It's a Great Big World Out There. Go be Part of it.

I would have been all awkward, on my phone, looking around to see if Shannon was coming yet. I would have felt uncomfortable in my own skin.

So, Shannon my wife and I were in Key West this past July, with her sister Kelley and her husband Andy. They were out shopping while I was getting Primer ready to test out. I arrived at a beachside bar ahead of them, Primer app in hand. Read my briefing and sat at the bar.

There was some fun facts, local info, like how the sargassum was bad this time of year. The history of Key West. And a briefing about Kelley, Shannon, and Andy. Reminding me to ask Andy about his post-retirement plans, see if Kelley found any cool shops, suggesting some cool bars for Shannon and me to check out.

But Primer also motivated me to build out my circles, add facts about people, be curious about them. Be present.

I was very relaxed and had a nice conversation with Sebastian, the bartender. He was from Colombia. I asked him where he was from, how long he had been here, where else he had worked before this, what he thought of Key West, had he traveled around in the US any, things like that. Genuinely curious about his journey here.

He came first and his brother joined him not long after. He planned to stay another 2 years then move back. He had been to NYC and Vegas. He loved his country, and his home city of Medellín. Beamed with pride. He was learning Italian, and Ukrainian. He had a Ukrainian girlfriend. He used Duolingo! It was great.

As soon as Shannon arrived, she was like "what the fuck is with you, have you been drinking?" She knew I was DIFFERENT. And she had no idea I was working with Primer in my back pocket.

That's the thing: Primer turned me from inward facing into outward facing. I wasn't thinking about myself. I was focused on the young, brave man in front of me who traveled to another country. Primer didn't change me, it just pointed me in a better direction.