I’ve never been to Asia before. This past February, on my flight to Japan, I chose the “Asian meal” instead of the “American pasta dish.” I had pre-decided that I wanted to expose myself to different experiences. And that meant saying YES to things I wasn’t accustomed to – even something as simple as an in-flight meal.

(Remember that what you’re reading can be applied to your business and your personal life. I apply it that way and my growth becomes exponential.)

Saying YES to things you’re not used to is the ONLY way to experience something new and then decide if you want to experience it again. When you do that on repeated occasion, surprise! You’ve become accustomed to something “new.” That is, what was once new is now part of a menu of regular options for you.

I decided that I would say YES to as many new experiences as I could jam in. My goal this trip, my first trip to Asia, was to push past the known into the unknown. 

From the meal selection on the plane (which ...

We know what we know, and we make decisions based on what we know. 

Seldom do we make decisions based on what we can envision.

Isn’t that strange?

We have wants and desires and yet most of us fail to choose a path that is aligned, truly aligned, with those wants and desires. Rather than choosing to live from a place – a mindstate – of having the things we desire, we focus on the things we don’t have, things that stop us from pursuing that desire.

Dream Stopper Language is that of thinking from a place of lack:

• If only…
• When I get…

Truly successful people – and I’ll point out that this kind of thing works in your business and in your personal life – think differently. When I shifted from thinking about the things I didn’t have and stopped giving myself reasons for why something couldn’t happen, my life changed. Dramatically.

Being rational and realistic became phrases, and practices, of the past. I began to explore whose voice it was, whose judgement of ration...

We all have wishes. 

We all have dreams. And yet, the “what if” possibilities that waft like light breezes through your mind don’t stick. They’re fanciful dreams of “someday.”

Whether for your business or your personal fulfillment, daring to dream, to desire, and declare takes a special intention. 

I have dreams. 

I have big dreams, and yes, my dreams are so big that they scare me. 

That’s where intention – and action – come in. Every day I must ask myself whether what’s on my calendar and what I’m doing in the moment is bringing me closer to—or further from—my dreams. 

Your dream demands something more from you.

You could go along to get along. You could live a life of getting by. 

“How’re you doing?”

“Oh, fine. I’m getting by.”

Survival isn’t health. It’s sub-optimal. And you might even say that mere survival can be likened to a disease state. You were meant to thrive. The problem is that while most people ache for something bigger, they choke themse...

You know that “crud” that was circulating for a while. Yeah I, too, was a host to a virus. My assistant, Rachelle, said that she hoped I could get some good rest and wake up feeling like a new person.

I joked with her that I’d choose who I was going to be, as a new person, in the morning. 

And then it struck me. I wasn’t joking. 

We get to choose who we wish to be every moment of every day. When I’m sick, which happens so rarely – I made it through 2024 without an illness – I never say that I caught a cold. I say that my body is hosting a virus right now. I certainly didn’t “catch” it. And I’m not happy that my body is hosting it. I do know that my body is doing whatever it needs to do to right itself. 

My body gives me signals about what to eat and how much (more) sleep I need to allow this thing to work through its process. I just need to pay attention. 

Don’t we all.

Don’t. We. All. 

Okay, back to that Becoming A New Person concept.

It’s this simple. 

You can...

If you choose each of those words and add “what you want” to them, you’ll get some very clear directives for an amazing life!

Decide what you want. Most people don’t do that. They wait for approval. Even in business, most businesses lag because they’re waiting for some sign that what they really want is going to be approved of. Be bold. 

As an individual human, be bold. What is it you want?? What is it that you really, truly desire? Be bold. Want it. Own it. 

Decide what you want!

Explore what you want. What you want comes in so many different varieties. Explore your options and if none exist, make them. Want a car with a water feature? Want a stereo with a sandwich press? Your options for what you want are only limited by you limiting your imagination. Explore! Go to the weirdly impossible.

I led a group in a brainstorm around marketing and had them come up with the oddest ideas for getting their name out there. Hire the blimp. Use skywriting. Employ gorillas for sing...

