“Now I’m aware that I have a very limited perspective on the world, but at least I’m taking action on expanding it.” ~ Rob Lawless

Rob Lawless has set himself the goal of having one-on-one, hour-long conversations with ten thousand people. He has four conversations a day, which he carefully documents on Instagram.

I was #6041.

If ever there were a curiosity enterprise, this is it.

What’s surprised me is how much I don’t know about life. And how much none of us know about life. Of course we get wisdom as we get older, [but] it’s just fascinating to me: I thought I had a good representation of the world and then the more I met people, the more I realized I didn’t know.

Listen to Choose to be Curious #217: Ten Thousand Friends, with Rob Lawless

Rob opens the door, as he puts it, for no particular reason — and then he listens. He has learned a few things along the way. He tries to make himself more relaxed, and that helps the other person ease into the conversation, too. There’s a line, he says, that people are comfortable talking about, and “sometimes, even if you’re really curious about that, you have to show restraint.”

Rob has a really wonderful analogy for the impact of his conversations on himself and on the community around him. I appreciated it and I think you will, too. But you’ll have to listen…

You, too, can be one of Rob’s Ten Thousand Friends. Reach him at @robs10kfriends on Instagram. Tell him Lynn sent you!

I learned about Rob’s efforts through Ken Woodward, whom I follow on social media. Ken walked every Washington DC street (and alley, for a total of 2,085 miles) to dismantle racism. Ken invited me to be on his newly launched podcast “Curated Questions”.

I mentioned Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s wonderful line about “taking responsibility for the energy you bring into the room.” Check out my conversations with her here: This Is Your Brain on Curiosity and Resilient and Brave.

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Heartland Flyer” by The Balloonist, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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