Do you actually buy into these success stories?

I didn't mean they were "unstable" as in someone’s gonna spiral because they don't have everything handed to them, Miranda 🤣
—I meant more generally that kids as young as 16 or 18 read this stuff, and honestly, these narratives aren't doing anyone any favors.

Smart people reading these interviews will see the gaps—like how getting into a top design school in Chicago isn't just some magic trick; someone has to foot the bill, just like that forum user pointed out.

There are always holes in these stories. Look, I’m not against it at all—I mean, what else are you going to fund besides your kid's education? There’s nothing wrong with starting a business using family money or a little help. I’ve read plenty of interviews with actual mature, grounded people who just mention that fact plainly. There's zero shame 🤣 in getting a leg up from your family to get a venture off the ground.

But in articles like this, they skip over those totally normal, logical details because they need to hype the story up as much as possible.

Everything has to be flawless. But newsflash: nothing is perfect. It would be way more useful if Miranda and people like her just gave us an honest account.

Every life and every entrepreneurial journey has its pros and cons.

Off topic—out of 10 people I know with really solid jobs (not entrepreneurs, just employees), 9 of them landed those roles because their parents pulled some strings. And that's just here in Chicago.

I'm not even counting the ones working at their parents' private companies.

That one guy out of the ten? He's still shocked he ended up at such a massive corporation and is perfectly happy about it.😁 He’s still surprised the job wasn't already reserved for someone else.

And that's just my immediate circle.

Success is definitely possible—plenty of people pull off miracles—but I’m worried we’re just reading about the wrong people, which makes this useless.

Thank God we have the internet so you can choose your own sources; there are plenty of entrepreneurs out there willing to share the real deal—the wins and the crashes.
They're a lot more credible than Miranda.

rustywalker42 said:Other than the fact that I don't believe 90% of what's being written here? Nothing. 😁

I don't see why she couldn't pull it off, especially after she headed out on her own...
So, she probably spent her time out there networking or whatever—running around trying to make connections since she couldn't exactly stay put. Or was she just wandering around aimlessly? Who knows.

Look, that’s all well and good, but did you actually bother to read the article? Seriously? Let me just pull out a few things for you:

She kicked things off studying design in Milan. She actually snagged a scholarship at a top-tier university there—wasn't just some random luck, either. Out of 200 students from all over Europe, she was the one they picked.
Meanwhile, she went ahead and knocked out her Master’s in interior design and urban planning.
So, Miranda’s fronting this massive band in China right now—huge popularity there. And her jewelry and furniture designs? You wouldn't believe it. Top-tier global corporations are practically clawing at each other just to get their hands on them.
Right after she finished school, she landed a job with Renzo Piano. You know, one of those heavy-hitting global architects? The guy TIME actually ranked as one of the ten most influential people in art and music. Plus, he's the mind behind that massive skyscraper in London.
An offer to work alongside that famous Italian architect Gianni Ranaul on some interior design project landed her in Paris, and before she knew it, she was halfway across the world in Mexico City.
So, Ranaulo does this specific thing with lighting. I actually worked on an interior project with him in Las Vegas once—totally wild setup, complete with a speaker that moves up and down. Anyway, a friend of mine who worked with Piano fell head over heels for a Mexican guy, and they ended up opening an office in Mexico City together. She invited me to join them, and you know what? I said yes. I was itching to go back to school anyway; I had my sights set on urban planning, so that became my second master's degree. I was the only non-architect in the program, too. Out of about thirty students, I was easily the youngest. They even gave me a scholarship for it. Then, after I presented my thesis, they offered me a PhD program in Barcelona. So, I packed my bags, quit the job in Mexico, headed back to Europe, and started hunting for an apartment in Barcelona. That’s the story, according to Miranda.
So, while she was hunting for an apartment in Barcelona, she decided—without getting her hopes up too high, obviously—to toss her resume over to an architecture firm in London. Apparently, living in London has always been the dream.

