Of fame and influence

My husband and I were having a conversation yesterday - about the desire to be 'famous and influential' versus the desire to make 'purposeful impact'. Both concepts are not synonymous. I will explain.

Take the Dangote's, Oprah's (by the way, fun fact: Did you know Oprah's birth name is actually Orpah? People kept calling her 'Oprah' growing up and it stuck. That's how I'm going to name my child some exotic name and Nigerians will change it for me. Anyway, moving on...), the Beyoncé's (by the way, my phone changes her name from Beyonce to Beyoncé... Let that simmer), the Omotola's, the TuFace's etc. Take these 'famous and influential' folks; if you could 'be' any of them for a day ('be' meaning if you could acquire assets that match theirs), wouldn't you take the offer, just to see what it feels like to be rich and famous?

Modest as I can be, I like nice things. It's one of the reasons I got off Instagram. I would just sit there and scroll through hundreds of pictures and be looking and wishing I had longer hair, more money, nicer shoes, a slimmer body.

Anyway, I digress. What I'm saying is. It must feel nice to be famous - although it obviously comes with its cons. But I think about the people who make an impact in the lives of people around them (their families, friends, communities), and they aren't necessarily famous. Two examples: 1. My pops. (And everyone says this about their fathers) but he's the best dad in the world; he is selfless and generous. He isn't 'famous' but he's influential in his own circle of influence. 2. Pastor Sebastian. He was the pastor of the church I grew up in. I met him a few months ago after nearly 10 years and he's still the same God-loving, people-loving man. He isn't famous and he doesn't have a lot of money but he's making a purposeful impact. His life touches mine.

This morning, I'm at work, working a job that I am overqualified for, sleep and coffee-deprived, waiting for something. So I'm here and I'm thinking, when I finally get where I am going, do I even want to be famous? Or do I want to make a purposeful impact in my community, live a quiet life and take a quiet exit? Because sometimes it feels like I'm walking in the dark. I'm just going through the mundane rituals. And it feels like people who are rich and famous are the ones truly living life. But are they? Have I sat down with any of the people I mentioned above and spoken to them about what it feels like to be them? Are they not also human like me? Searching, learning, falling, trying, looking for something. We are all doing life; we all have cracks, we all sometimes just go through the motions so we can have something to eat, because we are all human, regardless of how much is sitting in our accounts. While the poor man is looking for bread to eat, the rich man is looking for peace of mind. Give the rich man peace of mind and the poor man bread and each will be happy. I know I'm beginning to ramble on, so I'll end this. 

What I'm trying to say is, how do you want to live your life? I want to live mine on purpose and I'll keep living (learning, growing, searching, trying) till I get there.