And if you became the alternate voice of the A-list where people go to get out the echo chamber how do you plan to stay true?

Success can suck. In fact be a destructive vortex.

Be careful what you wish for.

Even worse you wouldn't be z-list anymore :-)

You're entirely welcome. At my age, deliberately maintaining an openness to new ideas--which also means being open to the idea that I'm mistaken about something--is an important way to avoid mental rigidity.

On the other hand, mental rigidity would probably be a good career move if I was aiming to be a pundit: Predictability is so comforting to readers and listeners.

Ian: As the saying goes, "All I ask is the chance to prove that money won't make me happy!". Success may not solve all one's problems, or even may create new ones, but there's no nobility in lack of success.

walt: Predictability is sadly one aspect of much A-listery - telling people what they want to hear :-(