Take an Interest in the
Outside World
You may be wondering why this Rule is here and not in with
the ones in the section about the world. Well, this one is about
you. Taking an interest in the outside world is about developing
you, rather than for the world’s benefit. I’m not suggesting
you have to watch the news constantly, but by reading, listening,
and talking, we keep abreast of what is happening.
Successful Rules Players don’t get bogged down by the minutiae
of their own lives; they don’t live in a tiny bubble. Make it
your mission to know what’s going on in the world—in current
events, music, fashion, science, movies, food, transport,
even TV. Successful Rules Players are able to hold a conversation
on pretty much everything and anything because they are
interested in what’s going on. You don’t necessarily have to
own the latest everything, but you should have a rough idea of
what is changing, what’s new, and what’s happening, both in
your community and on the other side of the world.
And the benefits? Well, for starters it makes you more interesting
as a person, and it keeps you young. I met an elderly
woman in the post office the other day who was going on
about PIN numbers, “PIN numbers, PIN numbers—what do I
want with PIN numbers at my age?” The short answer is that
of course she needs them; she can’t get her pension money
without them. But it’s more than that. It is terribly easy to sink
into the, “I’ve never done this before, so I don’t need to do it
now” mentality. If we do this, we stand a good chance of really
missing out.
The happiest, most well-balanced, most successful people in
life are those who are part of something. Part of the world, not
cut off from it. And the most interesting, stimulating people to be around are those who take a great interest in what’s happening
around them. Listening to the radio the other
morning, the head of the American prison service was being
interviewed and was talking about penal reform, a subject I
have no interest in personally. (I don’t know anyone inside.)
You could argue that I didn’t need to know about the
American prison service any more than the old woman needed
to know about PIN numbers, but I felt more stimulated and
alive and interested for it. And that can’t be bad.
RULE 8
TAKING AN INTEREST IN
THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS
ABOUT DEVELOPING YOU,
RATHER THAN FOR THE
WORLD’S BENEFIT.