An original poem about how to be captivating
“Interesting is, to interested, a brother;
If you want to be interesting, show interest in another.”
— Eric Knaus, Interesting Love, 2024
The sweetest sound you’ll ever hear, is the sound of your own name. We each care deeply one way or another about our self. And when someone shows genuine interest in you – in your identity, your choices, your challenges, who you are – it’s intriguing. This is the pathway to rapport.
And rapport is the foundation of love.
And that’s not necessarily romantic love. It could be the love you have for your best friend, that way you always get through the tough spots and come out closer on the other side. It could be love to a family member. And it certainly includes romantic love too!
Every single great and love-filled relationship you enjoy was built upon rapport. And it started with interest.
You can captivate others by being genuinely interested in what’s going on in their life.
Four seasons in our home
We’ve lived in our home nearly one year, which means we’ve experienced all four seasons. My ridiculously talented wife had the good sense to take photos of the house from the same angle during all four seasons.
Enjoy!
Authoritative parenting, not authoritarian
The metric for success with authoritative parenting is probably not what you might think it is. When it comes to parenting styles there’s an important distinction to be made between authoritative and authoritarian styles.
The metric of success with authoritarian parenting is gratification through control over others. Think: force, and rule by fear.
The metric of success with authoritative parenting is empowering children and preparing them for life through understanding of clear lines, rules and boundaries.
My wife and I enjoy the authoritative approach, even though it does not come naturally. We ourselves are learning… And we enjoy this journey of parenting immensely! Spending time with our kiddos is a ton of fun and it seems to produce all the benefits that mindfulness and meditation would: that break from the routine mental chaos.
It’s a hands-on approach to parenting for sure. There are hard lines that are not to be crossed and we communicate those, sometimes ad nauseam. Some boundaries are learned faster than others; sometimes boundaries are tested and pushed. I actually don’t mind the boundary testing if it’s exploratory, and not malicious or deceptive. Honesty is a must in our house.
But when it clicks and our son gets it, it’s a beautify thing. And he becomes a more mature tiny little man, who we love very much.
Bonus: The Presidential Podcasts
I don’t get into politics in this email. You could probably venture a guess about me and maybe you’d be right. Or maybe not. But the point is I wouldn’t want this email to be overtly a political thing anyway. Politics have invaded our personal lives way too much lately and I enjoy things outside that scope.
But due to the elections being next week, I do want to direct your attention to some media that you may not have seen or heard, especially if you normally consume cable TV news. Unfortunately we live at a time when mainstream news is, well, not enough of the whole story. My hope by listening to these was to have a better idea of the inner workings of each candidate – how is their character, what’s important to them, how might they do as the leader of my country?
So without further ado, here are two podcast interviews, one for each of the candidates. You can make up your own mind:
- Ranked #1 podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience host Joe Rogan interviews Donald Trump for a packed 3 hours on YouTube. (Also on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms as audio-only.)
- Ranked #16 podcast, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper interviews Kamala Harris for 45 minutes on Spotify. (Only available on Spotify. The YouTube version is unfortunately abbreviated to just 7 minutes.)
Make sure you vote.
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