Some people are naturally optimistic (me!!!) and some seem to wait for something bad to happen after something good happens, almost as a way of proving themselves right.

The truth about life is that there are some good things and some not so good things that happen to everyone. And with that, there are some simple truths about optimism worth reminding yourself about.

You choose how you look at any situation. Even the bad ones. You give meaning to each and every situation.

Is your food cold? Oh, well… there goes the whole day!

Or, it’s amazing how many different ways there are to get your food to the temperature you really want.

Did you find a dime in the parking lot? Well, you wished for more money and here it is! What, not enough? It’s “just” a dime?  Yep. Right on both counts.

Someone close has passed. How is that a good thing? The memories your hold dearly are good. The value that person brought to the world...

How being resolute moved from meaning “morally lax” in the 1400s to becoming “determined” or decided as absolute and final in the 1500s is kind of a mystery. Resolve comes from the Latin, “to untie.” 

Weird word origin, right?

I’m fascinated by that stuff. And I’m curious. Do people still make New Year’s resolutions? I don’t. I create goals and strategic plans, instead. And that happens long before the New Year.

While I see social media abuzz with “this year, I’ll…” I’m not certain those are resolutions at all.  

This is my year to __________.

Awesome! Do it.

Make it happen.

Or… 

Sit back on the couch with some red licorice like substance and cheezy chips and wish it were true.

The thing about resolutions that people make is that very, very few people who make them are truly resolute (in the 1500s sense of the...

Concession, giving in, tolerating something that no longer serves you – these have no place for you anymore.

As we come to the close of this year, look at what you’ve tolerated in your life. Is it a squeaky door hinge, a pile of papers you’d get to “someday,” or a relationship that you knew needed a little more attention than you’ve been giving it?

We concede a little and train our subconscious mind that we allow that.

This is practiced and becomes habit.

Habits are borne of continuous behavior that’s rehearsed. When we behave in a way that we no longer hear that squeaky hinge, see the pile of clutter, or acknowledge that a partner (at home or at work) might need a little more attention, we train for tolerating the simply adequate.

My mission is to inspire greatness tempered by benevolence.

Greatness and excellence can only be achieved if we engage in an inventory of what we’ve allowed. 

...

Think about the successes you’ve had in the past. You got there by keeping a vision of your outcome in mind. 

Think about the times you were disappointed by some outcome. If you’re honest with yourself, you had a cloudy vision, it was a vacant wish, or you somehow “knew” it wasn’t going to happen anyway. In fact, your vision was focused on a clear outcome of NOT getting what you said you wanted.

This is tough stuff to reconcile.

If you’re in sales, what outcome do you have in mind EVERY SINGLE DAY?

If you’re in a relationship, what outcome do you have in mind, every single day?

No matter what you have your sights on, be deliberate and conscious about the outcome you want.

It’s just that simple.

Get clear.

Name it.

And lean into the outcome, doing a little work to clear the way to that goal every single day.

I heard that there’s some holiday coming up soon. Is that true?

All I know is that my wife chose to buy a blow-up snowman and enhance the décor of our front yard. Charming…  

Beyond the holiday that you celebrate (or that you don’t) at this time of year, you will acknowledge that the calendar page is going to turn once more.

With the turn of that page comes a lot of hope. New possibilities abound as we let go of the old history we’ve lived through.

And soon, many people will be jotting (mostly mental) notes resembling New Year’s resolutions. The problem with these “resolutions” is that most people aren’t resolute in following through to make them realities.

Wants without plans or deadlines are simply empty wishes.

I wish I could lose 50 pounds.

I wish I could win the lottery.

I wish I had a new car.

I want to lose 50 pounds.

I want to win the lottery.

I want a new car.

People call on me to become their Breakthrough Success Coach. Even when I’m working within an organization, helping the leaders align strategy, we’re still focused on a few key areas. These points will help you focus for the rest of this year and into the New Year (and beyond).

As your Powerful Presence™ Mentor, I’m here to remind you that whether you’re a partner in a relationship or a partner in a large firm, or you’re a solo person just trying to make it through the end of the year or a solo-preneur holding onto hope for your venture, the way you think absolutely affects the way you show up.

How you show up for your family, your friends, your colleagues, your division, your organization, or the community – that’s all reflected in how you show up for YOU.

The reason this particular Wednesdays With Wayne blog is out today is because the winter holidays seem to highlight (perhaps ignite) the thinking that has been...

Hey! There’s a New Year creeping up on us. As much as we’re tempted to just get 2020 behind us, isn’t it amazing at how fast this year really has flown by? It was eight months or so ago when the news was all abuzz about some “Novel Virus.” Not so new to us now, eh?

What we’ve learned is that there’s a lot more to our lives than getting up, going to work, and coming home. Few of us are now “working for the weekend” at all, especially as the days have all run together.  We’re tired of being on video calls while, at the same time, we’re grateful that video calls have brought us together.

And somewhere in the past year we began to reflect on what we valued. We faced challenges we didn’t know we’d face. We were knocked down and we stood back up. We endured losses that were unthinkable last year at this time. And somehow, here we are trying to be normal.

Since “a new normal”...

With just days from Thanksgiving here in the U.S., we need to remember the heart of the message. No, not the fictitious tales we were all taught in elementary school about some feast, but what it means to be truly grateful.

Look around, look at your life.

Has there been hardship?

Has there been tragedy?

Yes, for most of us there has.

And yet, here you are, reading this on a phone, tablet, or computer.

We made it to this point which means we have been resilient.

Your New Year starts now. 

It starts in gratitude.

DO NOT WAIT until January to decide to have a different 2021. You begin that process now. What you do today, and tomorrow, and the next day affects your New Year.

Think about what you were doing in August and September. How did you eat, sleep, move? What did you study? What connections did you make? What intentions did you set and keep consistently?

What you did in August and September is showing up today, right?

So...

My recent TEDx talk focused on how we each not only get a chance to make a difference in others’ lives, but that we really NEED to. You get the opportunity to do so every single day.

It takes conscious thought to engage.

That’s what being deliberate is. When you deliberately seek to connect with another human, just one other, you become conscious of the connection that you make. 

And that’s not a passive practice.  It’s Active!

At the grocery store, people still look down. It’s almost as if to say, “If I look down, you can’t see me. And if you can’t see me, I can’t get COVID cooties on me.” The truth is that now, more than ever, it’s important to connect. 

On your next video conference, instead of staring at the screen, stare into the camera when you speak.  When you’re at the grocery store, look people in the eye. And at home – the people you pass in the...

You’re here. That makes you a leader.

When I write about leaders, it doesn’t matter what title you have, someone is watching you and you have the opportunity to model what excellence looks like.

That starts with your values. Are you clear about what you value? It sounds like an odd question and it’s easy to give the “of course” answer until you stop to think about that. 

What you used to value (think back five or ten years) isn’t the same as what you currently value. And, you can actually choose to value something to live into for the future.

The first C to think about is Clarity.

When I work with leaders across the country (and around the world), one of the first places to start is focusing back on values. Who are you now?

More important, who do you want to become?

Clarity of your values opens the way for your strategic direction. You suddenly have a filter for what’s IN and what’s OUT of your life as you...