Some months back, I wrote an article here that’s been my most read and shared. It obviously was scratching an itch.
The title?
“How to Make More Friends as a Man: One Big Tip.” (Click here to tweet this.)
A a couple weeks ago, I was talking to a couple of British friends who wanted to start The Roundtable in the U.K. But one of them made a comment that got me thinking:
“I think you’re particularly good at this, Adam, at coming up with these questions and keeping the discussion moving.”
I hadn’t identified these as particular skills, precisely because it comes naturally to me. So I took 20 minutes to brainstorm some questions for these friends. I thought I’d share them here.
And as it turns out, today is a great day to do it. Some of my friends back in Madison are meeting for The Roundtable tonight. I wish I was there. Nonetheless, perhaps these questions will serve some of the other attempts of The Roundtable.
- “Failure shows what you really believe.” When have you failed? What have you learned?
- “You can’t choose where you were born, but you can choose where you live.” Are you living where you want to live? Where else would you love to live?
- Is your life simple? Do you want it to be?
- Is rest important to you? How do you rest?
- How do you look at food, choose what and how much to eat? Is your body how you want it to be?
- “I have no idea who I am or where I belong.” —Random guy to Jonathan Lamb in a brief conversation. Who are you? Where do you belong?
- What adventure do you want to have?
- How do you determine if something is right or wrong?
- What do you want? (This could be time-bound for the sake of the conversation.)
- Do you want to retire? When? How? Where?
- How do you want the world (or our city) to be better? What are you doing about it?
- What makes a good dad?
- What’s the most important thing anyone has ever said to you?
- What’s a favorite quote of yours?
- What good habits do you have?
- If there were a military draft, what would your response be?
- What do you love doing? How much do you do it? Why don’t you do it more?
- What’s the most intense emotion you’ve experienced in the past 24 hours/week?
- If your salary was cut in half and you couldn’t switch jobs, what would you do? (Such an exercise can bring real freedom around money.)
- What in your life feels out of control right now? How will you get it under control? Does it need to be controlled?
- Do you smile? (I often don’t, even when I’m happy.)
- What does your significant other need from you that you’re struggling to provide?
- What enrages you more/faster than anything else?
- How is your life better than it was 5 or 10 years ago?
- What’s one of the best meals you’ve ever eaten?
- What’s one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever been? Are you going to go back?
- What’s on your bucket list? What will you do from your bucket list before the next gathering of The Roundtable?
- How do you think and feel about getting older?
- What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
- What would it take in order for the next year of your life to be your best year so far?
If you do try The Roundtable in your neighborhood, let me know how it goes!