It was my birthday at the time, so I headed over to London for a few days to celebrate with friends. I figured I’d just worry about finding an apartment back in Barcelona once I got home. Then, out of nowhere, I get an email from that office asking me in for an informal interview. They actually asked if I could start the very next day. I pushed it back a few days, ended up staying in London for two years, and stayed on with them for a year and a half before photography caught my eye. The whole thing happened by accident. We had a deadline for some award submission, and since nobody had any free time to photograph our building, I just stepped up and did it. The director loved it. Suddenly, he's sending me on photo assignments left and right. To really sharpen my skills, I reached out to the heavy hitters—Iwan Bann and Fernand Guerra. Eventually, I even ended up collaborating with them in China.
"They scouted me to shoot for Blueprint—you know, that magazine every architect obsesses over. I was out there photographing 20th-century architecture and did a whole series on Wembley Stadium. Not long after, I snagged a year-long visa for New York. I had some freelance gigs lined up for London and was writing for a blog, too. I was only supposed to stay three months, but honestly? I went crazy for New York. I live for jazz. I ended up staying eight months," Miranda says. But apparently, China was her karma all along. She spent forever looking for work anywhere in the world, and where does she land? Beijing.

So, I landed this killer gig as a media promoter for an international firm with offices everywhere. Honestly? I didn't think I stood a chance. But then the director calls me for a Skype interview. And get this—I actually messed up the time zone, showed up in my pajamas, and kept my camera off. Somehow, they hired me anyway. That was my ticket to Asia. My life became a whirlwind of organizing exhibitions, scouting venues, hunting down sponsors, and even collaborating with architects on design projects. I was all over the map—attending conferences in Colombia and Mexico City, lecturing at universities, guesting on radio shows. I basically acted as the right hand to every director across their global offices, according to Miranda. Then, everything changed during the 2013 Beijing Design Week. I met this Italian architect who specialized in concrete. We teamed up, started experimenting, and ended up creating concrete jewelry. That’s where the whole jewelry chapter of Miranda's story really takes off.

Look, I'm done copying and pasting. Just read the article. 😁 Every single paragraph is just one win after another. Scholarships are drying up, yet they call her the best? They need the top talent right now. You don't see stories like that in the movies.

Like Richard Lewis16 says,
Bad luck? Please. People always forget that when things actually go right, they were blessed by God. Instead, they just credit their own selfish egos. Why is that?
Natural talent plus a ton of hard work? Fine by me. I don't see any issue with her just being exactly who she is.

Look, luck is obviously a massive factor. But man, this isn't just being lucky. It’s like... what do you even call it? A landslide of good fortune? Is she just the physical embodiment of luck at this point?

So, let me get this straight. She didn't even get a PhD from MIT, nor did she study mechanical engineering at some top university in Chicago. It was just some veggie-eating, woke nonsense, right?
Especially since she probably only shared the "sunny side" of things...😁
It’s common knowledge that in show business, everything runs on who you know and who's sleeping with whom. So why would anyone think those folks out there are any different? They aren't. Not by a long shot.

Besides, she’ll probably end up in China as some hot blonde. Everything has a price, right? And let's be real—she'll get the best deal there.😁

No way am I getting involved in that.

And besides that, how is that even considered a success story?!
What makes her so incredibly successful? Seriously? There are thousands just like her out there.
Besides, everyone’s got their own yardstick for success. Right?
Oh great, just waiting for someone to declare Emma Dvornik a massive success because she lives in London... what an incredible achievement. Seriously?🤣
So, someone just has a kid and suddenly they're a success story? Is that how this works now?

Look, please. Just like I've asked everyone else on this forum, let's not waste our breath debating what "success" actually means. Seriously. For some people, success is just raising kids and landing a steady job at Walmart. For others? It’s running for President of the United States. To each their own.

So, my question is this: do you guys actually buy into this kind of stuff?

Not me either. 😁 But man, I wish he’d actually explain his reasoning for once. 😁

It looks like people have already jumped in to reply to you. 😁

What kind of talent or expertise is she actually bringing to the table to be marketed this way in the "mainstream world"?
I'm genuinely curious about what specific designs she’s produced and what they actually sold for—show me the money, as they say.

says:
"major global corporations are practically fighting over her jewelry and furniture designs."
Which ones, specifically? Give me names, and tell me what their annual revenue looks like.

