I mean they’re not all super rich but especially in the USA and especially with actors or TV personalities it seems like the well known ones make huge amounts of money. Just picking people at random and doing some searching online, apparently Scott Bakula got paid $120,000 for each episode of NCIS: New Orleans he was in which totalled over $18 million. Some sources say that Sarah Sherman, who’s been on SNL for 3 seasons, is worth around $4 million. Why do they get paid huge amounts of money when most people, even if they’re at the top of their industry, make a fraction of that?
I understand the wish for fame, because I did feel it around the time when I was like 13 or something. Then I took a look at the way of life the really famous people lead and I realized I wouldn’t want that. I love the freedom of anonymity way too much. When it comes to ambitions, I always wanted to understand the world as much as I could. That also lead me to natural sciences. I get a lot of fulfillment from learning things. So I guess I’m not really success oriented, although it’s a nice thing, but I get a lot of kick out of getting new information and connecting it in my head, that’s what I love. And that’s not very fame related, right? I live a comfy life and I do what I love, so suddenly becoming famous and losing it all looks like a nightmare to me.
I think we’re just talking past each other, because a lifelong pursuit of science and learning is ambition all the same to me. Finding that and sticking to it is “success” as much as anything, even if you don’t seek field-wide accomplishments.
For me it’s the same thing, though I’ve not been able to commit to anything specific, and I would like to be accomplished enough to be recognized at least in some way one day, even if it’s only by peers in my field, I consider it a desire for quasi-immortality, to leave some sort of record behind.
I’m actually enjoying our conversation and I think our missunderstanding is just a minor one. I never said I don’t have any ambition. You asked me about my ambition or lack thereof, so I described what’s driving me.
Anyway, I think there’s a difference in having an ambition as having some driving force behind your actions, which is necessary (I want to have blue walls, so I go and paint them blue) and the character trait that is referred to as being ambitious. No-one gets called ambitious just for wanting to have blue walls, even though it technically is an ambition. Someone who wants to be famous can be called ambitious, though.
I think with time I’m becoming more and more self-confident and the need for other people to confirm my own value is therefore diminishing (although it’s not completely gone). I think the fame ego boost is a lot about that - being told that you’re valued.
I can relate to the need of being recognised for the good job you’ve done. And to the desire for quasi-immortality - the knowledge of one’s own mortality is such a hard thing to live with.