Take an Interest

Transcript

Im just thinking about taking an interest.

I was just here at this restaurants here in Queretaro. Its called El Fogon Zapoteco like the The Zapotec Oven. Zapotec being an ethnicity and language down in the south in Oaxaca and surrounding areas.

When I paid the bill I said thank you everything was super delicious, this different version or perspective of Mexican food that I’ve never really had before. Wood fired quesadillas with beautiful beans and other things and I look at the bill and it says at the bottom “Gracias a ustedes” and it also says, I couldn’t even, pronounce it but it said something like thank you all. I couldn’t read it because it was in zapoteco.

I said to the waitress “I suppose this language is zacoteco and she said yes and started telling me a little bit about the other staff from Oaxaca. She’s from here in Queretaro.

I was just thinking about that so often that we have those opportunities where we might notice something interesting. If we pay attention we will notice things out of the ordinary or a little bit different and special in our day and we can take an interest in them.

So many times when I was knocking on doors for a living in Melbourne, Syndey and Newcastle and so many times knock on the door and theres someone who is chinese, korean, polish, estonian, sri lankan, wherever they are from.

Sometimes what would happen is they open the door and go sorry, no English. And theyre just trying to get rid of us of course. People always try to get rid of door to door salesmen it’s kind of understandable.

But if you just take an interest and say something in Chinese or Polish. “An-nyŏng-ha-se-yo” or “Nĭ hăo” or “Guten abend”. Speak a little bit of their language and they will think you’re alright and actually listen to you.

You bought a bit of my patience, I am willing to hear you out.

Of course you get to know over the months, you get to know which areas have ethnicities in them and you get to learn a bit about their culture. And of course it gets more and more fascinating because as you learn more you find out more questions to ask.

I can’t remember exactly where I read this, it’s probably in one of those classic self help self development books like How to Win Friends and Influence People. It says something kind of like “You dont think something is interesting, a particular topic a friend has mentioned. Probably the reason you don’t find it interesting is because you haven’t taken an interest in it.”

Once you scratch the surface, google a bit and open up the encyclopedia you suddenly find a whole new world of things that are fascinating.

Just like I said in a previous episode of bringing the magic, I think that’s the word I used, the point is if you want something to be interesting it is you who must bring the interest and of course this yields all kinds of results.

It has intrinsic benefits and extrinsic benefits so of course you will enjoy the greater fascination that comes with taking an interest. People will also appreciate your fascination in something they are passionate about.

And will open so many doors when you just start observing, start paying attention and notice something thats a little different that someone is interested in.

When you take an interest, that opens worlds.