Popularity

Many before have tried to define it, to pin down that secret quality that grants some enormous armies of followers while leaving others out in the rain. All of these searchers have one thing in common: they want to be more popular. This is their downfall, for, indeed, the one thing that the popular people share is unrealization of their own popularity. It may be pointed out that some popular people do notice it; however, by noticing their own popularity, they get caught up in the social system, and are constantly forced into overthinking themselves and attempting to become still more popular. This redefining of themselves as lacking in popularity inevitably leads to their fall, as they lose the characterisitics that drew to them such a large audience of friends in the first place. What is the key, then? How can one be popular? The answer, counterintuitively, is by not trying to be popular so much as to interact with people on a regular basis, to have a lot of friends. For confidence is one liked, and, via the golden rule, through treating other people as friends and not as subjects does one gain and maintain what some call "popularity". True popularity is only being nice to people and being oneself to people, so they feel free to be the same around you, and it's not all that difficult to achieve, requiring only that one first rid themselves of the illusion of social systems and treat everyone else like equals.