"They hired me even though I mixed up the time and did the interview in my pajamas with my camera turned off" — so, despite all that unprofessionalism, she still landed the job. Hmm, she must have had an incredibly strong recommendation.😉

"We were with the biggest Chinese architects specializing in design."
Who exactly? These "biggest companies," these "top designers"... who are we talking about?

"I met a guy who works with wood, and together we produced a wooden bag..." Maybe they don't want to burst her bubble, but someone should probably let her know that such an invention already exists; it's called a chest.

"The opening act was the incredible Chinese band Soul Pollution, playing Chicago Blues... once those Chinese folks heard me play, they invited me to perform with them. And they are the best blues band in China." — Honestly, someone ought to report this to YouTube, because the Soul Pollution I find on YouTube barely gets triple-digit views.

"Miranda was heard by a producer who offered her a deal to record a CD. Even though the producer suffered a heart attack in the middle of the album recording, Miranda recounts..." Okay, now we're entering territory that's just plain ridiculous; she's basically just making up stories at this point.😁 😁

This is a very bad article that will likely mislead any naive reader unfortunate enough to come across it.

If you're looking for info on the company she used to work at, you can just find her name on her LinkedIn profile 😉

It’s entirely doable. In today's market, self-promotion is everything. If you land in the right circles and someone "important" gives you a nudge, doors fly open.
I worked on a project back in 2015 involving some major stars from YouTube and Instagram. There are people out there who have mastered the art of personal branding so effectively they manage two or three channels totaling over 2 million followers. They can pull in $7 per 1,000 views. Do the math: if someone posts three videos a week with 700,000 views each, that’s $490 per video—or $1,470 a week. Add in Sponsors, and if you become a "preferred partner," you can see nearly $10 per 1,000 clicks.
I saw young people quit their jobs or slow down their studies just to focus on this. They were already clearing more than $10,000.
The second you gain any real clout, useless companies start crawling out of the woodwork, begging you to feature their products and offering serious cash to do it.

rustywalker42 said:Every other day there's some story about these super-mega-hyper-genius young prodigies who "made it." I usually just tune them out—honestly, I’ve always felt the same way about this stuff—but this one actually made me want to start a thread. 😁

http://www.nytimes.com/life/lifestyle-success-stories/5480043/

So, here's the deal: this woman speaks six languages, she's lived in every major cosmopolitan hub on the planet, she's got two master's degrees, and a PhD—all fully funded, mind you. Everyone just hands her stuff for free. The world's top designers and photographers are all begging to work with her; everything just lands in her lap without her even breaking a sweat. they just call her. On top of that, she sings in two massive Chinese pop bands and now, in her late 30s, she's performing with a symphony orchestra.

Oh, wait, forgot to mention: she's launching a luxury jewelry line because, you guessed it, they called her.

And again, totally slipped my mind: she's also designing a high-end furniture collection because, surprise, surprise, she was invited.

What I want to know is: what do you guys think of these stories? How much of this is actually real, and what's the point of them besides pure self-promotion and selling this illusion of success?

Or am I just some bitter loser who didn't "make it" and is now just here to spread envy on a forum? 😁

I think this whole thing seems a bit overblown. Maybe this woman is just building a better "image" by having friends at news outlets???

Anyway, I've met plenty of Americans who have been incredibly successful abroad, but obviously, nobody writes about them. And honestly, it's probably better that way...

Since I actually know the person this kind of fluff piece was written about a few years back, yeah... it’s totally overhyped and way too "stylized."
By stylized, I mean nothing in there is technically a lie, but they write it up like some epic fairy tale, just super inflated...
And honestly, that stuff really messes with people's heads.
I know firsthand how much trouble I've had with my own kids because of the internet and all these fake lives being projected everywhere. You hit a breaking point and you're just like... where am I going wrong? Because I'm working myself to death here...
So, I once tried putting together a little profile for my daughter based on her actual work and achievements, pretty much doing exactly what these people in the article do.
She ended up 😲looking at her own life and barely recognizing herself, even though none of it was even a lie.

