When I was young, everyone wanted to be a rock and roll star. We all wanted our fifteen minutes of fame according to Andy Warhol. We all deserve our fifteen minutes. So, I played in this band. I had long hair and an earring.

I thought my father was going to go crazy though. I did not look like the traditional son I’m sure that he wanted. But regardless, it got better because my hair is naturally curly. So it actually stood up somewhat like a Brillo pad or a toilet brush. Quite shocking.

But we didn’t achieve our fifteen minutes of fame. That would come to me recently when I was asked to be the foreign representative for a new senior citizens plan that the government has in Taichung City. So without really thinking very much about it, I was phoned and asked if I would mind coming down to City Hall and accept this award, this document, this card, this senior citizens card. So I said, sure. And I went with my friend Irene and I put on my suit and my little bow tie and I arrived.

And supposedly, as I got closer to the day, I was told I was going to meet the mayor of Taichung City. And I thought to myself, not such a big deal really. But when I arrived, it was obviously a big deal for everyone else because there were nothing but people running around, bowing and scraping. The mayor arrived and the reporters arrived and on it went. And then it was over and I kind of smiled to myself because I was on television and I was in the newspaper, etcetera, etcetera.

So I achieved my fifteen minutes of fame. But you know what? It didn’t feel special. Not really special. Why not?

Well, probably because I’ve learned over the years like the stokes tell us and like the Christians tell us as well that vanity is absolutely pointless. What’s my job in life as a human being? It’s not to make Leon famous. It’s to help my fellow man. It’s to practice the humility that I’m supposed to practice as a human being to seek constructive criticism so I can improve to reflect that someday I’m not gonna be here.

I will be gone for sure. And to obviously realize that we are one of 8,000,000,000 human beings all attempting to become better. The Romans actually, the successful or famous generals, when they arrived back in Rome, they were honored with a triumphal march and the crowds were going crazy of course, screaming and screaming. You know, you would think you were a god And then there was always a slave beside the triumphal general whispering in his ear.  ’Remember Caesar? Thou art mortal. Memento mori,’ as it’s called.

Remember, you are not going to live forever at all. So, ultimately, when you get your fifteen minutes of fame, smile to yourself and realize that it’s just that fifteen minutes. Well, and maybe it’s fifteen days of fame. Right? But ultimately, that’s not the purpose of life to make you famous.

It’s to help other human beings. And I think, realistically, if you look at some of the superstars that have achieved fame and later fall into alcoholism, horrible things that actually occurred to them. I was reading the other day about a silent screen star. His name was Fatty Arbuckle, and he was before Charlie Chaplin and before Buster Keaton, and he was really successful making a lot of money, millions of dollars. But, of course, the lifestyle was also a little shocking.

And in all of this, he went to a party and a young woman died. And he was jailed for murder at this point. And he had three trials. The first two were so called hung juries. They couldn’t decide.

And the third trial totally exonerated them. He was totally innocent. But because of the times just after the first World War and the morality, prohibition was underway, etcetera, etcetera. He was judged as guilty by the public even though he was innocent, and he was ultimately ruined. He did get back.

He got some of his fame back over time, but never to the levels that he had achieved before. And I guess eventually, alcoholism killed him because he was happier to escape most times. So his fifteen minutes of fame or fifteen years of fame actually hung him. So once again, when you get your fame, stand back, smile to yourself, and realize it’s all fleeting. And answer these three questions.

Remember that. Why am I here? What’s my mission? What am I supposed to do with my piece of life? And what happens when I leave here?

Because your legacy is going to be much more important. The decent things that you did when you were alive are gonna be much more important than your fifteen minutes of fame, whatever that means. So you take care and you know what they say. You know what they say. Critical thinking is necessary, especially when you want to control your sense of vanity and critical thinking is great, truly great. You take care. God bless. Bye bye.