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Reasons not to become famous (2020)
- DamonHD 3y agoLots of intresting insights: `I would only have guessed a few of the points he makes. I have experienced very low level versions of some of the issues he mentions...
- ineedausername 3y ago[flagged]
- throwbadubadu 3y agoCouldn't also stop to think alternative title "Late realizations of a narcist" the whole time while reading..
- AprilPhoenix 3y agoI'm OK with being ignored. I'm not OK with being powerless.
- weinzierl 3y agoI imagine the worst place to be is being half famous or a B-list celebrity. Enough prominence to be at the receiving end of all vile described in the article but not enough money, power and connections to adequately protect yourself.
- medymed 3y agoThis is probably the fate of honest politicians.
- expertentipp 3y ago> honest politicians An oxymoron. The above is probably what kicks people out of politics into an oblivion.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- jjeaff 3y agoNo, the worst place to be has to be mega famous. Johnny Depp or Michael Jackson level. Literally cannot just go out for a simple meal without throngs of people bothering you or paparazzi constantly trying to catch you in compromising positions. Crazy people who love you so much they want to wear your skin as a jacket. You can never and will never have a normal life. Moving to some far off destination is your only chance at a modicum of normalcy.
- mongol 3y agoImagine being mega famous and poor at that. Are there any examples of this? People who got famous and did not make money from it? I guess some have wasted it though
- Eisenstein 3y agoAny big 'true crime' victim or family of. Ron Goldman's parents come to mind.
- weinzierl 3y agoBeing poor and famous is probably the worst case but money alone isn't necessarily enough to protect you if you do not have power and a support network of loyal people. Both Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears come to my mind as having become enormously popular (and rich on paper) very quickly but lacking the power and support to distance themselves from people that were bad for them. I remember the story where Amy Winehouse served tea and cake to the Paparazzi waiting outside in the cold for her. This could have been a brilliant joke if she was above all this, but we know she wasn't. She was feeding the predators that were after her and that despite having enough money to pay for protection.
- weinzierl 3y agoI respectfully disagree and since you mentioned Johnny Depp I think he is a perfect example to support my point of view. The trial gave us a unique view into the life of mega famous people like him. Johnny Depp is rich enough to surround himself with friends and loyal people. He is rich enough to own sufficient real estate to have his entourage always near him. He can afford to have a social life in his microcosmos without ever dealing with the outside world. Maybe this is not as good a life as all of us nobodies can have but I'm convinced it's a million times better than that of B-list celebrities who can neither have a social life in the real world nor afford to build their own world.
- kubb 3y agoI thought it's well-known that what you need is 1) to be well regarded by people closely related to you, 2) to be healthy 3) to have financial independence and 4) to have enough time for you and for the people from 1). Fame can get you 1) and 3), but it's not going to make you happy of fulfilled by itself. It brings a lot of downsides with it though.
- daymanstep 3y agoBeing famous doesn’t necessarily bring you 1). It gives people more incentive to pretend to like you when they just want your money.
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y agoBeing famous doesn't even automatically bring you money. But it does bring "monetisation opportunities" such as e.g. giving paid talks to conference audiences, podcast guest, "write" a book, reality TV contest show participant, or appearing is commercials for gimmicky kitchen goods. You'd still have to decide if you're OK with doing that and then follow through; several of those options give me the ick. For a low B-list celebrity, they will still have to hustle shamelessly for money. Just to keep up with the lifestyle that is expected of you.
- expertentipp 3y agoI always was unable to imagine how to monetize sudden fame or even lottery win. The first entities and people who stick to you are usually the worst. Wrong moves and the very begging, ie. sharing some data, or committing to an obligation, will be defining for the entire new life.
- Broken_Hippo 3y agoFame doesn't get you any of these things. You can be famous for something seriously horrible, after all, and people have. (If you need examples, look no further than serial killers). Money might get you 2, 3, and 4 though. You are honestly more likely to have #3 if you already have some money to work with.
- mattlondon 3y agoI never wanted to be famous - just the "rich" part of "rich and famous" is enough for me ... I'm not greedy.
- TekMol 3y agoThe "BENEFITS" section suspiciously leaves out the one thing most guys mention when asked why they wanted to become famous: Improving your success in dating. I wonder why?
- dan-robertson 3y agoI think it’s because he says that dating got harder?
