Whether you are a celebrity, politician, MySpace star, or renowned author, you may feel uncomfortable in the spotlight. Fame comes with many challenges and responsibilities, which you can tackle by maintaining a strong awareness of yourself and a clear separation between private life and the public. Follow these steps to use your fame for the common good, without sacrificing your well-being.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Dealing with the Bad Sides of Renown
Step 1. Reflect on the nature of your fame
Since being famous is a sought-after position, it can be difficult to really understand how this affects you. You don't have to feel guilty because you want to face the challenges and effects of notoriety; even if it is a privilege, it still has negative sides that must be considered. Write a journal of the period since your popularity increased and the ways you have changed since then. Here are some questions that can guide your reflection:
- Have you noticed any changes in your close relationships since becoming famous?
- Have you been accused by other people of treating them differently?
- Has your personality undergone significant changes?
Step 2. Maintain healthy habits in everyday life
If you have recently become famous, you may be overwhelmed by your new success and visibility. Try to keep up with your usual routines, changing them only as needed (based on new responsibilities and commitments). Continue to relieve stress in healthy ways, such as spending time alone, eating well, resting, exercising, and taking care of other responsibilities. This will help keep you grounded when your life becomes more chaotic.
- If you won't be able to keep up with your habits, the risk of falling into the negative consequences of fame, such as addictions, insecurities, and an uncontrollable urge to constantly move, is higher.
- Particularly if you are young and still in school, consider fame as one aspect of your life and not the only thing to focus on. Even if you are excited and gratified by your success, maintaining a balanced lifestyle allows you to stay energized and become a role model over time.
Step 3. Learn not to take judgments and criticisms personally
Perhaps the biggest difficulty with fame is that people will try to see what they want in you. This means that, as a celebrity, you will become a person subject to all kinds of opinions from critics and the media.
Accept that people will have very different opinions about your work and your character, because it happens to all celebrities. Learn to accept it by laughing at criticism, which is part of the game, instead of internalizing it
Step 4. Keep a small circle of a few people
Remember, your close friends shouldn't just be the people who run your business or who you can boss around. Maintain the strongest and most solid friendships that allow you to grow. These real relationships, which are not based on your success, are important for staying yourself and not turning into your public persona.
- Fame can test your most important relationships, and you need to be prepared for that. Some people in your life will be enthusiastic and support your success, while others may get jealous and compete for your time.
- Spend time conversing privately with loved ones, explaining your goals, values, and intentions for your relationship during your most successful moments.
Step 5. Stay true to the art that made you famous
Becoming a celebrity can be a full-time job, so make sure you don't get trapped in that world. Instead, try to stay focused on the talent that earned you fame. Remember that even if you are an important figure today, it is your works that have inspired your fans.
If you try to keep your fame instead of your music or your fashion makeup videos, you will get stuck trying to chase your success. Let your work thrill yourself and your fans, so that your admirers appreciate it more than you do for your public image
Step 6. Keep your ego in check
Your talents are a gift to share with the world. Be proud of yourself and enjoy them, but don't lose your mind. The part of us that loves power is very tempted to see our figure more important than the others. This attitude can lead you to treat other people badly without even realizing it.
- Remember to appreciate any opportunities that come your way; don't take them for granted! You must be ready to help others who can benefit from your experiences with notoriety.
- One celebrity even went so far as to ask a magazine to take pictures of her without makeup or computer retouching, in order to show everyone that perfection is just an image, not reality.
- Also, trying to be a celebrity rather than an artist or actor makes it much more difficult to follow your ever-changing artistic vision.
Step 7. Limit your expectations
Our society sets standards for its heroes that cannot be met, then criticizes and judges them when they are not up to par. Remember that you are not perfect and that you do not have to be everything that the public expects of you. Try to maintain your standards of behavior that you had before you became famous, considering the additional responsibilities that fame brings.
- Since many artists are sensitive people, it often happens that they internalize the standards imposed by society and end up conforming to others as they want to see them.
- If you are an actor, you can have the added difficulty of annoying people because you don't have the same personality in real life as one of your characters. You can solve this problem by explaining how different you are from fiction in interviews or on social media.
Part 2 of 3: Keeping Your Private Life Separate
Step 1. Learn why it is difficult to separate private and public life
We all love attention, but when we get it, we feel exposed and vulnerable. Even if fame involves certain freedoms, it limits those guaranteed by anonymity. Remember that too much is good, so consider your notoriety as a very positive element, which you need to keep under control.
Step 2. Develop your values
Spend time getting to know yourself by writing a journal or talking to close friends. This will help you limit insecurity. Always being in the spotlight will lead you to worry a lot about your image and behavior, so you will often risk feeling deeply insecure.
