One of my favorite authors was hired by a prestigious media platform to do a travel show. He hired one of his favorite rappers to record the theme song. He got paid to travel. He went on adventures, gained notoriety, and grew the community of people who followed him. It all looked great from the outside. 

A few years later, he would talk about how lonely the experience was. One of the media executives made him feel powerless. While I wish that he would’ve discussed it at the time, I can understand why he didn’t.

It reminds me of Virgil Abloh, whose original clothing line was named Pyrex Vision. Corning Inc., which is the parent company of Pyrex, filed a lawsuit against him, which meant he needed to change the name. He started a new clothing line named Off-White. 

Virgil went on to craft a new story about Off-White, one that focused on art and fashion. He did not discuss the legal and collaborative details.

People are free to post whatever they like, including a story that is more compelling, or puts them in the best light. If this ever makes you feel bad about your day-to-day life, just remember that a lot of realistic details aren’t on the internet. We each have a lot more in common than we do different. 

The human experience is universal.