> > Artists and musicians specifically get a lot of social prestige. Similarly for actors.
> I'm not sure what sort of prestige you think folks are getting.
Groupies, maybe? I've encountered them hanging on even celebrity impersonators (in Los Angeles) and cover bands (in Las Vegas), not just originals. Not to mention authors and visual artists. Most artistic scenes seem to attract them.
My rule of thumb is any job that has any "star" the general public knows and cheer for, don't bet your life's happiness on it. The more glamorous you see the star, the worse off the average person is/the more improbable an average person can make it. For example, rock star, movie star, star chef, star youtuber, star blogger, star athlete, star politician, star Hacker news story, star redditor, star 4chan memer, etc.
I haven't heard of a star lawyer, or star doctor, or star programmer that the general public knows.
Most of those that you mentioned are very high risk fields, where you don't get a salary - you may hit it big for a few years, but very few athletes/artists/actors/etc have consistent long-term multi-million dollar years. Many are essentially entrepreneurs.
My rule of thumb is that anyone who is near the top of any field of human endeavor is going to be super-busy at all times. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t be where they are.
I said "professional" athletes and entertainers. I'm not just talking about the ultra wealthy stars. I just mean people who make a living doing that full time.
> Your comment implies that we could have a functioning society if everyone were rock stars and athletes. That's absurd
I'm arguing the opposite, by highlighting this absurdity.
No more so than athletes or musical performers (I wouldn't go so far as to say "musicians" -- thinking of people like Britney and Justin Bieber). Or doctors, for that matter, in the more non-celebrity world. In fact I wonder if doctors are held in the highest esteem of any occupation, due to being perhaps the only one where making a lot of money and being considered morally and ethically upstanding can seem to coincide. Or maybe actors are in that category too, except that the ones who make money are fewer, and the ones who are morally bankrupt are more (though partially because the media profits from amplifying those cases).
Reading that I see musician who did a solo album and some other bands, common, who flys planes... common in actors, and is an entrepeneur.. in beer (food), all super common for someone who has made money.
I don't see a broad range here, this sounds super common, how much crap does Michael Jordan or John Travolta have in common with this guy.
I don't see: patents, masters degrees (not too hard), charities, news articles, really anything that shows he's able to just pick up anything quickly.
People who are at the top of whatever they do also have many other forms of income-- consultancies, speaking engagement, board positions, but also often get paid better.
...and except for media celebs are usually not in the public limelight. Being in the public limelight frequently stinks.
"Well I've got bad news for you. I'm not that rich and I'm not that successful. But I have been around successful people. You see I'm a journalist. If you go to a stadium and you see the crowd doing the wave, there are some people who just sit there watching. Those people are journalists. We lead boring lives while hanging around people who lead interesting lives.
And I've observed a few things about the few really great people I've had a chance to meet and cover. First, they tend to have really big heads. As someone once said, what they have doesn't look like a head. It looks like a container for a head. They also can't sit still. They need to be around people. You and I require sleep. They require people."
Does the opposite for me. I deal with such an endless sea of doofuses every day, it brightens my whole outlook to see that there is such a large number of driven, talented people in the world.
reply