Choreography stands out as a pretty special art form. It requires feeling and understanding rhythm, anticipating changes, and translating all of that through form and expression in a spatial three-dimensional plane. 

There’s rhythm in everything we engage in or create. There’s rhythm to our day, to our bodies, and to the world. From winter to spring to summer and fall, we enjoy the sense of “season.” 

Today, you awakened, found some form of fuel, and might have had an interaction or two with other people. If you haven’t yet, then you’re gearing up to do so. This is all part of choreographing your day’s success.

You’re good at it.

You’ve rehearsed it.

And you’ve performed a version of that choreography every day for a while. Yes, there are times that you switch it up. The rhythm of the day, or maybe the health of your body, demands that.

So where does all of this lead us? The choreography of success demands that you’re both deliberate and fluid. These work hand in hand...

If you ever want to know what someone truly believes, look at the life they’re leading. That includes yourself. Look at the life you lead, where you put your money, how you treat your loved ones, how you spend your 1,440 minutes of each day. 

Your actions reflect your beliefs. 

Someone on a prolonged spending spree might believe that money will come in at the last minute and everything will be fine. They believe in rescue. And at the polar opposite of that is the person who dares not spend anything extra, clips coupons, and scrimps at every move. They believe there’s not enough or won’t be enough, living in a constant mindstate of “lack.”

Neither of these examples show agency, or the true ability to feel truly in control of your life.

Feeling in control does not equate to being controlling. And think about this: being controlling reflects feeling out of control.  

Not long ago (last week, was it?) I wrote about living on the edge of uncertainty. Do you know what makes ...

The good news is that today’s Wednesdays With Wayne is not dipping into the Hallmark Holiday space. That said, I do want to point you towards the idea of loving more.

At home, at work, and in the world – lead with love. Love more.

You probably love your partner if you have one. You love your children if you have them. Those are obvious. (And it’s okay, you may not like them all the time, but you love them.)

Love is pure and allows for imperfections. That is, you might not love everything about the person, animal, or situation you’re in. You can still love. I don’t like cleaning my cat’s litter box. I love my cat (there, I’ve said it). And if you have a dog, you’re not likely to love carrying the little pooper bags around on the walk. But still, you love your dog.

What about your work? Are you connected to the Vision so strongly that you feel pulled by it? No? Let’s work on that. No matter your role, there are people watching how you engage with others and with your task...

You might have experienced a peculiar feeling just before an amazing breakthrough. 

I have, and now I seek to feel it all the time. 

ALL the time. 

One key concept comes up over and over in studying the respected thinkers of the past and the successful leaders of today. My mentors and my mentors’ mentors have referred to this in their own ways, as well. Recently I watched a Netflix special that focused on a highly respected chef. He, too, related this as a foundation of his creative expression.

It’s this: There is a choice, every day – perhaps every moment of every day – and that is to live on the edge of uncertainty.

Why is this so important? 

Because most of us are taught to “be realistic,” to play it safe, and not to venture out too far. We learn how to be, based on the fears of those who guided us early on. Those fears got in. They got in quite subtly. They were seeds that sprouted into stories that have guided us into adulthood.

There’s a video out there shows p...

Over 15 years ago, thoughts about eyewitness testimony shifted. We learned that the eyes, and the people behind the eyes, view the world through the lens of personal bias. 

Sure, we all have biases. Some of us are aware when they poke through, and we seek additional information. Most people are unaware of their personal biases and therefore, filter information to validate what they know.

Our past influences how we experience anything. From the mundane to the exhilarating, we each have our own realities. We could each be a part of the same situation – a concert, political event, or even a simple conversation – and still experience it differently. 

The title of today’s blog is Bending Reality. That requires you to know that your reality is different from mine. And if that’s true, then we can choose to experience our worlds in a new way. 

We can choose how we feel. That’s perhaps controversial. And, if you look at the process of how you allow your emotions to emerge, you’l...