Human desires know no bounds. We are an endless supply of needs and wants and no matter how much we already have, there is always bound to be that ‘one more thing’ that we just absolutely need to have.
In a way, this nature of ours has been one of the contributing factors in our advancement as a civilisation. Since we are never satisfied, we keep looking for better ways which leads to progress.
Anyways, today I wanted to talk about two such desires that are unique to our species. Honestly, no other species have ever wanted a large bank balance or hundreds of thousands of likes on Instagram!
Given the choice between the two, which would you rather have? Fame or Money? Let’s take a look at what each entails first.
FAME
Everybody craves a little attention. If you are anything like me, you don’t want much but there a lot of people in the world that would like to take it up a notch, actually take it up several notches and become world famous personalities.
The lives that Hollywood celebrities live, albeit exhausting, is quite glamorous with millions of fans all around the world, with many who want to be with them and many who want to be them.
Fame can be a cool experience but would it really be worth it without the money? In my personal opinion, fame without money is just a life of noise, one without meaning. All your facebook, instagram, snapchat or whatever other social media’s followers wouldn’t mean much if you can’t make money off of the fame.
MONEY
Money. The thing that makes the world go round in the sense that all our efforts and energies are ultimately aimed at earning a living which means having enough money to meet your basic needs.
Almost all people in the world, I think, want to have enough money so that they could consider themselves as being out of the rat race. Isn’t that the point of the race to begin with? To end it?
Well, no matter the attitude of people about money and how it has turned us into evil, greedy monsters, you cannot change the fact that with money, comes a certain sense of security and as the mode of exchange, can fulfil the rest of your desires. So, if you had a choice, would you even think twice to have lots of it?
What Would I Do?
This one is really simple for me. I would go for the money in a heartbeat. I have never really cared about the spotlight or what people think about me or that kind of stuff.
Also, I have always wanted to live a ‘free life’, an unconventional life where I do not have to murder my dreams and aspirations because I have to spend the prime of my life earning ‘enough’ money.
Therefore, if given the choice, I would definitely like to have just enough money to be out of the suffocating, repetitive and robotic life that we all call the modern lifestyle. I wouldn’t want to even be the richest. Only just enough would do.
So, anyways, what would you guys prefer? I asked this question to my ‘real life’ friends and it was almost a tie between the two. So, now I ask this to you. Chime in, in the comments section below.
I want to be free. That means to decide myself when to be where, when to get up in the morning, when to work, what to work, if to work ... And I think to reach that aim (to be free) money is of better use than fame. So my answer is: "Money." :)
Exactly. I would love to be free from the shackles of life too and having money would enable us to do that. Then we can focus on what we truly love and spend our limited time on Earth to do just that :)
Neither. I'd rather just be happy.
That's a good goal to have :) I would say, the only one that matters.
Lucky for me, I already have achieved my goal:)
And everyone else for that matter.
I would choose Steem and bitcoin !
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You sir, have won the comments section! :)
Great topic! I dont care for fame either. So the easier answer would be money. But I like you would be happy with just enough to get by. if I had more than i needed i would always help others especially family members. But fame nor money should be our main focus. Happiness and health is what we should focus on :)
You are absolutely right. It would be great to help others especially family members in need but yes, we shouldn't run after any and just focus on what brings happiness :)
MONEY because I'm already happy and could buy myself the proper education where others would want to listen to what I have to say about helping THEM be happy :-D hehe (Working on it.) Good thoughts!
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I would for sure pick money. Money is always useful, but fame does not really interest me at all.
Yeah, money has surely more utility than fame.
Yeah, exactly!
I would want To have fame. Money could buy fame but not for everyone and Not much. We know the world's richest man, but how many of us know about the world's top 10 richest man except the first, where they live, what they do, why are they so much successful.
Anyone will know about world's top 100 famous person. Apart from earning a lot of money, they have made their legacy, which they would leave for centuries. We still know albert einstein, newton, edison, shakespeare. But can anyone tell who was the richest at that time.
Also I have written an article about being suddenly rich, so taking it into consideration, I will opt Being famous.
Agreed, but why would you prefer to be famous?
Still need the words to explain?
Yes. At least from the perspective of someone who would rather enjoy life while it lasts than be remembered.
Though actors make for a bad example, as their levels of fame and wealth are usually equivalent.
I understood it as more of an "either or" question.
I would not say Anyone who would want to enjoy their life, would be remembered.
We have to give up all our enjoyments, so we could work day and night so that what we achieve as a result of our hardwork will be appreciated by the whole world.
I'm still not hearing why it is so important to be remembered.
I prefer to be happy while I can, rather than have statues of me litter the landscape under which I rest.
Everyone's perception is different, Happiness is a state of mind. Some are happy with money, some are with their loved ones, some are happy when they are alone. You can't generalise everyone on your choice of Life. You want to be happy in your life, how can you be happy? By doing what you like. Those who want to be remembered, are doing througout their life what makes them happy.
