Effective politicians operate less as policy experts and more as skilled entertainers. They adopt a specific 'genre'—like different styles of rap—to emotionally move their audience. This allows them to build a strong following and obfuscate a lack of concrete, cause-and-effect policy planning, focusing on feeling over function.

Once a person becomes sufficiently famous, a large portion of the public stops seeing them as a person and instead views them as a 'conglomeration of ideas' or a story. This dehumanization allows people to justify saying and doing things to them that would be unacceptable toward an ordinary individual.

Public figures' careers follow a predictable arc of rise, excitement, and eventual controversy. Their survival depends on a simple equation: if the drama of their downfall is more interesting or valuable to the public than their actual contributions, their career is effectively over.

People are more infuriated by hypocrisy than by open corruption. Because a figure like Trump doesn't pretend to adhere to any ethical norms, he can't be accused of being a hypocrite. This blatant shamelessness acts as a shield, making traditional attacks based on norm violations ineffective.

Successful individuals earn 'idiosyncrasy credit,' allowing them to deviate from social norms. However, observers often make the mistake of assuming these eccentricities were necessary for success. In reality, these behaviors are often tolerated or hidden until success provides the freedom to express them.

People surrounding a so-called genius, like Picasso's friends or employees at cult-like startups, often tolerate terrible behavior. They rationalize the unpleasantness by telling themselves they are part of an extraordinary, history-making experience, which creates a toxic enabling environment.

To maintain mental health amidst public scrutiny, one should recognize that the audience is not as focused on your perceived failure as you are. While a negative event may feel mortifying and career-defining to you, the public moves on. This perspective helps depersonalize attacks and reduce their long-term psychological impact.

Many highly proficient individuals are driven by a deep-seated fear of being the opposite of what they project. An exceptionally beautiful person may feel ugly, a highly successful person may feel like a failure, and a very competent person may feel useless. Their public persona is a massive compensatory mechanism for this internal lack.

Whether in dating or business, the environment constantly evolves. Complaining that the 'rules have changed' is a failing strategy. Successful individuals, like Kanye West re-engineering his music for club acoustics, take full responsibility and adapt their approach to solve for the new reality.