About 10 years ago I went on a full-blown Wayne Dyer binge.

Wayne Dyer was one of the most popular motivational speakers and self-help gurus of the last 50 years.  And I use the word guru in the best possible way. 

He was to personal development what Marlon Brando was to Hollywood.

And his first book Your Erroneous Zones is one of the best-selling books of all time.

It’s all about how to escape negative thinking and create a better version of yourself.  It's where I started.

And I once I finished the book, I dived head first into another of ol’ Wayne’s tomes called Pulling Your Own Strings.

This one covered how to escape victim mode and take control of your life.

I’ll never forget the part about how to use a restaurant toilet if you’re walking in off the street and the waiter or waitress says no.

Very practical stuff, as you might’ve gathered.

(doesn’t get much more practical)

And then I read a third classic of his called You’ll See It When You Believe It.

I still dip in and out of these books.  And I often find nuggets of gold.

Fast forward to my 2021 sabbatical, and I was weighing up whether or not to quit my job.

And as part of another mega self-help binge – this time on Tony Robbins, James Altucher and Naval Ravikant – I came back across Wayne Dyer.

I saw a rave review for his book 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace.

A few clicks later I’d placed the order from Amazon.  And the next day, the book landed on my doormat.

It was a tiny book.  But it was (and still is) one of the most valuable, eye-opening and liberating books I’ve ever read.

And I noticed Wayne’s writing had changed.

No more practical advice around how to use a toilet in a restaurant.

Instead, the writing was more thoughtful.  More conceptual.  You could even say more spiritual.

Fast forward to today and I have a copy of the Tao Te Ching on my bedside table, annotated by Wayne Dyer.  About as spiritual a book as you can get.

(it doesn’t make that much sense to me, but that’s beside the point)

Over 40 years, Wayne’s content transformed.

And it’s the funny thing about writing.  It can’t help but preserve the author’s views at the time they write.

It doesn’t mean Wayne’s early writing was “wrong”.  It just means it’s morphed and grown.

And in my mind, this points to something fundamental.

Which is this:

Whatever your best thinking today, it won’t be your best thinking 3 months, 3 years or 30 years from now.

My emails are the same.  The ideas I’m writing about tomorrow, next month or next year might be completely different to the ideas I’m writing about today.

My opinions might be completely different too.

In fact, I’m sure they will be.

Because our thinking evolves as our lives evolve.  As we learn more, change perspective and grow.

I’d go so far as to say that our best thinking today could be the very thing that holds us back 3 months or 3 years from now.

And that clinging onto an old view, thought or belief is a great way to make bad decisions and miss new opportunities.

Bottom line:

If your thoughts and beliefs aren’t changing, you’re not growing.

And if you’re not growing, you’re stagnating.

What do you think?

Something to keep in mind perhaps.

That's it for today.

 - Tom

p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me