Learn (and know) as much about the world as possible.

“A true heart, a strong mind, and a great deal of courage and I think a man can get through the world.” - Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States

A common thread among the people I admire most in history is that they were all curious. John Adams and Theodore Roosevelt carried a book with them wherever they went, and George Washington credited being granted access to a neighbor's library as an adolescent to be a singularly pivotal moment in his development. (In Washington’s era there were no public libraries, and books were much more expensive and hard to come by. In the days of the 13 colonies you had to get most books shipped over from England which took literally months, and there was no guarantee that the ship would even get to port, let alone the book to your doorstep.)

Yet curiosity isn’t just about improving yourself, it’s also about enjoying yourself. Although I certainly have a list of books that I want to read, I deviate from that list more often than not. One book leads to another book that I hadn’t before considered, so I go and pick that one up. I read about stuff that I find interesting rather than creating a strict regimen of stuff I “need to” learn, and this keeps me excited and engaged. 

There’s so much out there to know, and I believe life is more fun when you’re interested in the world and how it works. Curiosity is about paying attention, and I think it’s more enjoyable (and meaningful) to live a life of paying attention than rushing through and ignoring all that you pass by. There certainly is wisdom in the phrase “stop and smell the roses.”

Curiosity is a journey that never ends, which is a beautiful thing, because I’ll never run out of things to discover. I figure really almost everything is interesting, but first you have to decide to be interested in it. There’s always more roses, if you pause to find them.