Be Interesting (this may require ridiculousness)

By writing these words (technically, about 40 words from now) I’m contradicting one of my most important career messages, which is: be more interested than interesting. For the record, it can also look like this: interesting interested.

The message about showing interest still stands – because people should always try to impress others by knowing the most about them, not by showing off self-congratulating coolness – however, Friend of the Blog (FOB), David Singh, recently shared an Inc.com article by Jeff Haden called “The Six Habits of Truly Memorable People” and, well, the author made a compelling case for having fun and living a richer, fuller and more exciting life by being interesting.

Here are Haden’s six steps:

1. Don’t see. Do.
2. Do something unusual.
3. Embark on a worthless mission.
4. Embrace a cause.
5. Let others spread the word.
6. Get over yourself.

The last two points were what sold me. One becomes memorable – if not a legend – by collecting stories so compelling that others spread the word on your behalf. Which is what I will do right now for another FOB, Zac Whyte, whose Road to Sparta campaign represents a story worth telling about an unusual character bent on ridiculousness (re: causes/missions) who has clearly gotten over himself. Zac, like so many members of our Get to Know Your Community, um, community, have stories worth spreading and I encourage you to share his within the Twitterverse with some clever Facebookery.

Zac Whyte / Day 66 on The Road to Sparta

I’ll wrap it up with a gem of a closer by Haden – here’s all you need to know about why being memorable transcends resumes, value propositions, and even perfection to build and sustain powerful relationships:

Personally and professionally, you feel compelled to maintain your all-knowing, all-achieving, all conquering image.

And you’re not a person. You’re a resume.

Stop trying to seem perfect. Accept your faults. Make mistakes. Hang yourself out there. Try and fail.

Then be gracious when you fail.

Remember, you are a person. Whether for personal or professional reasons, you build relationships with people to make change. And people like stories. So make sure that yours are interesting ones.

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Thanks to the good people at zacwhyte.com (Zac is the best people) for sharing the photos – send Zac some encouragement as he embarks on the Road to Sparta.