Globalist

Steve has always been focused on the world as a global entity.  Towards that end, he focuses on the following key areas, looking at how to improve his cultural awareness, business prospects, and perhaps to be an ambassador some day:

• Travel - Getting out and seeing the people is critical to better understanding the world.  With over 25 countries under his belt and over 150 to go, Steve looks forward to visiting the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, and the ex-Soviet republics.  
  
  
• Language - Speaking someone's language is the best way to understand their culture and to really integrate with them.  Towards this end, Steve is learning Chinese while still working to improve his Japanese.  Arabic and Spanish will eventually follow to take advantage of up-and-coming portions of the world.
  
  
• Trade & Business - The world is becoming a smaller place, with increasing partnerships across borders, especially with India, China, and eventually the rest of the developing world.  Increased trade is the best way to both lift people out of poverty, lower cost, and improve everyone's standard of living, especially our own.
  
  
• Developing World Issues - As the world gets smaller, developing country issues have greater impact on the world in general, from trade to disease to terrorism.  This is in addition to the moral imperative that we should be helping out those much less fortunate - there is so much to be done in what I call the pillars of developing country prosperity - public health, micro-finance, market access, education, good government, and security.