overnight success. This is EXTREMELY RARE. Most of the time, becoming famous is due to very hard work. Singing lessons are really fucking expensive. I pay 80 dollars for a 1 hour lesson once a week. I pay 40.00 an hour for guitar lessons. Now I could probably search around for a bargain, but you tend to get what you pay for. So that's $120 a a week which translates to roughly 6000 per year. Not to mention some equipment and maybe some opportunity cost with time spent practicing.

It's also harder than ever to make money as a recording artist. In fact it's damn near impossible these days. The big reason of course, is file sharing from the internet. Only the top, top bands who travel the country and have a paying audience can live off of their music. On the more positive note with technology, you can get some amazing recording software fairly cheap these days. You can put yourself onto youtube and facebook and market yourself. The odds of becoming famous are actually better these days...but becoming "rich and famous" now that's a different story.

Post: #4

Creating and distributing content is easier than ever, but more and more people are doing it, so it's extremely competitive.

Fame is about self branding. You become a personal brand.