Nope, most people LIVE IN THE MOMENT, not many give a single fuck about what happens after their death, including the political "revolutionaries" .
Heath ledger really enjoyed his work, he hasn't "given up" his pleasures and just doing his thing. Now if people want to glorify him then that's an added bonus, but the man himself probably didn't set out looking for that.
.
People like Einstein or Tesla didn't give up their pleasures to do science all day for years , it was something they really loved doing. Public recognition is the byproduct.
Living to be "remembered" is no living at all. I'd suggest not taking inspiration from Hollywood celebs, sports stars and even other "successful" people like Zuckerberg, Musk or Hawking. They are usually superficial and shallow in public, and sometimes even act as mouthpieces for MSM
Well, If you compare them to a normal person, The enjoyment for a normal preson is to watch T.V, Surf social media, Waste time in non productive activities.
But for those, They have made their work their life and their enjoyment.
Now who is really enjoying his life and who is just wasting time. That's why I said to give up all our enjoyments to achieve anything.
OK nice to read about your perspective on this. I see where you are coming from and I agree.
That's great.
Hmm...putting myself into the shoes of famous people, I have to say "no thanks".
To be "uber" famous is to have attention constantly on you; to have little to no privacy, or, alternatively, to be forced into a sheltered (hermit) lifestyle; to have every single action and word scrutinized by the public; to have a big following of supporters, sure, but also a huge group of haters (it's not uncommon for pro athletes and movie stars to get daily hate-mail and even death threats). To be famous is more of a curse than a blessing, IMO.
I'm after peace (peace of mind), so I'd rather be left alone than a target to millions (billions?) of eyes. Give me a huge lot of land with little or no human activity and a lot of nature and bird-song and I'll live blissfully, thank you very much :)
well, both fame and money we have to earn and they don't come easy. we have to put a lot of efforts to achieve even a little bit.
That may be true, but we have a choice what we do with our money (energy) and we may not have much, or any, choice over what other people do (to us; how we're treated) because of our fame.
That sound lame, if we are famous, It doesn't mean that we will be targeted specifically. Yes all our words, actions and whatever we do would be scrutinised by people we don't know, but that would be part of a life.
And where there is money involved, there is lot more politics than fame.
Those mafia guys, and underworld would be more interested in money, not in clicking a picture with you.
I personally don't understand people's draw to fame, maybe it's a result of our differences of personality. For me, personally, I don't need or want attention; in fact, I prefer to be away from it and to have my own, private, friendships and "business partners", if/when I ever feel the need to have that type of relationship.
I'd rather work behind the scenes, without all the distractions and potential threats of being a well known person. Less distractions and more "free time", IMO, leads to more production and more personal time to spend with family and friends.
Lame, to me, is desiring to have people care (or, at least, know) about you. I don't give two shits what people think about me, or whether I'm relevant to them, and it feels great to be this way.
Well, whatever kind of life suits us, we lead that, I can't prove you wrong, maybe you are right for your own, at the end what matters is if we are able to live our life how we wanted or not.
I would definetely choose money, because fame sometimes is difficult to manage, and you lose your personal intimity, you can't even go running in the street without someone who stops you just because you're famous.
Yeah, I think fame can sometimes be restrictive and takes away a lot of the 'normalcy' from life.
I'd rather have steem ;)
True that brother, true that!!
Lol money every day of the week. Because:
Exactly the reasons I would go for money too!
Money... fame would be a TERRIBLE idea for me. Money... I wouldn't even want all the money in the world. Just enough to buy me my freedom!
Exactly what I want too :)
I would choose enough money to be able to live in a continuous spirit of love and a sense of wonder
Yeah, exactly like a baby. I like that!
definately money. Money can buy you freedom. Fame will sometimes do the opposite. And also depending on what your famous for. If it's for something like a great invention that propels humanity forward and you'd go down in history as someone of value and intellect, I would choose fame. but not for something like Kardashian fame. I'll chose money over that anyday.
I agree with that completely. Meaningful fame would be great even if you wouldn't have the money. Kinda like what happened with Tesla.
Exactly! only this time it wouldn't be corrupted and buried by people with power and the money.
True! With the advent of the internet and the blockchain, the ideas would go viral instantly :)
Money > fame ... who wants to have paparazzi taking picture of you all day ?
I know right??
nice.....resteem and upvote for your post....
Thank you :)
u r welcome
depends on what the fame is for.. something to help the world in a big way..cool.. then could make the money.. depends on where the money is from.. :)
Meaningful fame is always better than the fake and useless one. I agree :)
Money. Fame is fickle, money isn't. :)
True that!
Fame and money...... fake life... in the end of life, people start to understand that money is only a paper with some imaginary value, and fame is for inauthentic people, to feed their ego, but in the end we are not only physical beings. Need balance in everything :)
You are right with that. That's why I wanted to ask a hypothetical question between the two.
