You know that plastic bit at the end of a shoelace? Without that aglet, yes, it has a name, without it, your shoelace would fray. Over time, your shoelaces would turn to strands of broken threads. 

Aren’t you glad it’s there?

There are so many small things that work for you in the world. In fact, if you looked at all of the small things that are working for you, you’d see that even the struggles you’re having aren’t so big. The struggles make you stronger. They force you to think differently.

Now if you choose to turn the struggles into something that you’re worrying about, you’ve moved from struggling to suffering. Believe it or not, that is a choice. Suffering is a choice. Worrying is a choice. How you process the world around you is a choice!

In my blog from a couple of weeks ago, I talked about mindset. It really does affect everything. 

EVERYTHING! 

If you can think about how happy you...

WE have to do something! 

Yes, yes we do.

Don’t we?

Mindset was the name of the game last week! Be sure to check out last week’s Wednesdays With Wayne if you missed it.

Accountability is where we’re heading today. You see, when we agree that something should be done, that we should do something, you’ve set yourself up for failure.

The big “a-ha” moments come to the leaders I work with when I explain this concept. It’s why organizations fail to be profitable, why meetings tend to be repetitively deathly horrible, and why family chores end up sounding like nagging.

“We should do something” is a cry for help.

So, own it.

OWN IT. 

Let’s say you saw a dam that had a little crack in it. “Oh, someone should fix that!”

Let’s say you saw a wall in your house that got a small crack in it from the house settling over time. “Oh, we should patch...

Here’s something you won’t hear very often, if ever. And you’ll be surprised to hear it from me.

Here it is – A Positive Mental Attitude won’t get you very far.

I know… I didn’t ever think I’d be typing those words for you to read.

There’s a myth out there that you might have encountered. It goes, “You can get whatever you want with a Positive Mental Attitude.” It’s sort of like everything that’s surrounding what you’ve heard about The Secret or the Law of Attraction. 

The reason it has become a myth is because it gets misinterpreted all the time. 

I hear it from people who are looking to level up: “I try to be positive.” 

The truth is, that’s hard during the best of times. And we’re not in the best of times. 

Wait, what? Did my Wednesdays With Wayne just become a downer?

Nope! I still wake up perky and smiling, even prior to...

I’m going to admit that I judge whiners. I don’t get triggered by much, and yet when people complain about their lives and don’t act other than to say that they know that they should do something, I get frustrated. It’s like watching a toddler, telling them what to do, and while they hold eye contact with you, they seemingly deliberately drop the cup that they’re holding onto.

What the…!

The problem is perspective. And the answer is also perspective.

So many people, and you could be one of them, sabotage their growth and potential because they say that they’re not ready. 

• I can’t apply for that job because I’m not ready.
• I can’t do coaching with you because I’m not ready.
• I haven’t started that thing that I really want to do/have/become because… I’m not ready.

That’s such bull….

Think about anything… ANYthing you’ve taken on. 

What...

Who owns you?

We’re torn by the distractions of so many things that are important. There’s where overwhelm comes from. There are so many things, big and small, that need our attention. Feeling like you own your day comes from having a handle on your “to do” items.

You own them, and not the other way around. 

A lug wrench, a hair dryer, or a bread knife all show up at your door…  They’re each important in a certain circumstance and, if you’re packing for a picnic, only the bread knife is making it into your picnic basket. 

It’s not that what doesn’t go into the basket isn’t important. It’s that you’re exercising discernment for what’s important now.

The same way you could acknowledge that any tool has a place, you can look at the projects that you’re pursuing or the ones that you’ve put on your to-do list for someday. Somehow those...

Hey…! Where are you going? 

No, really. Where are you going? You know that to get there, you want to pack a few things that will help you along the way. 

Essentials to pack:

1. Mindset
2. New Values

Yep… we’re working on mindset all along the way. Check out my signature mastermind retreat and my previous blog posts.

Values…? NEW Values?

Yep, because the old saying really IS true – what got you here won’t get you there. 

Think about who you were and what you really valued 20 years ago. Does the today you hold the same values as the yesterday you? Some of the core values of integrity, love, family, etc. maybe. But the other values of what you wanted back then… those would only slow you down today.

So think about who you’re becoming and where you’re heading. Actually, that’s backwards. Think about where you’re going.

Then PLAN who you’re becoming.

Plan who...

What does it mean to really feel alive?

Are you filling your days with the things you love and live for? Feeling drawn to exploration is a prize, so are you ready to get out and explore or, do you have that nagging feeling like you “should” be doing something else… something more productive maybe?

It’s not uncommon, especially now as we focus on creating our own, personal, new normal.

There’s a conflict: 

What could I be doing? What should I be doing? 

People ask me how to balance their lives and the question of work-life balance still comes up. 

Work – Life Balance is a MYTH.

WE HAVE LIFE.

What we choose to put into that is our choice, every single day!

You can choose to fill your life with work. Or, you could choose to fill your life with not-work, whether that’s family, play, distraction, or philanthropy, you choose.

You will get more out of life when you choose something that lights you up,...

I’m a huge fan of the absurd. It’s all around us and it’s exhausting entertainment. 

I don’t watch people get triggered for the sake of entertainment, I simply keep my distance when the triggers happen. 

The truth about triggers, that sense of needing to say something or feeling angry because some injustice has been done, the truth is that a person’s core identity has been threatened. If you’re triggered by something, look for the Truth. Is it about you, or is it about the other person?

People in sales, in customer service, and in any social/public position face challenges and potentially having what they’re offering being taken out of context. There are those that live to be offended. That’s absurd entertainment in itself.

Think about what triggers you – being called a name? Being cheated? Being told what to do? Keep going, the list could be endless. What really triggers you?

...

Doing your BEST. Being your BEST. Living your BEST life….

Those are such great concepts. So often I hear, “yeah, living the dream.” It’s a sad state of resolve that life isn’t that great and the person saying it is in a job they don’t love (or even like) and that they’re not really able to enjoy life at all.

Personally, I awaken perky. Annoyingly perky. I open my eyes and have gratitude, not for what the day holds, but rather for what I get to bring to the day.  Yes, I have obligations. Those are still “get to” items. Who put those things on my calendar? I did.

I’m responsible for what I put into my day.

I’m responsible for what I give to my day and for how I show up.

And because of that responsibility, I know that I need to be at my best. I’m at my best for me, for my family, and for the work I do. I’m at my best because by leveling up, I lift others around me. By lifting...

It’s not unusual to feel overwhelmed, especially now. 

We’ve all been through a lot. 

We pack things into each day, we push to do that bit more, and it feels like we’re never done. There’s always that bit more to do.

There will always be that bit more to do. We carry with us the weight of that which we have left undone, and it feels like we’re carrying mountains with us. 

We’re carrying the mountains.

We forgot this one truth:

The mountains were meant to be climbed, not carried.

Look at your day, what you’ve put into it, what you planned to do, what you actually did. Your calendar… is it aligned with your activities? 

Another truth:

Your activities highlight your priorities.

If you’re putting things into your day that aren’t helping you to climb the mountain, if you’re not actually doing the things that you declared were important to you, then of course...