One New Activity A Month

In a recent Vegas bootcamp, I catch one of my guys stacking the question train to a ridiculous amount.  I counted nine questions in a row.  The fifth question was almost a repeat of the 2nd question.  In attempts to quick fix this for the next set, I asked him some of the places he has traveled and some of the things he has done to prime his mind with some statements he can make immediately after opening.

Well, working 70 hours in a lab for the last few years doing clinical research pretty much sums up 95% of his life.  I think everyone knows this deep down but... in order to sound interesting, you kind of have to do interesting things.  This goes beyond doing some stupid magic tricks.

In this post, I want to cover:

1. How to find interesting things.
2. Why knowing just a little bit about a topic goes a long ways.
3. How things you experience can help you transition to multiple topics and conversational threads.

How to find interesting things.
I am going to keep this simple.  Go to Groupon.com.  You will find tons of interesting things that you have never tried.  (and no I don't make money off this)

• Yoga, dance, golf
• Skydiving
• Hot air balloon
• Race car driving
• Wine tasting
• Snorkeling, kayaking
• Crossfit, weightlifting
• Shows, concerts, performances

I strive to do one new thing every month.  Most of these activities range from $50 to $100.  You are looking at saving $15-$25 per week; easily doable.  Try activities that vastly differ from each other.  When it comes to activities, you never know what you like until you actually try it.  I pick activities based on a few criteria which include: how much of a discount, how interesting of a conversation piece, and does it challenge your fears?  If you're afraid of heights, go bungee jumping.  Nothing cures beta than challenging your fears.

Why knowing just a little bit about a topic goes a long ways.

There is nothing wrong with asking questions.  The problem is most people ask too many surface level questions and they never dive deep enough to allow the other person to truly invest and talk about their passions.  Its hard to dive into a topic if you know absolutely jack shit about that topic.

• Its hard to talk about Diablo 3 if the other dude has never played an RPG and doesn't know WTF a mana pool is.
• Its hard to talk about Starcraft if the other person doesn't know what micromanagement is.
• Its hard to talk about Photography if the other person doesn't know what glass, ISO, aperture, and shutter speeds are.
• Its hard to talk about Bodybuilding if the other person doesn't know what whey protein is.

Just like most people, I don't want to spend a lot of time answering surface level questions just to bring the other person to speed on the topic and thus, as a result, most people just answer "I like it" or "its cool".  Basically the topic never turns into fruition and it dies, leading YOU to likely ask another dumb question.

The beauty of dabbling into a lot of different topics is that you have enough baseline knowledge to make enough smart questions and enough statements to get the other person to open up about whatever topic interests them.  Also, the learning curve on anything is the steepest when starting out, giving you the most bang for your time.  

How things you experience can help you transition to multiple topics and conversational threads.

I will give you an example.  This week, I did a Groupon deal for a hot air balloon ride.  I experienced enough that I can take this story and transition it to a lot of different other topics.  I will give you some examples.

• Different atmosphere levels and wind speeds; ideal gas law and flotation -> science if shes a nerdy girl
• History of hot air balloons; it got mistaken for a dragon; why they drink champagne with hot air balloons -> European history
• Exciting and thrill seeking activity -> scary moments and close encounters
• Floating over La Jolla / Del Mar -> affluent neighborhoods in San Diego with swimming pools and tennis courts.
• Saw Janet Jackson's house from above -> didn't see her nude sunbathing, missed out on TMZ moment
• Found it on Groupon -> interesting activities the girl has done

As you can see, with a simple activity, I just opened myself to a TON of potential conversational seeds.  I like to keep my posts simple and action oriented.  Go ahead and do one new activity this month that you have never done before.  Here are some pictures of the hot air balloon ride :)