The thing is, the most charming and the most popular people always have stories to tell. I was watching this clip between Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler, and for the entire fifty seconds or so, Brad Pitt keeps saying, “This is my favorite Adam Sandler story.” He doesn’t say “your story.” He says “Adam Sandler story” while Adam Sandler is right in front of him. What does that tell you? It tells you that Adam Sandler is known through his stories.
If you think about it, every person we care about, every person actually worth remembering, is remembered through their stories. These stories are passed from person to person. They’re exchanged at parties. People live vicariously through them.
You have to understand that right now, you’re just a person without stories. If your name ever comes up at a party or an event, it’ll be, “Yeah, he’s a great guy,” and that’s it.
But if you want your name to ring in circles, if you want your name to open doors for you, if you want your name to make women bend over for you, you have to attach your name to stories.
For those stories to happen, you have to live life. You have to go out and do things most people won’t do. You talk to waiters. Even when you’re on a detox, if the right kind of event comes up, you should go because that event could create a lot of stories.
Yes, you have to live life in seasons. Some seasons are about creating stories. If you lived a day with no story, you didn’t live. That day didn’t happen. It’s erased from existence.
So live and document your life. When you’re out at an event and something happens, write it down. Something is always happening. You’re experiencing life twenty-four hours a day. Whenever something happens, document the story.
Then one day, when you’re heading to another party, maybe on the way there in your Uber, go through your story Rolodex. You’ll have so much to say, and people will be magnetically drawn to you.
This is the art of charisma.
