When I think of what makes people interesting, British comedian John Cleese comes to mind. It takes a great deal of talent to be a consistently funny writer for your whole career and he has done just that. I...
When I think of what makes people interesting, British comedian John Cleese comes to mind. It takes a great deal of talent to be a consistently funny writer for your whole career and he has done just that.
I was a Monty Python fan and watched the TV show every week when it was on – back in the days. I even quoted Python skits in high school. I watched their movies and Fawlty Towers, which was another comedy series by Cleese. Then, I also started listening to his podcasts.
When Cleese is just talking to the camera, he can be quite humble. In one video podcast, he talked about how fortunate he was to meet so many intelligent and interesting people through the Monty Python series.
Then he said, “. . . which wouldn’t have happened if I’d been an accountant.”
Them be fightin’ words!
Before I bristle with righteous indignation at the callous insult levelled at my profession as an accountant, let me state that I realize that no slight to accountants was intended. With all his royalty earnings, I expect that Cleese could truthfully say, “Some of my best friends are accountants.”
But it does raise the question of what makes an accountant (or anybody for that matter) interesting.
Here’s my take. (Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments below.) When I look back to all the people I have found interesting, the thing they mostly had in common was that they knew what they wanted and had the courage to go for it.
Actually, you don’t have to start an international comedy troupe to be interesting. You could even be just an accountant. All you need to do is reach down deep inside you and find a cause that resonates; or in business and life coaching lingo, “your why”.
Finding something or someone worth dedicating your life to makes you want to dig deep and find the personal resources you never knew you had. It forces you to look outside yourself and look to others for assistance. When you have a purpose in life, most other things just seem to fall into place and when they don’t, you will find previously untapped reserves of energy to take on the challenges.
Then, I guarantee that people will find you interesting … and by then you won’t care. You’ll be too busy following your dream. Like the accountant in the Monty Python skit who wanted to be a lion tamer . . . hey, wait a second. Maybe Cleese does have a thing about accountants after all!
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