Is hard work overrated?

Jade Goody rose to fame after being an unreserved extrovert (to put it nicely) on Big Brother and by publicizing and capitalizing on her battle with cancer. She became famous with very little effort, and the British public somehow idolized her.

Then, of course, there are the magazines filled with page upon page of ‘invite only’ parties showcasing the young socialites out partying on daddy’s cash and not having to care about getting a great job because an alumnus from their posh school will hire them…

And it’s not just the UK that worships socialites; take Olivia Palermo for example. She’s the daughter of a real estate developer who made a name for herself by being photographed at social events in NYC. She is depicted on MTV’s The City as a real-life Blair Waldorf whose judgemental and condescending nature are hardly redeeming qualities. While viewers love-to-hate her, the fact remains that she is receiving $12K per episode for being a snob.

Or there’s Nadya Suleman whose exploitation of reproductive technology by giving birth to octuplets gave her the international attention she was looking for.

The family of the thirteen year old dad (who turned out not to be the father after all) must have okayed selling his story to the tabloids, probably in exchange for money and hopes of instant-fame.

It’s sickening, actually, the things people will do to grab and hold onto the spotlight. And, much like slowing down to look at a car accident, the rest of us can’t seem to look away!

There’s a song lyric swimming in my head that goes “if it’s the simple things that matter, why don’t we live our lives that way?”

It’s great to have goals and to strive to meet them, but if one bases happiness on their ‘success’ (or a measure of their wealth), could they ever be truly happy?  Also, if they are constantly comparing their success to the success of others, surely they’ll miss the simple things!