You’ve changed, and it’s not just that cute Halloween costume you’re wearing. Nope, you’ve changed. There’s a question, though…

Do you like where you’re heading? Even though some of your predilections might be similar now to your past, what you like – essentially, what you value – has changed over time. And so the question of whether you like where you're heading demands something of you: being deliberate.

Since the seeds we plant now become the blooms/trees/fruit of tomorrow, you can consciously choose what your tomorrow looks like. Do you live in fear and doubt? What would happen if you lived your life feeling just that bit more certain? Are you someone who views the world (your world) from a place of lack? How might your life be different if you chose to simply live in a space of gratitude for the small stuff (it is Thanks-giving month, after all).

You’ve changed. And you’re supposed to!

...

Do you LOVE what you do?

I do!  I absolutely love what I do. It’s an obsession to learn, synthesize my reading, give thought to it, and create something that’s uniquely my voice.

How might you share something of yours out in the world, with your family, or your work team?

Passion creates trust.

If it’s genuine, people know it. They tell me that all the time. It’s not some put on enthusiasm. People who work with me, especially recently, are commenting on my authenticity. What’s weird about writing about it is that I have to look objectively at my path. 

Over the past couple of years, I’ve worked really hard to let go of a lot of “supposed to” stuff. You’d think that an adult at my age (yes, I just had another birthday last week) might have it all together. And I think it’s finally safe to share that you can have it all together and still be in a state of growth so that you actually never...

The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson

Consider the last time you learned something new.

You really can’t unlearn it. You can learn new things that modify what you know, you can build on top of it, but you can’t erase having learned it.

Now, consider what it would feel like to have absolute confidence.

Think about the last time you started down a path and got derailed by doubt. 

Those are two very different feelings.

You can’t un-feel confidence. You can, however, be plagued by doubt. And I am here to remind you that doubt is your enemy. Doubt is a lie. 

The truth is that doubt, and fear, and all of that stuff that sounds like voices in your head wondering how the heck you’re going to get through… all of that has come from your early experiences that have been modified in adulthood to keep you safe.

Think you can’t make that next call,...

We’ve stepped into the final quarter of the year and we’re at a place of wrap-up or catch-up or perhaps simple overwhelm. It’s time to retake control of your calendar, your projects, your finances, and your life! 

We all have competing priorities. Sometimes, though, we end up putting the real priorities aside to deal with the crisis of the moment. When you’re in a spin, attending to what has just grabbed your attention moment by moment, day by day, you need to step back. 

You need a shift in your perspective, what I call the Magic of Parallax Perspective. 

From my last five blog posts, you might have gotten that M-A-G-I-C is a framework I use for leadership and personal development. 

M = Mindset

A = Accountability

G = Gratitude

I = Inspiration

C = Clarity

For more on each of those, listen into my podcast One Sharp Sword and/or go back to my blogs to read through them. 

The parallax perspective is a...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Most people celebrate January 1st as the New Year.

For me, I use my birthday to celebrate. 

And yes, today is my birthday!

I do some deep reflection. I look at where I’ve been this past year. And OH, what a year!

I look back at my accomplishments, the struggles, and the wins. I look at the course-correction I made for myself, as well. Success isn’t a straight path. It’s a continuous climb with multiple points of celebration. And today, I celebrate the past and the future!

I also plan for the future.

Planning is different from wishing. I have a few wishes. I don’t hang on to those so much. In fact, it’s my DESIRES that I pay attention to. What is my heart telling me? What path must I pay attention to and not ignore??

This past year, I’ve fulfilled some serious dreams and started on some new ones.

A couple of years ago, I had a strong desire to be on Big Stages. I want to… need to share my...

Just own it. 

Really. You don’t need permission anymore. You have influential power. 

You may not think so, or maybe it doesn’t seem so all the time. And yet, if you’re human and in society, there’s a good chance people are noticing you. And because they are, you have the opportunity to make a difference in their lives.

You don’t even need to directly interact with them. Just be the model of the person you hope to be! 

Are you smiling?

Practice doing that more.

Are you engaging and deliberately, actively, positively® lifting them in some way?

Practice doing that more.

Do you make eye contact?

Practice doing that more!

When I talk about being deliberately, positively, actively® uplifting, I’m saying that each of those adjectives matters.

During your day, are you deliberate?

Are you actively engaging?

And when you engage, are you positive? My mom taught me to leave a place...

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...