Curse of Fame, Erica Jong, Bob Iger, et al. - Those Who Escape

 Molly Jong-Fast does a comprehensive job of capturing how fame took control of her mother author Erica Jong. In memoir "How You Lose Your Mother," she gets down cold how mom could never unfame, even after the name recognition petered out. 

In real time we might be bearing witness to how that curse might have overtaken visibly aging Bob Iger. He did extend the shelf life of extreme visibility by getting back the CEO job for a second time. But now out, he, as FT notes, seems to be struggling to stay on the radar. 

Meanwhile Barack Obama, Paul McCartney and already-over JD Vance have been busy with the objective of remaining in the current collective consciousness. 

Innovative plaintiff law firms such as Motley Rice might file a public nuisance lawsuit on behalf of a society burdened with hangers-on. 

But the good news is that there are those who manage to escape the curse. They leveraged fame to achieve noble or commercial goals and then were able to let go, permanently or temporarily. 

Classic is the George W. Bush smooth exit. After two terms he rode back home. And that has been where he stayed, except for funerals and library dedications. 

Also celebrity lawyer Brad Karp at Paul, Weiss has been able to brilliantly lay low when that was exactly the right strategy. He cemented together a powerhouse network. That operates nicely off-the-radar. Actually, doesn't real power do its thing behind the scenes? 

Then there's another category: those who overcame fame or infamy. Remember how one-termer Jimmy Carter reinvented himself as a hands-on do-gooder. The same for Shirley Temple who had worried what would happen to her when she was no longer little and cute.

Actually there are unique advantages of reduced or zero visibility. 

In The New York Times a 50-something female critic/writer Mirelle Silcoff makes a big deal of telling us she is not invisible. There is an adage out there that women over-40 start becoming invisible. 

However, that muted state of being can provide quite the edge. Anthropologist Margaret Mead called it "post-menopausal zest." Freed up from traditional gender expectations we have the energy to put together an authentic self and accomplishments. 

Aging out of the New York Metro area I made a new, no-profile life, personal and professional, in the loosey-goosey southwest. No one noticed me. No one delivered unsolicited advice as in WASPY Connecticut. Everything blossomed. Business was so good that I paid off debt. Eventually I could even afford to go back eastward, which was a better fit. But that has been in Ohio, which only now as a swing state is getting on the radar. Meanwhile, I can still be invisible.

Takeaway: Fame is not a necessary factor in success. Not personal. Not professional. I guide clients to Stick with the Knitting.

Career Paths? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matter what.

Complimentary consultation. No Pressure. Street-smart Guidance. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.



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