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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio.
Good morning.
This is laura.
Welcome to the before breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to be open to hearing about other people's passions, even if you don't share those passions yourself.
When there is something that other people are really excited about, try to find out why.
You'll get a window into these other people's lives and, even if you don't become an expert, you might have one more interesting thing to talk about.
At a dinner at a conference a few years ago, I found myself sitting near two linguistics experts who were talking about the language Dothraki in the HBO series Game of Thrones.
I hadn't watched a single episode of the show and I'm not particularly into linguistics, but their conversation was captivating.
They were passionate about the way languages were created and how they evolved.
The conversation referenced the quirks of numerous world languages, historic languages and pretend languages.
I didn't become a Game of Thrones fan, but I did learn a lot about how one might create a language and how languages came to be.
I bet you can recall a time you met a fan of a particular sports team or musical artist, or an aficionado of wine or gaudy architecture or an enthusiast for a seemingly random sport or hobby, and you were unexpectedly intrigued by what they had to say.
Or maybe you overheard two experts talking and just had to listen in.
It can be so interesting to hear about another person's passion, even if you don't share it yourself.
While some folks are happy to jump in and talk about their interests right away, maybe even sharing more than you want to know, a lot of folks need a bit more coaxing.
So the next time you pick up on the fact that someone is passionate about something perhaps a bit obscure or at least out of the ordinary, ask a bit more.
Wow, you spend 12 hours a week doing Taekwondo.
What attracts you to it?
Or you've traveled the world to see Wagner's Ring Cycle?
Fascinating.
What made you do that?
Or simply, what's the best part of being a Yankees fan?
There are so many things that some people are passionate about and other people don't care about at all.
People's interests vary, and that is a good thing.
When you encounter a person who is passionate about something you are not, it is honoring and worthwhile to find out why they are so into it.
Plus pretty much anything someone is passionate about will be interesting to hear about from their point of view.
If you have been put next to someone you don't know at a dinner or another event, this is a great way to pass the time.
Let's just say that all the time I was learning about languages, I was not having to think of questions like oh so you once lived in Washington DC too?
Hearing about someone else's passion is way more interesting.
And now, when someone does talk about Game of Thrones which remember, I have not watched, I can at least mention something about it and take part in that conversation.
Did you know this random thing about Dothraki?
Everything is a big deal to someone.
And knowing a little bit about why something is a big deal opens up a world of conversations.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at LauraVanderkam.com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.
For more podcasts from iHeart Media, please visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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And she reflects on the responsibility of inspiring other women.
You.
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Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Las Culturistas, and listen to the full podcast now.
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Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an I Heart podcast.
Guaranteed human.