Alex Miller3 said:Since I actually know the person this kind of fluff piece was written about a few years back, yeah... it’s totally overhyped and way too "stylized."
By stylized, I mean nothing in there is technically a lie, but they write it up like some epic fairy tale, just super inflated...
And honestly, that stuff really messes with people's heads.
I know firsthand how much trouble I've had with my own kids because of the internet and all these fake lives being projected everywhere. You hit a breaking point and you're just like... where am I going wrong? Because I'm working myself to death here...
So, I once tried putting together a little profile for my daughter based on her actual work and achievements, pretty much doing exactly what these people in the article do.
She ended up 😲looking at her own life and barely recognizing herself, even though none of it was even a lie.

I don't quite follow what you mean by "one little crack" and how that doesn't have a ripple effect;

The truth is, we've been living a lie for a quarter of a century now, just pure deception...😉

We've been fed this lie for probably 27 years straight... whether it's our own people or those from abroad...
those who are so quick to jump into "storytelling, fairy tales, and pure fantasy"
they're almost better at it than the locals are..😁

So, this girl who just happens to "love to brag" (without any real malice) and is just trying to get a little momentum behind her name? To me, she seems like a total saint compared to these con artists who lie, exploit our lives, and drive us straight into the ground. She's nothing like them.😁
But sure, let's just say *she's* the problem...🤔

Gerald Palmer66 said:It looks like people have already jumped in to reply to you. 😁

What kind of talent or expertise is she actually bringing to the table to be marketed this way in the "mainstream world"?
I'm genuinely curious about what specific designs she’s produced and what they actually sold for—show me the money, as they say.

says:
"major global corporations are practically fighting over her jewelry and furniture designs."
Which ones, specifically? Give me names, and tell me what their annual revenue looks like.

"They hired me even though I mixed up the time and did the interview in my pajamas with my camera turned off" — so, despite all that unprofessionalism, she still landed the job. Hmm, she must have had an incredibly strong recommendation.😉

"We were with the biggest Chinese architects specializing in design."
Who exactly? These "biggest companies," these "top designers"... who are we talking about?

"I met a guy who works with wood, and together we produced a wooden bag..." Maybe they don't want to burst her bubble, but someone should probably let her know that such an invention already exists; it's called a chest.

"The opening act was the incredible Chinese band Soul Pollution, playing Chicago Blues... once those Chinese folks heard me play, they invited me to perform with them. And they are the best blues band in China." — Honestly, someone ought to report this to YouTube, because the Soul Pollution I find on YouTube barely gets triple-digit views.

"Miranda was heard by a producer who offered her a deal to record a CD. Even though the producer suffered a heart attack in the middle of the album recording, Miranda recounts..." Okay, now we're entering territory that's just plain ridiculous; she's basically just making up stories at this point.😁 😁

This is a very bad article that will likely mislead any naive reader unfortunate enough to come across it.

That’s exactly my point. If you’re a serious designer or an entrepreneur who’s actually built something tangible, you’re going to insist—and any decent journalist would happily oblige—that your specific products get mentioned and even photographed.
Because that article is free promo! It’s your work and it represents your career achievements.

I can't think of a single legitimate jewelry or furniture designer whose feature wasn't backed up by actual portfolio pieces and hard numbers.

And this bit about the guy making her a bag? That’s like me saying I met a kitchen designer who built a kitchen based on my vision.

In reality, I just found a carpenter and paid him to build a custom kitchen for me. Suddenly, there are tons of "designers" that carpenters are fighting over.😁
Anyone who orders a custom kitchen is an incredibly successful entrepreneur.
I wouldn't dream of putting something like that on my resume.

A sensible question from a journalist (who isn't just her buddy) would be: "So, how many of those wooden bags did you actually sell?"

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this kind of smoke and mirrors is harmful—not just for kids, but for adults too.

If you aren't sharp enough to read between the lines, you're going to end up feeling totally screwed.

