The bride’s father gave a toast the theme of which was Love and Hope.  He’s a seasoned speaker, someone I admire very much, and it’s a delight that his treasured daughter married my son just a few days ago.

His message is one that we could all use more of:

Love

And

Hope

David is a man who lives the #StartsWithOne movement.  He connects with people to lift them, deliberately, actively, positively.  And he lives the message of Love and Hope, spreading both wherever he can. He understands that greatness isn’t about calling attention to yourself, but rather, in lifting those around you.  

We’ve all seen people who struggle to be noticed.  “I did a good thing.” And “My contribution was important.”  Unfortunately, the people who live that way only push others away, not understanding that being great comes in the form of true service to others.

And again, my new buddy-in-law exudes the...

You were taught all kinds of things to make it easier to “get along” in this world.  By the time you hit adolescence, you had adopted certain moral codes. Early on, we each attempt positive interactions and find that there are certain social structures in place to maintain a sense of order.  As we get older, we have opportunities to branch out. At some point, you might have decided to explore. Chances are, however, that unless you dropped into a new culture, there would not be any dramatic change and you pretty much stuck to what you were taught early on.  

Early theories about the way we make ethical decisions boil down to two decision-tree paths: “care” or “justice.”

It turns out that choosing “right” isn’t always simple.  What’s right to you might not be so right to someone else.  For example, I think we could all agree that stealing is wrong.  Would it be okay to steal a medicine or...

Transitions – 

Letting go of an old identity isn’t exactly that!  

You are not letting go of it all. 

You are actually accommodating and assimilating something new.  

Points to remember:  

You’re not letting go of the old identity.  

You’re letting go of the box that held the old identity.  

That way more can fit within you.

Got it?  Now get ready to shift and hold more!

Let’s DO this.  2020 is waiting for you to show up!!!

Keep Making Your Magic!

~ Dr P ~

P.S. HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!  

I’m pretty excited about this.  For the past couple of years, people have pushed me to do a podcast and I reluctantly agreed, pushing them off.  

FINALLY,  I’m so excited to announce that One Sharp Sword – cutting through to what matters most will be coming out in early February.  

And I need a favor!  Stay tuned for a special...

An artist is someone who practices and produces art.

A dentist is someone who practices and produces great health around dentition.  

A strategist is someone who explores, practices, and produces strategy.

And to become an Excellencist means that you are practicing and becoming an expert in the art of excellence – 

The Art of Excellence

I came up with the term (and the website name) of Excellencist!

How cool is that?  

You choose to declare and call yourself an Excellencist!

There’s a difference between being perfect and excellent.  

On a recent call with one of my exclusive High Performance clients, he spoke with me about how upset he was that he’s been working so hard on getting things right and it doesn’t seem to be panning out the exact way he wanted.  He lamented that he didn’t feel excellent.

My coaching questions for him focused on two key areas:

1. Is he working on being...

In surrounding myself with exceptionally high performers, I’m continually surprised by those reporting feeling stuck.  Well, I’m not surprised that people feel stuck. We ALL feel stuck sometimes. What surprises me is the language that some people use when they claim to be on target for a breakthrough.

In the last few days, I’ve heard people talking about “removing roadblocks.”

They proudly exclaim that there are no more blocks to their success.  

I’d like to celebrate with them except that your actions take you to where your thoughts lead.  So, if I told you to think about anything unique but do not think of a unicorn… Well, you’d have to get an image of a unicorn before you thought about something not that.  

“I’ve got no roadblocks!”

That is, unfortunately, not a celebration-worthy statement.

“I’ve created a clear path!”  That’s different. Roadblocks and...

I would be among the first to cheer you on!  And this week’s Wednesdays With Wayne might surprise you.  I still want to cheer you on.  Of course I do. You’ve got a lot to do this year and 2020 promises to be big and bright.

AND…

I’m going to say something that is counter to my mentors.

It’s the opposite of so much that’s out there.

I’m going to advise you to SLOW IT DOWN.  

Weird, huh?  How can you even consider slowing down when there’s so much to do?  

There’s so much you want to do.  

There’s so much happening that you almost feel behind already.

You’re only in the second week of the New Year.  How can you be feeling like you’re falling behind already?  

High performers tend to see all that they could do and then they want to get it all done all at once.  When it doesn’t all come together, there’s a sense of feeling...

Is it just me or does anyone else feel slightly sad that people look at the past year and bid it good riddance!  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say that they’re happy to have that year done and behind them.

As you read this, I’ll poke you a little bit here.  I mean, again, my aim is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

Are you one of those who is so glad to see the door close on this last year so that you can start this one anew?  

I’ll admit that the turning of this calendar page is a little different for me personally this time.  There’s a lot I’m looking forward to in this coming year and decade because there’s a lot I’m looking forward to creating and producing for myself and others.

I’m not happy that the year has come to a close.  I’m not sad about it either.  

It’s a thing.  I got out of the year what I put into it. ...

It’s dark.  Your mind whirrs.  Your stomach growls.  You wander to the kitchen and find your way to the refrigerator.

You open the door and suddenly…

This is where this tale gets cool…  YOU ARE LIKE YOUR REFRIGERATOR. Want to know how?

Of course you do.

You find your way to the refrigerator, you pull open the door, and all of the darkness in the room rushes inside the ‘fridge.  

No, no… that’s not what happens at all.

You open your refrigerator and one light, one tiny bulb, illuminates the whole kitchen.  The light rushes out and everything seems almost too bright.

This week’s Wednesdays With Wayne falls during Hanukkah and on Christmas.  Use this as a reminder as you gather with family and friends from now into the New Year:  YOU carry the light. One tiny light. You shine it brightly and it floods over everything around it.  You do not let the darkness rush in. Your light-filled energy...

Is giving selfish?

The answer isn’t all that straight-forward.  In fact, it’s kind of complicated. And, as with many situations, often it comes down to: It depends.

Numerous studies over the past several decades (yes, decades) reference “the reciprocal benefits of giving.”  The bottom line from all of the research boils down to this: We feel good when we give.  

Now comes the nuance – 

There are some people who give for the sake of being noticed for giving.  They want their giving to be recognized, acknowledged, and praised. It’s then that the good feelings are generated.

Others give, knowing that in so doing, they have helped the other person in some way.  The feeling good is an internal acknowledgment.  

We often don’t hear directly from those who give.   The point here is that when your values point you to giving back or lifting someone else, you just do that.

Values can be learned and...

Next week, I’ll be in Dallas shooting a half-hour segment on CBS.  

It’s great to get a two-minute spot.  It’s amazing if they (the producers) gives you a three-minute spot.  If you push to three and a half or four minutes, they’re squeezing someone else out for you.  

I get a half-hour to share my message!  

On CBS!  

And I’m super-excited!!!

I’ll be discussing how to make, and keep, New Year’s resolutions.  

We’re in mid-December and it’s not too early to be thinking about what this new decade will hold.  Some people say things like, “let’s see what the New Year brings.” Nope. It’s what YOU bring to the New Year.  That means that what the New Decade holds for you is what you bring to it.  

You’ve seen people with empty wishes backed by limited action.  You might work with them, live with them, or notice them in the...