Урок №51. How To Be More Interesting (In 10 Stupid-simple Steps)
1. Go exploring.
Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.
2. Share what you discover.
And be generous when you do. Not everybody went exploring with you. Let them live vicariously through your adventures.
3. Do something. Anything.
Dance. Talk. Build. Network. Play. Help. Create. It doesn»t matter what you do, as long as you»re doing it. Sitting around and complaining is not an acceptable form of «something,» in case you were wondering.
4. Embrace your innate weirdness.
No one is normal. Everyone has quirks and insights unique to themselves. Don»t hide these things—they are what make you interesting.
5. Have a cause.
If you don»t give a damn about anything, no one will give a damn about you.
6. Minimize the swagger.
Egos get in the way of ideas. If your arrogance is more obvious than your expertise, you are someone other people avoid.
7. Give it a shot.
Try it out. Play around with a new idea. Do something strange. If you never leave your comfort zone, you won»t grow.
8. Hop off the bandwagon.
If everyone else is doing it, you»re already late to the party. Do your own thing, and others will hop onto the spiffy wagon you built yourself. Besides, it»s more fun to drive than it is to get pulled around.
9. Grow a pair.
Bravery is needed to have contrary opinions and to take unexpected paths. If you»re not courageous, you»re going to be hanging around the water cooler, talking about the guy who actually is.
10. Ignore the scolds.
Boring is safe, and you will be told to behave yourself. The scolds could have, would have, should have. But they didn»t. And they resent you for your adventures.
Vocabulary
echo chamber – эхокамера (помещение для звукозаписи)
to hang out – «ошиваться»/тусоваться (разг.), проводить время
vicariously — опосредованно
innate [ɪ‘neɪt] – врожденный
weirdness [wɪədnes] — странность
quirk [kwɜːk] — причуда
to have a cause — поставить перед собой цель
not to give a damn about sth. – относиться к чему-либо наплевательски
swagger [‘swægə] — чванливость, хвастовство, самодовольство
to get in the way — стоять на пути, мешать
to give it a shot – попробовать
to hop off – спрыгнуть, свалить (разг.)
bandwagon — повозка с оркестром, повальная мода/общая тенденция (перен.)
copycat – подражатель, имитатор
spiffy [‘spɪfɪ] — щеголеватый, нарядный
courageous [kə’reɪʤəs] — смелый, мужественный
scold [skəuld] — брюзга, ворчун
resent smb — возмущаться кем-либо, негодовать по поводу кого-либо
Exercise
Выберите из словарика пять (можно больше, если позволяет время) слов и/или фраз, которые бы вам хотелось запомнить, и составьте с ними предложения.
by Jessica Hagy, artist and writer best known for her award-winning blog, Indexed, contributes to Forbes, source