- Some actors have benefited from the help of a psychologist. With therapy, you can create a solid foundation to lean on when facing the challenges of fame.
- Knowing your position on topical issues will be very helpful to you in interviews. If you have strong values, you will never find yourself speechless when people ask for your opinion. This way you will avoid making blunders or saying something controversial.
Step 3. Set yourself limits
Since fame tends to demand a lot of you, you will find yourself having to say "no" in situations that tempt you. For example, if you are attending an event, make it clear how long you will be answering the questions and if you prefer people not to talk to you later. By tactfully making your intentions known, others will respect them. This is a much more effective solution than saying nothing and having to ignore the requests of passionate fans.
Remember that you are never obliged to answer questions about your private life and that some celebrities follow the rule of not doing so
Step 4. Resist the urge to Google your name
The problem with this quest is that you will find everything from the most adoring praise to the most offensive insults. We are human, so we have a tendency to focus on the negative things people say about us, because we are sensitive to rejection and social exclusion. Use search engines carefully and when you decide to do so, don't spend too much time reading the criticisms.
Step 5. Use social media strategically
If you decide to make social media an important part of your advertising campaign, make sure everything you post is politically correct. Controversial claims give everyone reason to discuss your personality and other private details in your life. Before you know it, they will find something you said that contradicts a previous statement and will call you a hypocrite. Keep in mind that this type of criticism is often unavoidable if you have a strong presence on social media.
Step 6. Hang out with non-famous people
By looking for a partner outside the world of celebrities, you can avoid arousing gossip and interest about your private life. Being in a relationship with someone who isn't known will also help keep your feet on the ground.
Alternatively, you can choose to always attend the most important events alone. If you don't like the idea of the media following your relationship, even if it's very difficult to avoid, try to keep your love life private
Part 3 of 3: Managing the Fans
Step 1. Try to understand how other people view fame
If you have been famous for a long time and have received a lot of recognition from a young age, it may be difficult for you to understand what people think of notoriety. Try to remember what you thought before you became famous. This will help you understand how you are being treated and respond more tactfully.
For example, preteens value fame more than all other dreams for the future. This means that you have a very coveted role for people of that age and you have the opportunity to share your real experiences with young people who are interested
Step 2. Talk to fans kindly and calmly
It's really easy to ruin your image with a single mistake, a rude word, or an action done without thinking. Spend a minute or two being friendly with a fan (or group); almost everyone will respect your free time if you are open in public. Since so many different things will be said about you, many fans will be pleasantly surprised to find that the celebrity they love is indeed a nice person.
- When talking to a fan, don't think about maintaining your image or improving your reputation. Try to do this with empathy, sharing with him the emotion of spending time together.
- For example, if you are facing a younger fan than you, don't act aloof and cold;
- When replying to fans in the comment sections and on social media, write short, cheery replies. If someone else does this for you, be sure to check their work and make sure they use a fun, lighthearted tone.
Step 3. Accept your responsibilities
Being famous means understanding that you have a responsibility to influence others in the right way. Realizing this fact can overwhelm you and you shouldn't consider it a justification for inflating your ego. As a comic book hero, being responsible means respecting the world you have influence over. Try not to pursue your personal interests; think selflessly about what you can do to benefit others.
Step 4. Take advantage of the rumor that comes from fame
Use your notoriety to inspire your fans to express themselves about the things they care about. Since you have many eyes on you, you can motivate those who follow you to achieve results and emphasize how important it is to work for the common good. Use your celebrity to draw attention to causes you care about.
- For example, think of the celebrity couple selling the photo rights of their newborn children to donate that compensation to charity. Just mentioning a charity event in a press interview can make a big difference.
- You can also talk about important issues, taking advantage of certain aspects of your life. If someone asks you, "How do you manage to pursue your academic career and keep your character on YouTube at the same time?", You have the opportunity to give advice on how to manage notoriety, which can be useful to your peers.
Step 5. Beware of opportunists
These are those people who seek relationships or work relationships with you to take advantage of your fame or financial resources. If someone you don't know asks you to involve them in your notoriety and doesn't seem interested in your real job, proceed with caution.
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Having strong and responsible control over your finances allows you to understand well which deals you can afford to make and which ones you should avoid.
Being aware of your financial situation also helps you choose which positions to accept and which to decline
Advice
- Be prepared to defend yourself at all times. Hire a great team of lawyers to handle situations that get out of hand.
- Develop your brand. Your personal brand is essential if you are famous. It is very useful to let people know you in this way. Do what you can to maintain your reputation and image.
