I’ll bet you know a lot of people who want to be famous. Craving attention and notoriety on its own is not a healthy ambition. Confucius said, “Do not worry about not being known: Seek to become worthy to be known” and that is the focus of this lecture.
Professor Liu says that, according to the classics found in TGPOAC, desiring money, sex and fame leads to corruption.
In Tilun, it is said; the gravest harm for a ruler is to desire fame because when a ruler desires fame, his ministers will know what he wants and the ministers will flatter the ruler. This applies to all of us, if we desire fame, and others know it, we become an easy target for deception and trickery.
This lecture provides examples of why fame for fame’s sake is harmful and it also offers guidance on how to develop a “good name” through good deeds because the right kind of fame will naturally follow those who do good deeds.