A good friend’s sister recently made it through performing art college (a very prestigious one at that), and is currently flirting with record companies over offers for her future, invitations to L.A and the like. All very exciting!
Several of her school friends have appeared on television talent shows, sometimes successfully, only to be brushed aside, and I think most now have ‘normal jobs’. It's a vicious industry!
     Maybe it was wrong of me, maybe I should have thought better and just said nothing (as usual) but… “Well let’s be honest, if she gets signed, there's a good chance it could all be over within 5 years. It’s not a career they’re offering, is it? That’s the game, it's fashion. Good for her though… She should milk it while she can!”. 
Of course, I was told that she was incredibly talented, would be a known artist for many years and my opinion was completely out of order. I admit, my timing and tact was wrong… But my opinion wasn’t totally unfounded.
We all know there is a queue a mile long of next year's 'contestants' just waiting to take their place with a "hotter”, more edgy look, voice and a more original niche to be exploited. I think that relates right through every part of society now including running a business or just doing your job.

I'll be honest, to put it mildly, I have never been one for 'tabloid entertainment' television shows. I put most things ‘weekend prime time’ under this umbrella. To name just a few examples off the top of my head... Big Brother (I’m told it’s still running but I can’t find anyone who watches it), Britain's Got Talent (dancing dogs, basically), The X Factor (rigged Sony Records phone vote generator disguised as a talent show), The Voice (X Factor Lite), Strictly Come Dancing (dance to save your flagging career), “that ice skating thing with people I've never heard of falling over for votes”, The Apprentice (aka exhibitionists and ego maniacs posing as business people as a PR exercise for Alan Sugar) ... You know, stuff like that, the stuff you watch when you’ve run out of movies, wishing you weren't sat at home. I won’t go on. You get the picture.

We, as a society, I think it is fair to say have developed an obsession with fame, wealth and success, or at least a subjective idea of what we deem "success" to be. The definition changes with time and perspective. 
     As a nation, we have never lacked ambition, in fact quite the opposite. Just look at our proud history of pioneers and entrepreneurs. We are, and always have been envied by the rest of the world for our innovation and achievement for such a small nation. So, to want success, wealth and recognition is nothing new for Britain. What has changed however, is how we view those with success, how we define it and what we are prepared to do (or not to do!) to get it. 
     This seems to have changed in direct relation to how it is presented to us via the media. There has always been an interest and obsession with the rich and famous, dating back to the invention of the Hollywood ‘movie star’ but we never had access to their world, let alone the ability to join it ourselves so easily. Maybe the invention of the celebrity magazine and associated paparazzi was where things went up a notch, or ten. If that’s the case, then the invention of the TV talent show and social media exposure, allowing us to literally become a celebrity ourselves overnight has sent the obsession into an unhealthy, delusional stratosphere. 

These shows which have infiltrated society with a culture of instant, overnight success have made it easier for anyone to become famous and obtain wealth and success which in years gone by,  would have been completely beyond their reach.
     Unfortunately, this thirst for success and fame seems to have come with a sense of entitlement because of the culture created by the above joyously cultured (read as heavy sarcasm) shows. We have developed an obsession with the final reward, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the fruits of success without the willingness to take the journey to get there. We want strangers approaching us in the street for a ‘selfie’ but have no plan as to how we’d put ourselves in that situation or to deserve such an elevated position.
 
You could say, in fact, that popular culture has removed our understanding of what it takes and what is required to become or achieve anything of great worth from scratch without simply filling out an entry form and showing up to a public audition alongside some lunatic with a dancing dog. 
     Social media especially, encourages users to focus and obsess over the highlight reel of other people and compare their own imperfect situation to that of others. We only see what other people want us to see in order to promote the impression that they're achieving their goals with ease and panache and look fabulous while doing so. 
We see photographs of the fruits of their efforts whether it be material possessions, lavish lifestyle, the 'perfect' body or that new dream job... But there's never an accompanying story, never any small print. We don't know how they got there. We don't have any idea of the sacrifice, the effort, the upset, stress, fear, moments of unhappiness, sleepless nights, crisis of finance and self-confidence it took to reach that goal. In my opinion, for a whole generation to now view life through this falsely simplified perspective is incredibly unhealthy and a bit of a worry. Personally, I am sick to death of seeing endless pictures of watches, cars and Champagne to illustrate "success" on social media, it's wildly inaccurate and misleading.
No leading entrepreneur has ever had watches, cars and pool parties as the motivation for success... Those things are merely glitter sprinkled on top as a bonus, not the end game as we are all lead to believe by simple-minded spectators.

We're painting a warped picture which is setting up young people for bitter and "unfair" disappointment when they discover that life is not fair, there is no such thing as luck and none of us are guaranteed anything just because we apparently 'deserve' them.

Maybe that’s why so many of us are glued to our phones, because we prefer this virtual version of life constructed of selfies, followers and ‘likes’ (gathering social validation) as opposed to the harsh realities of the modern world?
A world where clicking ‘unfriend’ does not remove that person from existence, but rather a world where we have to actually possess the ability to argue our corner, hold a discussion, take big decisions about our own happiness and deal with other people in an assertive social manner.
I've noticed the number of young people who simply go travelling during their twenties instead of pinning down their future has rocketed during recent times of financial and employment uncertainty. I don't think the sudden surge in escapism is a coincidence. People are genuinely disillusioned with what's to come.