The worst part is that there are people out there who are genuinely successful, yet there's zero coverage of them. There's no need to write fluff pieces about Mirandas when there are truly accomplished people doing the work. The internet offers endless opportunities today.

rustywalker42 said:Every other day there's some story about these super-mega-hyper-genius young prodigies who "made it." I usually just tune them out—honestly, I’ve always felt the same way about this stuff—but this one actually made me want to start a thread. 😁

http://www.nytimes.com/life/lifestyle-success-stories/5480043/

So, here's the deal: this woman speaks six languages, she's lived in every major cosmopolitan hub on the planet, she's got two master's degrees, and a PhD—all fully funded, mind you. Everyone just hands her stuff for free. The world's top designers and photographers are all begging to work with her; everything just lands in her lap without her even breaking a sweat. they just call her. On top of that, she sings in two massive Chinese pop bands and now, in her late 30s, she's performing with a symphony orchestra.

Oh, wait, forgot to mention: she's launching a luxury jewelry line because, you guessed it, they called her.

And again, totally slipped my mind: she's also designing a high-end furniture collection because, surprise, surprise, she was invited.

What I want to know is: what do you guys think of these stories? How much of this is actually real, and what's the point of them besides pure self-promotion and selling this illusion of success?

Or am I just some bitter loser who didn't "make it" and is now just here to spread envy on a forum? 😁

Give me a break. Wouldn't you rather be pulled in every direction like that? You're better off the way you are. 🙂

It's pretty obvious these stories are inflated to make it look like, "Hey, look, we aren't the worst, we have geniuses here too." Of course, it's all heavily manicured and filtered to the extreme.

We're used to these little news snippets about local geniuses who haven't actually conquered the world—they never do. Real success stories don't start out looking this naive.

Whenever I see a story about some local hero about to change the world, it actually puts me in a good mood because I know it’s going to be a total joke to read. Usually, you find out they just took fifth place in some regional math competition.

Daniel Ortiz15 said:It all feels a bit exaggerated to me, and honestly, it’s pretty disheartening. In America, so many young people who are incredibly bright and highly educated feel like they don't have a real shot at building a future here. It seems like their only option is to pack up and move abroad, unless they happen to have some heavy-hitting connections or a massive head start in this messy system we live in.

Let's be honest, though—they don't really have a future out there either. You could count on one hand the number of true geniuses from our neck of the woods who have actually accomplished something significant overseas. Everything else is just empty talk about "brilliant minds" being held back by the state—as if they aren't working themselves to death between coffee breaks.

And someone really needs to explain to them that they aren't instant geniuses just because Google hires them to churn out code like robots alongside 30,000 other people. Real geniuses are the founders of Google, not the ones writing scripts for them and bouncing balls around the office when the boss isn't looking.

Robin Johnson said:What kind of motivation can you actually get from an article where everything is just made up?

Zero. I mean, lies about someone’s fake "perfect life" don't inspire anyone.

And look—I didn't say *only* Eph writes stuff like that—just that they do it all the time.

There was this one little feature about a girl who finished her design degree at University of California, Berkeley, entered some international competition while she was still a student, and got scouted by a global firm that offered her a job on the spot. Now, *that* story is legit because you can actually track her real career path today.
There was absolutely no need to fluff her journey with nonsense like this article did—her actual success speaks for itself. She's a lead designer for a major corporation now.

She doesn't need these kinds of write-ups, and honestly, she doesn't even need the press coverage.

This other person, though? They're out here in the US hunting for a job, hoping someone will be impressed by these overseas achievements that probably can't even be verified.

Oh, and for the record—the story about Sobel really *is* inspiring. The guy knew how to spot an opportunity when he saw one, which is everything.

You can learn a lot from people like that. I've read plenty of his interviews where he goes into detail about those early days at Verizon and how he kicked everything off. Super interesting stuff.
And when it comes to truly successful people, there aren't any holes in their stories.

Tell me about it. Did you ever read about how they just dumped Iskon into AT&T? It was obvious they stood no chance against the heavy hitters, so they were headed for the scrap heap just like their old rival Globalnet. By acquiring them, AT&T basically decided which one would survive and which one would die. That’s a much more interesting story, though obviously, nobody talks about it publicly because it's not exactly something you brag about. If we're talking about actual success from back then, Nenad Bakić over at Indeed was a way more effective player. He played the game exactly how it needed to be played—sure, there was plenty of self-promotion and throwing shade at the competition, but you have to hand it to him.

