In a creative career, waiting for fame to hit is like waiting for rain in a drought. It keeps us squinting toward the horizon, jealous of our luckier neighbors and dissatisfied with our own condition. Our culture invites us to think of art in terms of product, and one of the by-products of the "product" we produce is, sometimes, fame.
Fame is different from recognition for a job well done. Fame is like empty calories-- there's no nutrition in it. Our culture encourages an addiction to fame. Fame is marked as a cure-all. We are taught by the media to believe that once we are famous, our lives will be blessed. A quick glimpse at the tabloids is all that is required to disabuse us of this notion. Clearly, the rich and famous are beset by human woes as much as we are, and added to those woes are the woes of being rich and famous.
When we are focused on fame instead of on our work, we begin to ask the wrong questions. "Will this be my breakthrough project?" we ask, instead of "Is this project worthy?"