Being Surprised Instead of Bracing for Impact – Scott Bloom

Scott Bloom set out to satirize the world of self-help. The result was The Atomic Morning Miracle, a book that plays with the promises of personal transformation while leaving room for something more complicated: the strange ways a life can unfold when we keep doing the work but loosen our grip on how everything is supposed to turn out.

Scott is a comedian, author, and keynote speaker. In this conversation, he joins Greg and Marc to talk about the book’s unlikely path, the comedy of the self-help industry, and the difference between trying to force a result and staying open to what might happen next.

The conversation gets more personal when Scott talks about the anxiety and depression he experienced during the pandemic. The discussion doesn’t pretend that a positive attitude makes difficult circumstances disappear. It asks what we can understand about ourselves after we’ve been through them—and what empathy looks like when we stop assuming we know what someone else’s experience feels like.

Greg and Marc bring their own ideas and experiences into the conversation. They test Scott’s thinking about trust, ask what happens when life doesn’t seem to be working, and explore how humor can create a little room around difficult truths without making those truths any less real.

As Scott puts it, it’s more fun to move through life being surprised than to spend it bracing for impact. That isn’t a promise that everything will work out. It’s an invitation to leave some room for the possibility that life may still have something to show us.

Along the way, the three get into synchronicity, creative practice, Scott’s fictional quantum guide, the absurdity of waking up early to read a book about waking up early, and the useful difference between a life that is going badly and a life that is simply challenging right now.

The Atomic Morning Miracle is Scott’s satirical answer to the self-help books he once found infuriating. This conversation explores what happens when the joke opens a door to a more serious discussion.

About Scott Bloom

Scott Bloom is a comedian, author, and keynote speaker. Find his work and appearances through the links below.

Scott’s links

Main site: scottbloomconnects.com

YouTube: Scott Bloom Connects

LinkedIn: Scott Bloom on LinkedIn

eSpeakers: Scott Bloom on eSpeakers

Instagram: Scott Bloom Connects on Instagram

Facebook: Scott Bloom Connects on Facebook

About Moped Outlaws

Moped Outlaws is a conversation between Greg and Marc about people, ideas, and the turns a life can take. The hosts are participants in the ride—not detached observers—and the conversation is allowed to go where honest curiosity takes it.

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