But listen, I’m not purposely being harsh, in fact I'm being slightly tongue-in-cheek; When you’ve spent your whole life in education up to that point, worked for a degree which loaded you with debt and no longer gets you the (or any) job you were promised, hours of your day are spent looking at people deceiving each other online creating intense social anxiety and you’re looking at readjusting your expectancy of life and ‘what it’s all about’… I can absolutely forgive, understand and sympathise with the obsession of wanting, even ‘needing’ a quick fix to success and a way out.
     Hell, only a generation ago people were married and owned their own home by the time they were 21. Now you're lucky to have scraped together a deposit by your mid 30's, to buy into a mortgage which will keep you firmly in the bank's debt until you retire. It would appear that we’re grooming a generation who float between confusion about their future and fairy land where things hopefully 'just ‘happen’, and we wonder why we've created a hunger for instant solutions?

We all know that we live in times of serious economic uncertainty, I know first hand as an entrepreneur in a 'luxury' industry just how reluctant people are to commit to spending money and planning too far ahead, financially.
It's no coincidence that in recent years we've had an explosion of 'coaches' and advisers claiming to hold the secrets to success (despite in many cases never doing it themselves). Many web pages and social media account devoted to "the key to success" (just posting vague motivational pictures, usually).
It's become a lucrative industry and in many cases this is nothing more than preying on desperation in times of uncertainty. Stating the obvious, spreading positivity, telling people what they need to hear. Hey, if it helps then I know I shouldn't judge... It's just filling a niche, supply on demand. Some people simply need reassurance that they CAN do it. Others are looking for those instant answers and solutions for success.

My point in of all this; It's the hard work, lessons learned and sacrifices which give a person the survival skills and hunger to evolve and sense danger in order to remain the success they've gained... Read the biography of any majorly successful person in any field.
     This is where the problem lies with instant success; lack of knowledge or ability to hold onto it 'if' they get it. How many lottery winners simply throw it all away by making poor choices? We've all heard the saying "be careful what you wish for".
There has been no process, no learning curve of failures and lessons, so when things go wrong there is no ‘knowledge bank’ to turn to. No experience to fall back on. No plan B, C or D. 
     This is why we cringe (and usually laugh) as we watch fallen celebrities who have run out of options, plans and talent, prepared to do almost anything to cling onto their fame whether it be eating boiled Koala’s testicles in the jungle, exposing themselves like some seedy peepshow on social media and even 'accidentally' releasing sex tapes onto the net. 

I better give this some relevance to my own life and perspective hadn’t I? Interior design, as with any fashion related industry, operates within a window of time and desirability. Clients want a particular look and image at a particular point in time. In my opinion it is extremely easy to work within the boundaries of fashion, copy schemes and concepts from websites, magazines and brochures and present it as your own work. It’s not particularly ethical but it’s normal... Hence so many schemes look identical.

     Unfortunately this means that interior design is an industry plagued with 'designers' who do exactly this. Simply copying fashionable schemes for clients who want the latest thing. However, these ‘designers’ have a shelf life, not a career, as they are a small fish in a large, flooded market place. To carve out a lasting career in a creative industry, you must have the ability to invent your own philosophy… Not just in design, but life in general, and that takes time and many lessons learnt. Know who you are and have the ability to evolve and have the courage to express your personality. To reach the top of an industry and not just be part of a pack, but to be a front runner who clients actually seek out takes a completely different character altogether.
     You might make as many friends as skeptics along the way but it’s worth it if you get it right. Even if someone doesn’t like you, they’ll respect you and they’ll remember you.
     I'm only at the relative start of my journey, so I'm not going to say which category I personally fall into because it shouldn't be necessary. Time, my clients and associates will be the judge of my longevity, ambition and character, not me. The same will apply to every one of you reading this piece in your own lives

I’ll finish (sorry it's been such a long one!) with something which I have never known to be untrue… Talent is utterly useless without drive and a clear plan if you want to achieve anything above mediocrity. The world doesn’t owe you a favour just because you’re good at something. This was a way of thinking I once had myself and it didn’t get me anywhere, just frustrated that less talented people were achieving more ‘success’, until the penny dropped.
     You only have to switch on your TV or radio to see/hear people with enormous drive and self-confidence yet minimal talent, and I imagine there are many millions sat watching at home with enormous talent yet not enough drive or confidence to get up and do it themselves.

History tells us that to have a long period of true success in anything requires equal amounts of drive, talent, originality and the willingness to go and do it on your own from scratch (no given job is for life any more), instead of waiting for it to fall from the sky. The harsh lessons and failures you learn along the way are what will give you the skills for longevity in any part of life, business, relationships or otherwise. 
     I think we have badly misled current generations for our own profit, selling them dreams of guaranteed employment and instant, overnight success. We're perpetuating social anxiety. I'm not entirely sure where the values upon which our society was built have gone, and I don't know where it’s leading... But I sincerely hope we haven’t created a monster which can’t be put back in the cage because we need people who are prepared (and want) to make sacrifice to make things happen.

 Paul Hancock
 (Founder & Director)

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