Andy Warhol’s famous quote from 1968, that everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes has come true hasn’t it? I just watched a YouTube of a 12 year old dancing to the Maverick’s “Dance the Night Away” — 38,000 views and counting (authentic if nothing else). The democratization of the media has happened, for better or worse.

However, if you’ve not quite gotten your 15 minutes yet, I wouldn’t worry so much about it. A secret wish for fame may mask some other need. Peel back that onion before you attempt to break the world’s record for eating ostrich omelettes. Because…

Creativity does not require fame.

Innovation does not require fame.

Full self-expression, in any of its many forms, does not require fame.

Having fame or not having fame does not determine if you are creative or not. It also does not determine if you can invent, produce, or implement something new and different.

Fame is a form of recognition, but it’s not the only one.

Fame can give you a platform, a wider audience, for your creative work. And this may or may not be desirable. It can be an enabler — fame does have its benefits. The public speaking market is filled with keynoters who “had fame happen to them” — getting hijacked on a plane, etc.

If you want fame, be clear about why you want it. It’s not wrong to want fame, but if it owns you, you’ll go the way of Elvis, Whitney, Jimi, etc. It also might prevent you from doing the work you need to achieve other goals. It might cloud your mind and stop you from doing your most authentic work.

If you have fame, embrace it, but don’t rely on it. What you have today can be gone tomorrow. As soon as that 12 year old tries to create a viral video he’ll have a whole new mountain to climb.

If you don’t have fame and yearn for it, as does my cartoon subject here, realize that fame is a byproduct (usually) of doing something new, very well, interesting, or “newsworthy.”

So, focus your attention on doing something great — and fame will find you.