- 2-718-281-828 3y agoTim Ferris is a promoting a healthy life style (at least from his perspective). So, when he talks about dating he means having meaningful romantic experiences. OP probably means having as much sex as possible. If a man has trouble meeting women then becoming famous will not change anything about that issue - but he will be approached more by women who are looking for ego gratification. And that's not the type of women you can have a meaningful experience with. Given that Tim has been suffering from depression for decades I'd assume from own experience that he also had to deal with a romantic handicap for his entire life.
- trogdor 3y ago>Given that Tim has been suffering from depression for decades Based on his blog post 'revealing' that he had being depressed and suicidal, it sure doesn't sound like it. That post describes a one-year period (possibly less), in 1999, that he overcame on his own by taking some time off from work. He then writes that this 'time off' was when he went to Japan and supposedly became a sumo wrestling champion. A therapist? Medication? A call to a help line? Depression that was debilitating or that lasted longer than a few months? Not for Tim Ferris(TM). When I was younger, Tim Ferris was an inspiration. Now, I take everything he says with the most enormous grain of salt imaginable. Tim Ferris is a charlatan. And he is very good at it.
- 2-718-281-828 3y agoIt's definitely a benefit. But I'd assume it getting old rather quickly for a majority of men. Especially because it narrows down your dating pool to a certain type of woman with a gold digging mentality. Even satisfying sexual desires reliably will mostly just lead to addictive behavior and a resulting depression. It's the same for everything. Sex is like fat or sugar for men. We are programmed to take as much of it as we can - but it won't end well.
- SideburnsOfDoom 3y ago"I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: 'try being rich first'. See if that doesn't cover most of it. There's not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job." - Bill Murray
- bell-cot 3y agoHis "the Tribe, the Village, the City" metaphor seems like the optimal framing of the nut-magnet situation.
- andrewstuart 3y agoBeing famous is in my list of worst possible things to be. Give me a mediocre urban anonymous existence with a handful of real friends and family, software to hack on, occasional nights out.
- naillo 3y agoFree money for little effort, sexual desires much easier satisfied
- andrewstuart 3y agoEven so, I’d hate to be famous. Fake friends, wondering if your partner chose you for the money, suspicion about peoples motives, narcissistic self obsession, worry about losing the things you got, people judging you. Urgh no thanks. Being a deeply average anonymous nobody is the ideal life in the 21st century.
- badpun 3y ago> Being a deeply average anonymous nobody is the ideal life in the 21st century. I agree, but I’d say an early retired average nobody is even better.
- maccard 3y agoI had this conversation with Dad a few months ago. He asked if I wanted to retire early and I said no. He asked why, and I told him if I could choose my week, I'd work part time on a video game project, golf 2-3x per week, get a date night with my fiancée, and an afternoon/evening with couple friends. I have all of that now (well, I golf 1-2x per week and work "full time" but on a project I like with people I like). Why would I spend the prime of my life optimising to enjoy the rest of my life, when I can have a balance and enjoy my whole life? I don't think he understands, still. See the Mexican fisherman [0]. [0] https://bemorewithless.com/the-story-of-the-mexican-fisherman/ https://bemorewithless.com/the-story-of-the-mexican-fisherma...
- quickthrower2 3y agoThe suicide video thing had nothing to do with fame. It was a friend and I don’t see why this would have been prevented by not being famous.
- maxlamb 3y agoHe never said that guy was a friend or even ever met him, but he was just someone “who commented a lot” on his blog. So just some random blog reader who clearly had mental health issues and who became obsessed with Tim.
- hammyhavoc 3y agoYou don't even need to be famous to be on the receiving end of this kind of thing. You can just be unfortunate. The more output you have in the public domain, famous or not, the more there is to latch onto.
- cobertos 3y agoRight. He used that as an opener/attention getter but he never explains it's relation to the rest of the article. The commenter who suicided knew Tim before fame + had longer extended contact. The opposite of the article of unsolicited spontaneous issues with people. Didn't like that he led with this story, the article felt less unique than that story
- kashunstva 3y agoI had the idea going in that this would a philosophical meditation on “the road not taken” or a personal account of the seemingly inherent risk of self-alienation among the famous. But no; it’s a long self-congratulatory name-dropping warmup followed by a recitation of the many ways people can do you harm.