I have always shunned the spotlight so would rather have the money. I am a very private introverted type. If at some point I change my mind, fame could come with the money. How many rich people have you heard of?
Money doesn't always guarantee fame, so it would be good to have for people who love their anonymity.
money enables you to do other things and also chase the fame!
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Thanks!
Thank you for the comment :)
Money is a defense therefore I go with money.
Nice! :)
The one can breed the other so....
It's a hypothetical question where only one can happen. Which would you choose?
money
Hey lovely post :)
For me both thing are equally important. I don't think to much about future. I am just a person who believes to have fun, explore, travel, eat, cook and best I like to make people eat. So money is important as well as fame but one should not run. It will come to ones. Thank you sir for positive post.
Thanks!
Yeah, I agree that there are other more precious things in life which are more crucial to be ran after than money or fame :)
Steem power.
That's the only thing that matters, am i right? :D
Money! Fame is so fickle! There are so many people I could help and have fun doing it and to have fun myself! Definitely money!
I love the part where having money puts you in a position to help people :)
We all have people in our lives that we love who need a little help, you know?
yep, exactly!!
What you choose is the motivation of the Capitalism, isn't it ?
The fame had served for the money
I don't like capitalism too much, to be honest but I just wanted to see what people would choose between money and fame.
It all depends. Fame, if I was making the world a better place. Money, to never worry about bills, taking care of the family, and help contribute to society. Conclusion: I'm not sure :D
Haha, Both are so alluring :D
yes I agree :D
Honestly, with one comes the other.
With fame comes money but with money, fame is not guaranteed. There are many people who are not famous at all living normal lives.
But money can buy you all the social marketing you will ever need. So I stand by my idea. I definitely get what you're saying though.
Oh, I see what you mean. You could get fame if you wanted to, I see.
Exactly! Sooooooo to answer your question.... Neither. I want a legacy instead.
While fame would be nice, not all fame generates money, and I'm doing my best financially to help my mom, so money would be nice. Nice? I meant GREAT. Money would be GREAT.
Agreed. Having money puts you in a position to help others and that is the best part about it. The one that follows it is the freedom that comes with having enough money.
Money spoils and fame usually destroys one's life, tough call to make. I guess I'll stick to my life, poor and unpopular :). Happiness is harder to achieve than fame or fortune. I know dozens of rich people that are extremely unhappy.
You make a great point :)
I would have money. Why? Well this world revolves around money & not fame. Moreover money will help me to resolve my & my family ( may be others to if I have lots of money) needs & problems.
That's exactly why I would choose money over fame too. :)
Well I dont need atention and less a bunch of freak invading my life, I pefer money Ican do some manny great things like helping other, travel around the world and eat awesome food yup! I go for the money!
Agreed 100%. :)
I do not understand your game. The answer is always "both... and I already have them".
Perhaps it is more fun if you are not the greatest being who ever lived.
Apologies my lord. But .... these sort of questions.... are not for you, my lord. Only for the fickle mortals.
I understand. Carry on.
Fame puts you to prison, money buys you freedom. I'd go for money. Lots of it.
What a great way to put it :)
I rather be blessed above anything else.
That's nice :)
Fame can be leveraged to make big money easily, having a lot of money MIGHT get you some fame.
My personal choice would be to have a decent amount of money with zero fame.
I would like the same for me too, please! :D
For many of today's celebrities, I would think that Fame is their only chance at achieving wealth. Their contribution, which they exchange for money, is a way for the masses to find distraction from their perceived unhappiness. My desires may change over time but I for one, would be thankful for enough money to provide for my family without worrying what is coming tomorrow. I don't want a new car every year or the latest iPhone or a gigantic house with gold plated fixtures. That and about a dozen laying hens.
I couldn't have said it better. Agreed 100%
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Thanks for the kind words :) Followed you back.
Interesting question. I think the quantization of reputation, like can be potentially done with Steem, will make this a non-choice at some point.
Wow, that is an interesting thought!!
Neither.
OK :)
Fortunately, Steem gives us both fame and money in tandem.
Gotta love that scene :)
And you are right, Steem can potentially give us both ;)
I would choose money because I never think of fame. It seems like everyone could use money, only a few want to become and do become famous. If everyone were famous, it wouldn't be special at all.
"If everyone were famous, it wouldn't be special at all". Huh! I hadn't even thought of that. That's deep!
I heard an older celebrity making a comment like that. He said that there are so many famous people today, it's not as special as it used to be.
That's so true!
I would rather have money, according to celebrities too much fame can be a headache. Just imagine if you're traveling with family and everyone that see's you will run to you to ask for a pic or autograph, how will you be able to enjoy that time with you're family
You are right. Fame = No normalcy whatsoever in life, which would just be a big bummer!