Seeking Fame? Have You Got the Right Stuff?

The Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7
launching John Glenn, the first America
to orbit the earth.

While sifting through notes from an old journal (circa 1984) I came across a few observations that I extrapolated from Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. The book is a compilation of stories about the test pilots who put their lives on the line during those early experiments with rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft.

In The Right Stuff, Wolfe chronicles the grueling process those pilots (and later astronauts) went through. Testing comes first: pushing planes past Mach 1, Mach 2, 2.5, flirting with the sound barrier and beyond, risking death to prove they’ve got the guts and skill. Selection follows—only a few, like Chuck Yeager or the Mercury Seven, make the cut. For the astronauts, assignment comes next: strapped into a capsule, blasted into orbit, riding a controlled explosion into the unknown. The order’s rigid—Testing --> Selection --> Orbit. Each step is necessary to prove you’re worthy of the next.

The other night I watched a documentary about Eric Clapton, focused specifically on the Sixties, the first ten years of his career. While watching, the thought entered my mind that those early years before Clapton became famous were all part of a process that determines who is capable of handling success and fame, and who is not. 

Testing could be the grind—years of work, auditions, failures, bad decisions, or whatever crucible someone endures to stand out. Not all pass; most wash out. Selection is the moment of recognition—picked by the crowd, the industry, or sheer luck. Then orbit: the launch into stardom, confined in a pod, hurtling through a surreal space where normal rules don’t apply. Like test pilots, those chasing fame push barriers—convention, obscurity, self-doubt—hoping to break through. [EdNote: I think here of the "27 Club" that sadly includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.]

Wolfe’s pilots didn’t just chase speed; they chased mastery over fear and physics. Fame’s seekers do the same with ambition and exposure. Mach 1, Mach 2, Mach 2.5—each milestone ups the stakes, and the “barrier” shifts. But here’s the kicker: in both, you don’t know if you’ve got the right stuff until the test’s over, and even then, the ride’s never fully in your control.

We've often heard it said, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." My observation has been that when we get what we want, we usually get more than we bargained for. 

Related Link 

Magnificent Desolation: Buzz Aldrin's Moonwalk and Its Aftermath