- raincole 3y agoThe author is famous for his self-helping books. This fact already tells a lot.
- KrugerDunnings 3y ago[flagged]
- 0zemp2c 3y agoaka "my life as a used-tissue of the lifehacking moment"
- ramraj07 3y agoInteresting post, definitely learned some new things, but also came away from the article feeling slightly violated with what was by the end clearly again just self promotion. On brand for Tim too I suppose. The irony is that he doesn't discuss that he could stop all of this, within a relatively instant moment. Just stop being famous. Stop posting on social media, bring down your podcast and blog and just go live a normal life doing a regular job. Some celebrities can't just quit but at Tims level he surely can. But he won't, he won't even discuss that possibility here because clearly all of these drawbacks are nothing compared to the two things fame does bring which is dopamine and money. It's also interesting he doesn't openly mention that he's also rich as hell now, and notwithstanding all the supposedly charitable work he's doing benefits greatly from his money. Like dude are you dedicating your life to help others or just to get another dopamine hit from it while still spending obscene amounts on yourself? I was thinking of taking a vacation and couldn't bring myself to book a ticket to Europe because it felt wasteful to spend so much money and carbon just for sight seeing. I question if people like Tim ever think that. I'm more interested in an introspection about that, instead of another conveniently timed piece on being famous just days after a charade by the kings of such charlatanism Harry.
- iLoveOncall 3y agoI think you're the kind of guy he is afraid of.
- ramraj07 3y agoSo anyone with a dissenting opinion is now a creepy stalker now?
- iLoveOncall 3y agoYou don't have a dissenting opinion. You did not talk AT ALL about the post, your original comment is 100% hate about the person. Reread your post and go take a good look in the mirror, you need it.
- cloogshicer 3y ago
- oifjsidjf 3y agoRich and annoynimous is the way to go.
- wigster 3y agowell i'm not sure if this would make him feel better or worse, but I have no idea who he is
- expertentipp 3y agoTim, I have no idea who you are and don't care about you. Hope it will makes you feel better.
- 634636346 3y agoHe's a human optimization expert, totally legitimate, and not a snakeoil salesman, who just so happened to put on 34 lbs of muscle IN A MONTH following a style of training, HIT (not to be confused with HIIT cardio), that the scientific literature has largely debunked, that was used as a marketing ploy to sell exercise machines and ultimately a company (Nautilus), and has historically only been used and promoted by a small minority of bodybuilders, the most famous of whom (Mentzer & Yates) may not have even used it, and were voracious users of PEDs even by professional bodybuilder standards (Mentzer used meth before workouts, and died at 49 of a heart attack). As Tim describes (can't link to it without getting caught in the spam filter): > I weighed 152 lbs. for four years of high school, and after training in tango in Buenos Aires in 2005, that had withered to 146 lbs. Upon returning to the US, I performed an exhaustive analysis of muscular hypertrophy (growth) research and exercise protocols, ignoring what was popular to examine the hard science. The end result? I gained 34 lbs. of muscle, while losing 3 lbs. of fat, in 28 days. He's written a series of human optimization guides, including the 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. Totally legit.
- expertentipp 3y agoAmericans would admit they owe their looks and fitness to everything but plastic surgery and steroids. I'm waiting for an American book "How to lose fat and gain muscles by dozen surgeries and a range of substances inserted into your orifices and injected into your bloodstream.. and have cosmic sex too". I would pirate this book, obviously.
- 634636346 3y agoI never implied he used steroids. His claims of muscle gain were never rigorously, independently verified, and were likely invented partially or whole-cloth. He named a researcher at San Jose State University, and said she did hydro-static before/after measurements confirming his results, and she apparently took issue with him using her name and institution for commercial purposes, and also couldn't publicly disclose and confirm his purported results due to the terms of the consent form he signed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2100335 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2100335 Ultimately we have no before/after DEXA scan confirming any muscle gain in any timeframe, and just Tim's word and some questionable before/after photos. And even with copious steroids, 34 lbs. of muscle in a month would be insane.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- alcover 3y ago<<La somme des malentendus autour d'un nom>>
- kristiandupont 3y agoSigh, the arrogance and smugness in this thread is disheartening. Wow, you don't know who Tim Ferriss is! So impressive! Or you do know, and you consider him to be a scam artist! Got it. I read the 4HWW when it came out and I liked it but I agree that it was a bit over the top and chest-puffing. I think Tim says that himself these days. I listen to some of his interviews every now and then and to me, he comes across as a humble and genuinely interested and curious man who means well. This blog post doesn't state that he wishes he wasn't famous, it tells you some facts that you might not have considered if you have that same desire. I do not want to be famous myself but I still found it interesting.