While these "success gurus" in the newspapers don't have to worry about losing their platforms.🙂

Then there's the guy who accidentally registered the ".business" domain and somehow stumbled into a multi-billion dollar deal by pure luck, only for it to be shut down immediately. Now he's just chilling and enjoying life for the last 15 years => Mark Cuban

Or look at my buddy who bought shares in Zabka during the early days without even knowing what a stock was or what Zabka even did. He made a killing on that.

Michelle Davis15 said:Tell me about it. Did you ever read about how they just dumped Iskon into AT&T? It was obvious they stood no chance against the heavy hitters, so they were headed for the scrap heap just like their old rival Globalnet. By acquiring them, AT&T basically decided which one would survive and which one would die. That’s a much more interesting story, though obviously, nobody talks about it publicly because it's not exactly something you brag about. If we're talking about actual success from back then, Nenad Bakić over at Indeed was a way more effective player. He played the game exactly how it needed to be played—sure, there was plenty of self-promotion and throwing shade at the competition, but you have to hand it to him.

While these "success gurus" in the newspapers don't have to worry about losing their platforms.🙂

Then there's the guy who accidentally registered the ".business" domain and somehow stumbled into a multi-billion dollar deal by pure luck, only for it to be shut down immediately. Now he's just chilling and enjoying life for the last 15 years => Mark Cuban

Or look at my buddy who bought shares in Zabka during the early days without even knowing what a stock was or what Zabka even did. He made a killing on that.

I mean, I don't think his success is actually that simple, and I really doubt he's just sitting around doing nothing. If anything, there's always something going on with the Mavericks. 😁

https://www.linkedin.com/in/miranda-vukasovic-3178a027

Look, let's talk about this band, The Sun:
https://www.google.com/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=...=band+radiance
There are bands called Bend in Boston, in Finland, or even in Palermo... yet this specific group is supposedly so famous that even Google can't find a trace of them.😉
Even YouTube turns up some pretty questionable results for that search term.

Then you have this other band, Soil Pollution, which barely scrapes together 200 or 300 views on YouTube.

Moving on:
Founder and Creative Director
MV MIRANDA VUKASOVIC
October 2016 – Present ( 4 Months -> Founder and Creative Director Beijing City, China
China MV its fine Jewellery brand that is working on relation of Concept fra art and Architecture

Once again, Google seems completely oblivious to her company or her jewelry. When you actually type in "MV jewellery," you just get this:
http://www.monicavinader.com/

So, yeah, the rest of her entire story is just as dubious.

Thomas Hernandez11 said:I don't quite follow what you mean by "one little crack" and how that doesn't have a ripple effect;

The truth is, we've been living a lie for a quarter of a century now, just pure deception...😉

We've been fed this lie for probably 27 years straight... whether it's our own people or those from abroad...
those who are so quick to jump into "storytelling, fairy tales, and pure fantasy"
they're almost better at it than the locals are..😁

So, this girl who just happens to "love to brag" (without any real malice) and is just trying to get a little momentum behind her name? To me, she seems like a total saint compared to these con artists who lie, exploit our lives, and drive us straight into the ground. She's nothing like them.😁
But sure, let's just say *she's* the problem...🤔

And how does one thing exclude the other?
We're just commenting on a specific article.

Michelle Davis15, starting up an Iskon just to flip it to HT later is a totally different ballgame than what Miranda is doing—it looks like her jewelry line isn't even gaining traction right now.😲

But hey, I'm with you—nobody sees the full picture. You can't know everything about Sobol either.😁

At this rate, Miranda might actually end up looking like a failure.😲
So what? She’s been all over the world—even in China.

I mean, come on now. Success isn't just about grinding out a startup from scratch and flipping it for billions. That's just one slice of the pie. Success means so much more than that... but you don't need all that flashy, over-polished nonsense like what we see with Miranda's stuff.
Just keep it real and keep it honest.

