Warren Bluhm's Blog, page 43

A New Dream All Its Own

“Smile … Though there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by.”

“You got to have a dream — If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?”

What do you dream, friend?

I’ve been having a dream of folks talking to one another like friends, and being interested in what we have in common and fascinated by the uniqueness in every living soul, and boosting what it is that makes us different but the same, and living their life to the fullest the way they choose —

because w...

In gratitude to mentors

I have built this blog, and my writing in general, around three action verbs: encourage, enlighten, entertain. If I have done at least one of those three things in a piece, mission accomplished. Today I’d like to share some of what has encouraged, enlightened and entertained me this year.

The INFJ Writer, Firefly Magic, and The INFJ Revolution by Lauren Sapala — These books inspired me last winter to the point where I took the unprecedented step of purchasing an online class, and her “I...

You can do it

You can do it. That much is certain.

I am one of the blessed ones whose mom told me constantly, “I believe you are capable of doing anything you set your mind to.” That encouragement helped make me what I am today and kept me going when times were tough.

“I can do this,” you tell yourself, “because I can do anything I set my mind to.”

Here’s the secret: You really can do it. It’s helpful to have a mom to remind you, but it’s a simple fact of life: Whatever “it” is, you can do it.

Tha...

Footsteps

I was listening to the soundtrack of “Springsteen on Broadway” on Saturday when the rock star/singer-songwriter got to talking about his dad.

“When I was a young man and looking for a voice to meld with mine, to sing my songs and to tell my stories, well, I chose my father’s voice, because there was something sacred in it to me,” Springsteen said. “When I went looking for something to wear, I put on a factory worker’s clothes, because they were my dad’s clothes, and all we know about ma...

In the Attic: Christmas Hymns & Carols

In 1946 Robert Shaw and his RCA Victor Chorale released a Christmas album. In those days an album was really an album, like a photo album with pages that you mounted photos on: You could only fit three or four minutes of sound on one side of a 78 rpm record, so they packaged a bound volume of three to six heavy envelopes with records inside.

By the time I came along, the long-playing record had changed all that, and Christmas Hymns and Carols had been converted to a 33.3 rpm LP. That was ...

I wrestle my Self-Editing Inner Critic to the carpet

“A-HA!!!”

Oh, it’s you, Self-Editing Inner Critic. Mind if I call you SEIC?

“Call me anything you like, loser.”

Oh, there ya go again. Why am I a loser NOW?

“Have you noticed what time it is?”

Lemme see … The computer says 10:18 a.m., so it must be 10:18.

“Yes, and have you looked at your blog yet this morning?”

As a matter of fact, I have. I’m a little disappointed that no one “Liked” yesterday’s post, I thought it was cute, but …

“And what was the key word you just us...

Moose, Gnome and Cow meet Squirrel

One day the Moose, the Gnome and the Cow went for a walk. Little white flurries flew, and the waves roared in the bay at the bottom of the hill.

“It’s not a fit night out for man nor beast,” said the Gnome.

“It’s not nighttime, but I agree,” said the Moose.

“Moo,” said the Cow.

“The weather forecast didn’t say anything about snow flurries,” said the Gnome.

“Isn’t that just like them,” said the Moose.

“Mooo,” said the Cow.

They walked across the field and past a grove o...

What we become

You have heard it said, “We become what we think about.” The great inspirational speaker Earl Nightingale called it The Greatest Secret, it’s the basis of the book The Secret, and writer James Allen wrote a brilliant little book more than 100 years ago along those lines: As A Man Thinketh.

I want to drag one sentence out of Seth Godin’s new book, The Practice, and suggest a corrolary.

“We become what we do.”

One follows the other.

Let’s get to play

“Let’s get to work” is a common way of saying, “OK, kids, stop playing now, there’s serious business to be done, no more fun.”

But when we’re having fun, we love what we’re doing so much more than when it’s drudgery.

“Let’s get to play” sounds much more inviting. For the musician or the athlete, to play is to work. So it is for the rest of us, when we’re in the right place.

Turns out the key really is to just do it

This is the 101st day of my 92-day challenge. Back at the end of July, to celebrate my finally getting an independent host for WarrenBluhm.com, I committed to writing a blog post every day in August, September, and October, or 92 consecutive days. I don’t believe I’ve ever managed that.

Turns out it’s as easy as deciding to do it. It’s like working for a radio station that puts out nine newscasts a day, or for a daily newspaper: You put out nine newscasts every day, or one newspaper. You ...