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| The GDA with a Northern Nigerian Couple @ their Nikkhai |
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 benefits. I am not suggesting you have to watch the news
constantly, but by reading, listening and talking, we keep abreast of what is
happening.
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 benefits. I am not suggesting you have to watch the news
constantly, but by reading, listening and talking, we keep abreast of what is
happening.
Successful Rules player don’t get bogged down by the minutiate 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 well 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.
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| The GDA with Abuja Business Woman Princess Honey Bee |
And the
benefits, well, for starters, it makes you more interesting as a person and it
also 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 have
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 have never done this before, I don’t need
to do it now’, mentality. If we do this, we stand a good chance of really
missing out.
benefits, well, for starters, it makes you more interesting as a person and it
also 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 have
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 have never done this before, 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, over there). 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.
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, over there). 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.
(Excerpts from the Book: The Rules
of Life by Richard Templar. Read
Rule 9 in our next post on Asabeafrika)
of Life by Richard Templar. Read
Rule 9 in our next post on Asabeafrika)