How-to Become The Most Interesting Man in The World

“You’re like the most interesting man in the world.”

I said this to someone when I was a teenager and I suddenly realized that I needed to become more interesting. How many times have you wished that you could be that interesting person?

Most people are boring. We think that we’re unique snowflakes — we’re not! We all deal with the same issues. Studenomics is for those who want financial freedom in their 20s without missing a party. I don’t want you to stay at home 24/7 while the world passes you by just to save a few bucks. I want you to enjoy your life while you figure out this money thing.

Personal finance is rarely JUST about money. Financial freedom is often about seizing opportunities and creating a better life. You’re never going to get ahead if you feel sorry for yourself. You likely want to make friends, find love, and have fun in your 20s. Nobody wants to live in isolation.

“We often assume that the world moves at our leisure. We delay when we should initiate. We jog when we should be running or better yet, sprinting. And then we’re shocked –shocked! —when nothing big ever happens, when opportunities never show up, when new obstacles begin to pile up, or the enemies finally get their act together.” — Ryan Holiday

What does it take to be the most interesting man (or woman) in the world?

Join lots of groups to expand your social circle.

How many groups are you involved with right now? The more groups you join, the more interesting you’ll become.

Why?

• You meet lots of different people.
• You’re around unique characters.
• You grow.
• You learn new things.
• You are able to tell new stories.
• You challenge yourself.
• You step out of your comfort zone (try traveling alone and see how it changes you).
• You invest in yourself by opening up your social circle.
• You know how to interact with various types of people.

Right now I’m involved in numerous groups:

• BJJ class.
• Pro wrestling team.
• Blogging mastermind group and other blogging groups.
• Wild friends. Wild enough to sing karaoke and then tear up the town.
• Characters I meet on my random solo adventures.
• Social circles created from events (FinCon, WDS, and other conferences that I’ve attended).

Join as many groups as you reasonably can within your budget and schedule. Meet new people, have more friends to go out with and learn from. Create more connections. You won’t regret this. Only a loser would suggest that you remain in the same boring social circle.

Learn a new language.

How many languages do you speak? If you answered one, you’re in trouble.

Download Duolingo on your phone and learn a new language, or pay for Rosetta Stone or one of the billion programs out there. Stop holding yourself back by being a boring person who only speaks one language.

Learning a new language opens up some of the following scenarios:

• Excuse to open up conversations with strangers.
• Increased confidence.
• Makes you look smarter.
• Forces you to step out of your comfort zone (that’s a recurring theme around here).

Choose one language and master it – or at least be able to string together a semi-coherent sentence when you travel.

[Note: As I was typing this, I stopped to hit up a Spanish lesson. I want you to do this. Get into the habit of learning.]

Travel frequently.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Milly

There’s never a dull moment when you just get back from a trip and have stories to share. It’s impossible to come back from Argentina or Budapest without a few noteworthy adventures and new-found inspiration for life.

You need to get into the habit of traveling. Life’s too short to waste it loitering on the couch, or waiting around to hear back from the 25 jobs that you applied for.

Trips can range from: working abroad to going down south for a week or getting away on the weekends. Find a way to escape more. Stop getting so hammered at the same club every weekend.

I know it’s easier than it sounds but you need to prioritize (watch your spending/cut back on useless crap) so that you can travel more.

[Must read: The Cancun Technique For Saving Money.]

Master a skill or two.

My cousin plays the accordion and he’s amazing at it. How many people do you know that can play this instrument? Not that many. That’s what makes it so cool. Whenever friends come over, this talent instantly impresses everyone and it doesn’t even matter what song he chooses to play.

My friend Justin is exceptional at playing guitar. He’s so talented that he makes money tutoring. When he has friends over, he busts out the guitar, plays some classic tunes and everyone has a good time.

Have you ever seen anyone bored around a dude rocking it out on the guitar?

What skills do you have? Have you learned any new skills lately? What value do you offer to the party?

I want you to master a new skill. Then go master another one. You’ll never be bored. You won’t have time to feel sorry for yourself or stress about someone not responding to your texts.

“Lacking an external focus, the mind turns inward on itself and creates problems to solve, even if the problems are undefined or unimportant. If you find a focus, an ambitious goal that seems impossible and forces you to grow, these doubts disappear.” – Tim Ferriss

Make friends with everyone.

The whole world’s connected. Don’t think for one second that you can be a liar or a fraud these days. Someone knows someone who knows someone.

The first person I met on my last trip to Puerto Plata was friends with my brother. A guy I started chatting with in Lima, Peru, shared a mutual friend with me back home. Look no further than your list of mutual friends on Facebook when you meet someone new. You’ll be shocked by the amount of mutual friends you may have with someone who was a complete stranger ten minutes ago.

I suggest making friends with everyone so that you’re known as a cool person in many social circles. Don’t burn any bridges, and be fun to be around. Don’t go around taking out your problems on others either.

Connect friends.

I try to be the life of parties that I don’t even attend.

Stop being a freaking weirdo. I only say this because too often guys read self-help books and turn weird. You’re not better than anyone. Don’t go around judging others or giving unsolicited advice.

Try to give, give, and give. Stop taking! Stop asking for stuff. Connect people.

Connect friends that might get along with each other. Ask others about their life. Take a genuine interest in everyone. Stop telling the world about yourself and open your ears up a little. Nobody cares about your relationship issues (they really don’t). Do your best to be the kind of person that people want to be around.

Do your own thing always.

“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.” — Michael Jordan

When you do your own thing, everyone becomes interested in what you’re doing.

I remember one night on a trip to the Dominican Republic, my buddy and I passed out early. It was an early night (way too early). The next day at the pool, everyone asked us about where we were since everyone else attended the same party. It was just amusing to see how interested everyone was in where we went, only because we didn’t go to the same bar.

On another trip, my youngest brother and I were sitting alone at a table in the lobby. He suggested that we join another table. I told him to continue telling jokes and playing music. Within an hour, we had a full table because we were the ones bringing the party. We weren’t looking for anyone else to give us permission to have fun.

Always do your own thing and own it. You’re going to attract the right people into your life and lose the wrong ones.

When you become the most interesting man in the world, you won’t have to worry about chasing love or stressing about job opportunities because your lifestyle will attract more offers than you can handle.

“The mark of a good conversationalist is not that you can talk a lot. The mark is that you can get others to talk a lot. Thus, good schmoozer’s are good listeners, not good talkers.” – Guy Kawasaki