Does Character Matter in an Artist, or in any Profession?

Contrary to what much of the modern world will claim, character is the fundamental requirement for excellence in every field. 

By Mark D. Harris

In the late 1990s, President William Jefferson Clinton had an affair with one of his interns. He then lied to a grand jury about the case. During the controversy leading up to his impeachment for perjury, his defenders argued that his lack of character, in this and many other circumstances, did not matter. The economy was booming and the world was at relative peace. They said that Clinton was a good president, and that his character did not matter.

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Fame – A Mathematical Model

A non-quantitative way to think about fame, how to increase it, and how to manage it. 

By Mark D. Harris

(Fame) I’m gonna live forever I’m gonna learn how to fly (High) I feel it coming together People will see me and cry (Fame) I’m gonna make it to heaven Light up the sky like a flame (Fame) I’m gonna live forever Baby, remember my name (Remember, remember, remember, remember) (Remember, remember, remember, remember)

When Irene Cara sang those words in 1982, she was predicting her future fame, and echoing a dream of people throughout the ages. Napoleon Bonaparte reputedly said, “glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.” Thousands of years before, women rejoiced with Naomi at the birth of her grandson Obed, saying “may his name become famous in Israel (Ruth 4:15).”  From the Gong Show to American Idol, from the high school gridiron to the Super Bowl, and from the county seat to the White House, many people are willing to do almost anything for fame.

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