In Paul Zollo's Songwriters on Songwriting, Jackson Browne talks about a moment in a concert in which he began playing a new song. The audience believed that they were hearing a familiar favorite because it apparently sounded so much like another song of his. They started applauding and cheering in appreciation, which was probably a little awkward when the song turned out to be something else.

I think of this often in my own work and creative pursuits, from songwriting to blogging to teaching.

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Why have some of the most wealthy and famous people in history been so miserable?

It's possible that they spent their lives chasing money or fame when what they really wanted was love, joy, freedom, or peace.

Maybe they wanted to be respected for their art, but all they got was admiration for their beauty. Life is rough, isn't it?

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It takes only a few seconds of Facebook to throw off my equilibrium. I believe this is exactly what it was designed to do.

Even if I went there for a specific purpose, I come away feeling discontented and uncomfortable, as though I accidentally read a friend’s diary. In a sense, that’s what I’ve done.

As a kid growing up, I didn’t know what parties I was missing due to my relative social awkwardness or what opportunities I was losing out on due to my family’s relative lack of wealth. I wasn’t even privy to conversations in which these things were hinted at. I existed in a small world, focused on the people and pastimes that mattered most to me.

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This week, another celebrity who loudly gave up on Twitter returned to Twitter.

That’s perfectly understandable. The pain of being criticized by legions of strangers is the price she’s willing to pay for the adulation of other strangers. It’s a deal she’s happy to agree to, especially when it comes on the classic intermittent reinforcement schedule that keeps gamblers addicted to making bets.

How many of those zillions of followers wish they were in this celebrity’s shoes?

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I didn’t realize the extent to which some kids face pressure to excel until I moved to a major city and began to work with affluent families there.

Though these kids enjoyed certain privileges and choices that I had not had, they were also expected to follow a certain path in life. They were expected to be exceptional students and go to exceptional colleges.

Presumably, to have exceptional lives.

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