Importance of being interesting

“I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty, my friends.” The tag line of the Dos Equis’ iconic “most interesting man in the world” is well-known throughout most circles. That man, whose beard alone has experienced more than a lesser man, peddles his charm and impossible machismo along with his charged
cerveza.

He is dashing, fascinating and at the same time, entirely fictional. Although his adventures are made up, Jonathan Goldsmith’s character represents the iconic gentleman: well-spoken, well-rounded and well-read. Since men want to be him and women want to be with him, why is the archetypal modern gentleman so difficult to find?

The blame is found in our societal indoctrination and our own personal lackadaisical nature.

In a social environment that places such an incredible emphasis on the immediate achievement of narrowly defined success, a finite spectrum of knowledge is now all that is required.

Furthermore, this is only compounded by our own laziness. As a whole, mankind has become too comfortable and too complacent to waste time on being self-taught and achieving self-improvement. At this point, why should we spend the time and effort learning anything that does not increase our bottom line?

Regardless of the real reason, in a society perpetually geared toward specialization, renaissance men and women have become a rare and scattered breed. That, my friends, is the tragedy. 

In order to reclaim an era of eclecticism, we simply need to begin increasing our periphery of knowledge. Blaise Pascal once said, “Since we cannot know all there is to know about anything, we ought to know a little about everything.” It is in this spirit that I encourage each and every one of us to expand our horizons.

Participate in life beyond your comfort zone. Interact with the people around you and actually listen to the tales they have to tell. Learn something new, or rebuild an old weakness into a strength. Maybe there is something you’ve always wanted to try or some skill you’ve always wanted to learn.

With all the clubs, classes and concerts available to us through the University, there’s no time like the present to go outside of the box.

Take time to discover the classics of literature. Learn how to dance. Read a good newspaper. Study abroad. Give up a trip to Kilroy’s and go see an opera. Or perhaps you should take time off studying to have a little fun.

Embrace life for the living. You won’t regret it. You will be more engaging and interesting for your efforts. Furthermore, you won’t be alone.

For as the late king of pop would say, “I’m starting with the man in the mirror.”


E-mail: smech@indiana.edu