Author: Steve Bloom

How to Meet Local People While Traveling

Steve Bloom 19 Comments

Temple Bar

When I was in Morocco last year, my wife and I met an old Moroccan woman on a train. We quickly became friends and she asked us to come stay with her for a few days.

If we hadn’t been on a tight schedule to get to the Sahara, we would have gone. Some of my greatest travel experiences have happened when I took time to meet the people. In several cases, I’ve started friendships that have remained to this day.

It’s not always easy to meet locals though. There is something about reaching out to someone you don’t know and starting a conversation that can make you feel uncomfortable.

But there are some things you can do to get over this uncomfortableness.

The first thing to do is be someone who is willing to start conversations with strangers.

Believe me, it’s not always easy. I’m naturally an introvert so I know how hard it can be.
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The 4 Choices that Will Profoundly Affect the Outcome of Your Life

Steve Bloom 20 Comments

choices

I had a conversation with a friend a few days ago about choices.  Specifically it was about which choices most impact people’s lives and which ones make the biggest difference.

There’s no mistaking that our lives are the product of our choices.  We have to decide where to work, who to marry, where to live along with a long list of other decisions.  Our choices can take us down many different paths.

My friend argued that it’s the big choices that matter most.  For instance, my choice to move to Houston last year from Minneapolis was a big choice and made a pretty big impact on where I am in life now.

But I take a different view.  I think the choices that impact our lives the most are the small ones we consistently make.  They aren’t the ones we do once; they’re the ones we do on a regular basis.

These everyday choices make a bigger impression on our lives simply because we do them more frequently.  We don’t just do them once; we do them all the time.  That means there is more opportunity for them to shape the outcomes of our lives.
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The Importance of Doing What You Say You Will

Steve Bloom 37 Comments

Exploring the shore (I've been tagged)

A few months ago I wrote a post called 7 Simple Ways to Make a Great Impression.  People seemed to like it and it was well-received, but one thing about it stood out to me.

Those who commented mentioned the first point – do what you say you will – far more than any of the others.

It seems that people consider this a huge problem.

To be honest, I made this the first point for a reason – I consider it a huge problem too.
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Why Don’t More People Do Productive Things In Their Leisure?

Steve Bloom 23 Comments

Watching tv

*Note: This is a guest post by Ludvig Sunström.  I’ll be back in a few days with a new post of my own. – Steve

Why is it that so many people spend their free time watching TV or movies, playing video games, or simply killing time – engaging in activities that build up to absolutely nothing?

I see the majority of my peers wasting away large chunks of their lives in completely unproductive activities.

Why do so many people do this?

I would argue that it has to do with…
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Follow Your Dreams – The Story of a Man Who Went from Delivering Bread to Selling Books

Steve Bloom 26 Comments

dreams and wishes. 62/365

*Note: This is a guest post by Kimanzi Constable.

Are you living or existing?

That’s a tough question to answer.  At this point, I can honestly tell you I’m living.  It wasn’t always this way though.

If you would have talked to me three years ago, you would have been depressed.  It was a cold Wisconsin morning and I was doing what I normally did at midnight, I was delivering bread.  I had been doing this job for twelve years but still couldn’t get used to those hours.

More than that, I wasn’t passionate about the job.  I wanted more – so much more – but with no college degree and no special skills, what could I do?  I had so many doubts, so many fears, so many negative voices telling me I could never chase my dream.  I simply existed.
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What Success Looks Like

Steve Bloom 24 Comments

yellow

What does success look like to you?

If you’re like most people, you’d probably say that it comes after the result of a big achievement or when a big goal is realized.

Let’s look at this scenario as an example:

A writer works on a book for about a year.  He writes, edits and puts everything together until it’s finished.  After everything is completed, it gets published.

At what moment was he successful?
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3 Ways to Hack Your Mind for Powerful Motivation

Steve Bloom 14 Comments

HACKyourMIND

Motivation is a funny thing.  Some days you wake up on top of the world – pumped up and ready to tackle everything you need to do.  Other days, it vanishes and you can’t get yourself to do anything at all.

I usually consider myself a well-motivated person.  But still, I come across days when my motivation dries up.

On those days, I’ve learned a few ways to get myself back on track.
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