Fast Track to Wealth & Fame - at What Cost?

“I’m a flawed character.” Lance Armstrong
"Did it feel wrong?" Oprah Winfrey
“No, ... Scary.” Armstrong
“Did you feel bad about it?” Winfrey
“No, ... Even scarier.” Armstrong
“Did you feel in any way that you were cheating?” Winfrey
“No, ... Scariest.” Armstrong            Oprah Winfrey's TV interview Jan 17, 2013

     "Sociopath - A person with an antisocial personality disorder, exhibiting antisocial behavior that usually is the result of social and environmental factors in the person's early life. 
     Antisocial personality disorder - A personality disorder marked by antisocial behavior, a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder

      "three important dimensions of wisdom involve recognizing that the world is in flux and the future is likely to change, recognizing that there are limits associated with one’s own knowledge, and possessing a prosocial orientation that promotes the 'common good.'
      A common feature of these different dimensions of wisdom is that they require people to transcend their egocentric viewpoints to take the 'big picture' into account and reason holistically."
        Kross E, Grossmann I. "Boosting wisdom: Distance from the self enhances wise reasoning, attitudes, and behavior." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 2012; 141(1): 43-48.

     Almost daily we see casualties from the self-centered rush towards fame and wealth - in every arena: sports, business, religion, entertainment, law, politics, even health-care. Our society is obsessed with creating and destroying "heroes", seducing them with obscene amounts of money to live public, tragicomedic-morality-play lives.
     The healthy alternate path is understated: maturing and growing throughout life into a decent human being, and expressing this outwardly through meaningful contributions to society. This journey is beautifully compatible with high levels of achievement on many levels - see Kenneth R. Pelletier's remarkable 1994 book: "Sound Mind, Sound Body: A New Model for Lifelong Health."

Photo: ZuluDK   www.dpreview.com