- hammyhavoc 3y agoI feel like this is directed at me. No, I didn't know who he is—but there's no smugness or arrogance in my not knowing, it illustrates the point that fame is relative, contextual and most importantly, fleeting. His blog post about gaining 34lbs of muscle in 28 days was in 2007, and I'd never even heard of it. If it was that effective and I've not heard of it in all that time, I think I can safely say I didn't miss out on some kind of breakthrough. I could equally twist this back around to you—ooo, you know who Ferriss is and read his books and watched his interviews, suddenly you're a lifehacker and can present pithy soundbites and "techniques for producing 15-minute female orgasms" if his 4-Hour Body book is anything to go by. But there's no smugness or arrogance on your behalf either, right? So why assume it of others?
- ihateyouall123 3y ago[dead]
- lapcat 3y ago> I feel like this is directed at me. expertentipp: "Tim, I have no idea who you are and don't care about you. Hope it will makes you feel better." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019501 wigster: "well i'm not sure if this would make him feel better or worse, but I have no idea who he is" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019448 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019448 KrugerDunnings: "Who the fuck is Tim Farris?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019338
- BiteCode_dev 3y agoIt always make me laugh when I see so many comment talk about the guy like they know him. "Tim", first name basis. Like when they talk about Gates and they say "Bill".
- expertentipp 3y agoI just took it from guy's domain without bothering to learn his full name. Is knowing or not knowing him some kind of internet meme or what? If not MS' predatory global OEM practices I wouldn't know "Bill" either, unfortunately I do.
- effingwewt 3y agoTo me that's normal, it doesn't imply familiarity. When you speak of someone without a title- if not formal, you just use the name. Johnny Depp isn't Mr Depp unless it's super formal. In fact to me it seems far more abnormal calling Bill Gates just 'Gates'. Maybe it's a cultural thing?
- sidibe 3y agoUsually last names only are used by journalists after the first time. Therefore you see one name it's usually the last name with no title. The exception is VERY famous people with unique first names like Oprah, Elon, LeBron. I suspect the reason people say "Bill" and "Tim" is because these companies have 100K+ employees for whom using their first name is the norm and expected (for example would be weird to watch management use anything else with each other at all hands meetings), and they do it in public too, so other people on the tech internet do it too.
- 93po 3y agoDo you also find fault with everyone that refers to Elon Musk as Elon?
- sfmike 3y agoI think Tim said it best with the recent Kevin Rose podcast and he stated single is just swapping problems from a relationship. Famous and not is similar just problem swapping. You can fly private and solve problems with capital but maybe a stalker shows up at your house.
- 93po 3y ago> single is just swapping problems from a relationship I feel this really hard, but at the same time, at least when single you can work towards solving problems, which sometimes is completely impossible with a relationship if it's the wrong relationship. I would also argue most or all of the "single" problems are ones that can be solved with the right outlook and enough self work.
- zac23or 3y agoI don't know Tim, but 4HWW, nutritional products and other things about him make me believe he is a scammer. Maybe that kind of fame attracts the worst kinds of fans. Yes, fame like everything else in life is not only positive, but gangster fame is not like Tom Hanks fame.
- lapcat 3y ago> gangster fame is not like Tom Hanks fame You don't think Tom Hanks gets death threats and other crazy stuff? Think about Rebecca Schaeffer: "At the age of 21, she was shot and killed by Robert John Bardo, a 19-year-old obsessed fan who had been stalking her." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer
- zac23or 3y ago> You don't think Tom Hanks gets death threats and other crazy stuff? Probably Tom Hanks gets a lot of crazy stuff. But, it is perhaps more common for a scammer to be killed by a fan or someone else than Tom Hanks type person to be killed. > Think about Rebecca Schaeffer How many Rebecca Schaeffer lookalike murders occur per year versus scammer murders per year?
- jacooper 3y agoCertainly interesting, and shines light on some unexpected sides of social media fame, I shared it with a few striving for it, not to discourage them but to set expectations.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]