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Fame! huh-yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

A stinking headache stopped me posting the little rant that follows last night.

The BBC reports Max Clifford has a 10 tips for being famous:

  1. Appear on a reality series
  2. Enter a talent contest
  3. Be abysmal on a talent show
  4. Gain fame by association
  5. Date a celebrity
  6. Flaunt your body
  7. Date a Royal Family member
  8. Make a home sex video
  9. Be a success on MySpace
  10. Be in the right place at the right time

I try to steer away from commenting on controversial topics or obvious marketing stunts. I’m sure Mr Clifford would claim this was just a bit of fun. Really it’s just him fishing to keep himself famous and boost his ego. Mrs Thatcher used to call it "the oxygen of publicity". Not a politician I’d normally quote and not normally a quote I’d choose to borrow,

What does the list say to people though? If you want to be a success be famous. You don’t need to do anything well. You don’t need to make an effort to improve your life. Don’t worry that we don’t tell you most of you will never be famous. Don’t say if you only shoot for fame following that list you might get 15 minutes but you won’t ever need to give up the day job.

So here are my alternative suggestion. You may not end up famous but you might end up achieving something while you try:

  1. Be an astonishing performer
  2. Push the boundaries of human knowledge
  3. Serve others
  4. Teach
  5. Learn
  6. Heal bodies, minds or societies
  7. Create something
  8. Make people laugh
  9. Excel at sport
  10. Perform heroic acts

One last thought. Mr Clifford appears to have missed number 11 from his list: Be a talking head pundit.

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