The power of good company

and how it can change everything about everything

I've quoted Chris Rock on this blog before, but that’s not going to stop me from doing it again. He appears in a recent episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and makes a couple really profound quotes in it. The one I've singled out for this post goes…

“a gourmet meal with an asshole is a horrible meal; a hot dog with an interesting person is an amazing meal, it’s all about company”

I love that quote because of how incredibly true it is to me, and because of how confused I get when I see people that don’t really believe that. College didn't teach me as much as I thought it would, but it definitely taught me that happiness in life has a ton to do with who you spend your time with. There are some people that you can have an enjoyable time with no matter where you are or what you’re doing, and there are some people that can totally ruin even the most fun things in life. I wish I knew more of those people in the first part of that sentence.

People covet all kinds of characteristics and opportunities. They strive to be successful, to have a good job and a nice house, to be attractive, to be known, to feel important… but I think the best characteristic you can have is to be one of those people that can make anything an enjoyable and memorable experience. There aren't too many people with that characteristic. It’s definitely not something you can work to get, a lot of it is just natural — it does not take long to identify when you meet one of those people. There really isn’t even a very good way to describe it, you kind of have to experience it to really know what it is. I like to think that I’m at least a little bit like that, but I can’t say for sure. It’s hard to judge yourself.

One thing I’m definitely not attracted to is shy, super reserved people. It seems like most people are terrified to say more than a few words when they’re with a group of people they don’t really know. It’s really admirable when you see someone who can get right involved in conversation that’s more than just small talk with people they just met. That’s the kind of person that I want to spend my time with. There’s only so much you can gain from hanging out with people that you know super well. There are certain experiences and lessons you can only learn from being in somewhat uncomfortable situations. I just have so much respect for someone who I don’t know that makes it feel like I have known them for a long time just by the way they talk to me. There aren’t enough of those people around.

There’s something to be said for having to wait some time to get to know a person. I’m constantly guilty of making an initial judgement on a person and then not caring enough to try and further a relationship with them because I didn’t find them interesting at first. I’m sure there are a bunch of really interesting people that I initially wrote off because they were quiet or shy the first time I experienced them, and that’s something I should work on. But I really do want to the main people in my life to be the kinds of people that aren’t afraid of new and uncomfortable experiences, because those are the people that can really make an impact on you.