4: Look for Stories

People are everywhere, we interact with dozens everyday, often to our own chagrin. In fact, at over 7.5 billion worldwide, you might say that people are an abundant resource. Unfortunately, far too often we become entrenched in our own lives. It's not just that we're player 1, it's that we're the only real player and everyone else exists only as additions or distractions to our own journey. Listening to other peoples' stories is the surest way to shake us out of this self-centered world view. Listening to other people tell their stories, experiencing their agency, trying to understand the challenges of their lives are what truly teach us empathy. There may be nothing more fundamentally human than empathy, which is to say, there may be nothing more fundamentally human than the stories that other people tell.