Are you living a life worth telling a story about?

I write weekly on tactics and insights on cultivating authentic relationships that matter to your business, career, and life.

Are you living a life worth telling a story about?

One of my favorite books of all time, that’s Donald Miller’s core message in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I think many of us- myself included- could benefit from inducing a minor existential crisis by imagining what would happen if we too had been asked to produce a film about our life.

In today's fast-paced and interconnected world, cultivating deep trusted relationships is more important than ever. But let's be honest—it's not just about the number of contacts in your phone or the number of connections on LinkedIn. The true value lies in the quality of those relationships. One way to ensure your network is not just wide, but also deep and meaningful, is by being interesting.

"How can I be more interesting?" Cue another existential crisis - thanks Zvi.

Miller takes us on his journey of rewriting his life to be more engaging, purposeful, and, you guessed it, interesting. His adventures and reflections provide a powerful lesson for all of us: living an interesting life isn't just for the movies—it's something we can all strive for every day.

Before you put on your indefinite out-of-office and hop on a plane to Bali, here are three prompts for you to consider this morning:

1. Develop 12 open questions Being interesting starts with being curious. Ask questions, seek new experiences, and never stop learning. What are you interested about? Richard Feynman, one of the most important scientists in the past 100 years, had a practice of keeping around 12 open questions in his head. One of mine, at the moment: “How can I understand people whose political views are the complete opposite of mine?”

2. Go beyond “I’m a professional” - share your stories We’re too prone to putting up a facade - we’re a walking LinkedIn profile of work experience and skills. Don't be afraid to share your own stories—both successes and failures. Stories are powerful tools for connection. They make you relatable and memorable. One of the best rituals I’ve found is to send out a quarterly “what’s going on in my life” update. You can start with just sharing what book you read recently (even if, like me, you keep reading the same page every night as you fall asleep).

3. Be authentic Authenticity is magnetic. People are drawn to those who are genuine and sincere. The enemy is comparison thinking pushing us to look and sound like everyone else. When you're true to yourself, your interests, and your passions, you naturally stand out. Authenticity breeds trust, which is the foundation of any strong network. “Life is too short and the internet is too big to not make what you want.”

Being interesting is not about being the loudest or most charismatic person in the room (although there are tools for that). Nor do I think you need to set your current life on fire, though every time I re-read Miller’s book I inevitably torch my to-do list.

It’s instead dropping that vanilla professional BS and showing everyone who you really are - even if it takes you some work to figure that out.

Keep living your interesting life!

-Zvi

If you found this valuable, have you snagged my course on cultivating your network?

I’ve spent the past 12 years helping people like you grow their businesses and careers by cultivating the relationships that matter. I took everything I’ve learned and practiced, and put it in a professionally produced online course.

You can grab it for free right now. ➡