It wasn't for the sake of fame we worked, but for what we could do wtih it, to have a positive effect in a world of pain.
Fame is tough but many ways of living are and, let's be honest, most would chose the fame version over poverty or suffering. So, when you get there, remember that at the toughest times and stay humble and have gratitude for your ability to make life better for others.
In an era of greed and vanity the famous can have no friends, for this is all MacBeth and every "king" or "queen" is a target of the fame-hungry.
I'd rather have the fame of the old-school philosophers than the bling-bling hyper version we see in modern media. I want to leave a legend that lasts generations and stands up well to the greats. I want to stand tall in my lifetime and have earned my way there by fighting the good fight, being dependable and steadfast. Fame as part of this reality TV series the public sphere has become is a circus with ring-masters and very well paid clowns. In a crumbling world, this must give way to the time of the titans.
That mansion was my home for decade upon decade, and a small world unto itself. Yet when everyone turns their head to watch you pass, when your name is on a million lips, it is your world and that amount of space is necessary because its all the space you have to exist as the real and vulnerable version of yourself.
Fame is a one way street, what is done and wished for is not a thing that can be undone. Thus the only sane way to be famous is to become rich at the same time - poverty and fame are poor bed-fellows for how can one afford somewhere large enough to become a good sanctuary from the world? The unknown can wonder any place any time, the famous have the property they own and that's it. So fame is a huge privilege, for one can be heard, be seen, have one's opinion count, have a chance to make a better world... yet the money-nexus world assumes that it is your right to privacy that was bought and paid for... and they will take their 'pound if flesh' anyway they can.