Fame and Courage, Fame and Courage - Go Together Like . . . ?

Sadly, I am not Nathan Explosion. I'm Murderface. Source.

Yesterday we talked at great length about fame and how much I want some. Today's topic is courage and the fact that I haven't got any. At least, I haven't had any. We will discuss how my nebbish cowardice is why I've yet to achieve the fame I so greatly desire.

As I'm sure you know, fame and courage are intrinsically connected.

I see you scratching your head. You didn't know that? Okay, let me explain. (Wherein Uranium J's English degree finally comes in handy.)

Fame is essentially having people know and remember your name because you did something worth remembering. The people of pre-Christian Iceland knew this fact well - which is where all the great Icelandic sagas - from Njal's Saga to Beowulf come from.

You see, back in the before times, in the long, long ago, people were too busy killing food and keeping warm to be bothered with trivial tasks like literacy. When they had any free time, they used it to eat, drink, and make merry. It was this merry making that insured the histories of the Icelandic peoples since their idea of a good time was singing about the great deeds of their favorite heroes.

Imagine, there you are, sitting in the mead hall, slurping your mead and gnawing on a turkey bone. "Boy was that a great meal. Maybe I'll head off to bed. Wait, what's this? Who's this little guy with the ukulele? He's gonna sing? I like songs. Maybe he'll sing one about me!"

"It's not unusual to be loved by anyone!"
Source

The little guy with the ukulele (which would have really been some other sort of primitive stringed instrument) is called a scop (pronounced shope - like soap). He's a poet, and we're not talking "roses are red, violets are blue" stuff here. This guy writes EPIC poems about real life events and people, and then travels around singing the news in mead halls far and wide.

In the interest of having a large and varied repertoire, he also sings about battles and heroes of the past. In his time he may have been regarded as some kind of roving Tom Jones character, but it is because of his vocation that we know so much about the culture and history of the peoples who lived in pre-Christian Europe.

The songs were almost exclusively about heroes and the thanes were keenly aware of this fact. Heroes were a big deal in this culture, for only heroes had any chance at an afterlife. Freja, the valkaries, and Odin were all too keen to take those "slain in battle" back to Valhalla, and it's only the heroes who are immortalized in song.

Petey the Village Accountant did not rank his own song - so when he died in his sleep at the age of 92 after living a good and honest life, that was it. There were no song, no valkaries, no nothing. Game over, Petey.

This is why we don't know more about the mundane aspects of life - it wasn't important to the song. Sure, there was a song or two about love, but they were short and sweet. The epics, those were all about great battles and great men of great courage. Each and every warrior in those days fought as hard as he could in every battle. He hoped he would vanquish the enemy or better yet, die trying. In so doing, he would secure his fame, and his immortality.

Icelandic standards for fame have changed over the years . . .
Source

So, what had this to do with me?

I am a coward, and cowards don't get famous. Notorious, maybe, but not famous - never famous. As Louis says in Interview with the Vampire, I lack the courage of my convictions. I have not done it because I have been paralyzed with fear.

What is it?, you ask. Anything and everything that I have not yet done, or even attempted. I am so afraid of failure, judgement, and ridicule that I have stopped fighting all together. I have not tried, and in so doing, I have failed miserably. Failures, like cowards, do not acquire fame (at least, they aren't supposed to - reality TV be damned!).

So, I have to start fighting. I have to cultivate the courage that is so noticeably lacking. But growing your own little patch of courage is hard work. It requires suffering. Blood. Sweat. Tears. Ectoplasm and cum. Maybe even dying - that's a little extreme, but it could happen. It has happened. Maybe  not in my case, but still.

Courage is being afraid to do something and doing it anyway. Me? I'm afraid of rejection letters. I don't want to be told that I'm not good enough. I don't like pain. But I don't like feeling like a failure even more. I have been playing it safe for so long that it's killing me. I have not been living my life, and I'm done.

I always thought that by not trying I could save myself from the shame of failure. If that were true, then why do I still feel so ashamed? I thought that if I just waited, things would start happening for me. The world don't work like that. I have to get up, get out, and go make it happen.

I realize that if I'm going to have a song written about me, I'm going to have to do it myself. That's trying, isn't it? Everyday, I am writing, I am walking, and I living as intentionally as I can. It's hard and sometimes, I fail. That's OK though. If you die fighting, you will be remembered.

Although, Mickey probably doesn't worry about fame
or legacy. He's just a BAMF.
 Source