Cal Newport and Ben Casnocha recently did a video blog together that touched on how to become an interesting person. http://www.thinkdifferenttv.com/2009/01/test-embed-cal-ben.h... Cal's idea is that we attribute a person as interesting/impressive when we can't figure out how they did some activity, so we just naturally assume that those results are from some kind of magical innate ability that the person has. For example, right now, I don't feel like I really know a lot about what separates a failed startup from a successful startup. So when I hear about a successful entrepreneur, I usually assume they must be an interesting or impressive person, which may or may not be true.

Cal Newport also wrote a pretty decent blog about finding interesting/impressive/innovative activities. http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/10/01/a-simple-method-for-de.... Both links have more to do with college admission/life and entrepeneurship than personal relationships, but I think the idea can be applied to becoming an interesting person.