Alex Miller3 said:I mean, come on now. Success isn't just about grinding out a startup from scratch and flipping it for billions. That's just one slice of the pie. Success means so much more than that... but you don't need all that flashy, over-polished nonsense like what we see with Miranda's stuff.
Just keep it real and keep it honest.

True success is living a full life that actually aligns with your own passions and drives—but people like to play it down so they don't ruin the vibe.

Robin Johnson said:That’s exactly my point. If you’re a serious designer or an entrepreneur who’s actually built something tangible, you’re going to insist—and any decent journalist would happily oblige—that your specific products get mentioned and even photographed.
Because that article is free promo! It’s your work and it represents your career achievements.

I can't think of a single legitimate jewelry or furniture designer whose feature wasn't backed up by actual portfolio pieces and hard numbers.

And this bit about the guy making her a bag? That’s like me saying I met a kitchen designer who built a kitchen based on my vision.

In reality, I just found a carpenter and paid him to build a custom kitchen for me. Suddenly, there are tons of "designers" that carpenters are fighting over.😁
Anyone who orders a custom kitchen is an incredibly successful entrepreneur.
I wouldn't dream of putting something like that on my resume.

A sensible question from a journalist (who isn't just her buddy) would be: "So, how many of those wooden bags did you actually sell?"

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this kind of smoke and mirrors is harmful—not just for kids, but for adults too.

If you aren't sharp enough to read between the lines, you're going to end up feeling totally screwed.

The worst part is that there are people out there who are genuinely successful, yet there's zero coverage of them. There's no need to write fluff pieces about Mirandas when there are truly accomplished people doing the work. The internet offers endless opportunities today.

Honestly, if someone is getting worked up over some mindless article about a total stranger, they have an issue with themselves—not with the news cycle.
I find it hard to wrap my head around why an adult would let stuff like this bother them, whether the stories are true or not.

But, if what you're saying is actually true—that there are people out there feeling miserable (or maybe inadequate, or jealous, etc.) when they read success stories about others—then these articles are actually doing a service.
After all, cognitive behavioral therapy suggests that the best way to handle those kinds of negative reactions is through exposure therapy to the very thing triggering them.

And the worst part is that there are plenty of genuinely successful people out there who never get featured, because apparently there's no need to write about people like Miranda when there are "actually" successful people available. The internet offers endless opportunities these days.

Truly successful people don't feel the need to promote themselves on trashy clickbait sites.

Honestly, in this digital age, it’s totally doable for some huge corporation to scout you out while you're just chilling at home if they actually dig what you're doing. It happens more often than you'd think.

Also, journalists are the ones shaping the narrative, and if you've ever had the chance to read a story after getting to know the actual backstory, you'll see how much can get lost in translation—not to mention the facts being twisted. At the end of the day, the reporter just wants to write something catchy that grabs attention.

About ten years ago, a reporter dropped by the company I was working for because they wanted to do a piece on us, since we were doing pretty well in such a niche field. He asked a few questions and then just took off. I couldn't stop thinking about it, though, so I insisted on seeing the draft before anything went live. When it finally hit my inbox, half of it was just flat-out wrong, and the headline was so over-the-top dramatic that I had to nix that too.
I guess the article never ended up running; the reporter probably took it personally.

Then there was this one time after an exhibition where my director told a journalist how much he valued the experience, especially attending a four-day seminar in London led by a world-class expert in our industry. Well, the published article claimed he had graduated from a four-year college in London instead.

Finally, a few years back, some reporters came around again, and this time the piece was actually decent—still a little clunky, sure, but accurate. And no, there was absolutely no need for them to list exactly how much stuff we sold to whom.

The girl featured in that article is clearly educated, talented, and really driven. She’s got the connections that are going to carry her far in the future. For someone starting out, that’s a win; nobody expects you to just wake up with a million dollars in the bank. Plus, she's young and pretty, so you basically have the perfect recipe for a news story right there.

People just don't get that good things happen when you actually get off your ass. With the internet, you don't even have to leave your couch. 🙂

Case in point: three years ago, this massive American marketing agency scouted me on Dribbble for a job. They had even worked on a campaign for Obama. I was an idiot and turned it down. But I bet some journalist would spin it like: "American rejects the US President!" 😁