The Best Way To Be Interesting Is...

You know the old adage: "The best way to be interesting is to be interested." It's great advice, but as a lifelong nerd who's lived through the confusing parts of why anybody holds this out as advice, I want to put a better story around it.

Being interested doesn't automatically make you interesting – ask any starving artist, or (better idea) go back and read why I call this website a personal archive. But here's what I've figured out: being interested is like getting your hands on a special kind of work permit. It lets you start digging into territory that actually matters.

The key is understanding where to direct that curiosity. You're not looking for shallow ground. You're searching for depth – ideas and subjects with real substance, with layers that keep unfolding the deeper you go. And here's the beautiful thing about depth: you're never alone down there. Maybe nobody in your immediate circle cares, but somebody out there cares. And when you find real depth? Some bodies care.

As you explore, you start collecting what I like to call dots. Don’t call them gold nuggets please (there are just too many nose-picking metaphors this opens up the door to, be kind to your fellow nerds*). To borrow from Steve Jobs. because sometimes Silicon Valley wisdom actually lands, you have to collect these dots going forward because you'll only connect them looking backward. Each discovery becomes part of a pattern waiting to be understood.

But here's where most people stop – sitting alone with their collection of dots, wondering why nobody finds them as fascinating as they should. “I was interested, why am I still not interesting?!” Don't cut the process short. The magic happens when you start sharing these patterns with others.

This sucks to say out loud, but it’s true: about 80% of what you share will float out into the ether, ignored or instantly forgotten. Another chunk will get you those puzzled looks or nervous laughs. But sometimes – and this is where it gets good – someone else catches your pattern and starts playing it back. They pick up what you're putting down, and suddenly you're not just interested, you're interesting.

So here's the full interesting excavation checklist:

1. Get interested (you supply your own permit for this)

2. Hunt for depth (look where others have left their marks)

3. Collect and connect dots (find the dots, see the patterns)

4. Share your discoveries (put them into play)

5. Watch what resonates (notice what others carry forward too)

It’s not (just) about being more interesting. It’s not (just) about personal growth. We’re more connected when we find our place within broader conversations.

The real magic isn't in having the most exotic interests or the deepest knowledge – it's in discovering how your fascinations connect to the wider human story. When one of your patterns sticks, when somebody else picks it up and carries it forward, that's when you know you've moved beyond just being interested. You've found something worth sharing.

ps. You know I had to share it, Biz knew all about the value of this. He basically performed this song to make his buddy and already famous rapper, Big Daddy Kane, laugh. He didn’t care if the song made him look ridiculous or if it was for an audience of one (or two, Marley Marl was in on it, and he did the beat), Biz just wanted to make something interesting for his most interested friends who would inevitably tell others, “do you believe this crazy s*** Biz made?!” Be-yoooo-tee-ful.