Curiosity is important at any age.

"There is something interesting about every person you interact with." -Chris Taylor

• 
  
• What is a squiggly career and why is it a good thing?
  
• If it ain't broke don't fix it: should you follow this old adage?
  
• What is the Stockdale Paradox and why is it so important to success?
  
• How to be selfish in a conversation, in a good way.
  
• The one question to ask to cut through all the BS and get you to your end result.
  
• And so much more...
  

(video)

Have you stopped to consider why you make the choices you make in life? Are they simply a matter of programming and societal influence, or do they come from your personal values? Here to explore those topics (and more) is Chris Taylor.

Chris is the founder of Actionable Books and the author of Beyond the Picket Fence. He joins us to talk about the three types of choices, including deliberate choice, and the true ROI of curiosity (if there is any). We delve into a few other subjects too on episode 385 of The Art of Charm.

(Direct Download)

Over 6.5 years ago Chris founded Actionable Books, a web site with free summaries of books in the business, personal development and growth industries. Every month they publish 20 summaries of books and give that information away to the public, at no cost.

Chris explains how he's created this as a business model and made a healthy living, as well as the role curiosity plays in success. He believes there is an ROI on curiosity and it should be explored while being coupled with drive and focus. When we explore unrelated areas of life, we often find breakthroughs and new insights we would never have found otherwise.

But if we're always curious how do we balance that with enjoying where we're at in life and still maintain our drive to move forward? This is a fascinating question Chris sheds light on. There are three types of choices in life: unconscious, conscious and deliberate.

The first, unconscious choice, is the type of choice we make that we don't even realize is a choice. We sign up for college because that's just what we do after finishing high school. Or we work 80 hours at our job because that's the way it's done. We don't think or explore another way of doing something, it's doesn't even occur to us that it is a choice that can be done in another way.

The second is conscious choice. This is the type of choice where we do something because it's what is expected of us by society. We choose to work more hours because we want a certain type of car or we need to buy a house in a certain neighborhood; it's what we're expected to do so we make choices to make it happen.

The third and final type of choice is deliberate choice. This is the topic of his book Beyond the Picket Fence and it's the type of choice we make based on our values and what's important to us in our lives. With these choices we are in tune with our values and how we want to live, how we want to spend our days. These choices are where we can balance enjoyment, contentedness with ambition and drive. With the deliberate choice we connect with what matters to us and chose from that space.

Chris and I also talk about how to lean in and make a conversation great, how to find that special something in every person we talk to and how to ask for what you want in such a way that you get what you want, they get what they want AND they get something they didn't even know they wanted.

Special thanks to Chris for making the deliberate choice to be here and thanks to you as well! We'll see you next time on The Art of Charm.

If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Charm Podcast, let Chris know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter:

Click here to thank Chris on Twitter!

Actionable Books' web site
Actionable Workshops
Beyond the Picket Fence, Chris' first book
The 21st Century Workplace Podcast, Chris' podcast
Chris Taylor on Twitter
The Art of Charm bootcamps

 

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