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Ladders and Walls

by Walt | Jan 8, 2026 | Success | 0 Comments

The New Year is here. A fresh start. A blank page.

For many, this is the time for setting goals and planning.

And yes, of course, planning is important. Because, with a clear plan, you increase your odds of achieving your goals significantly.

But I have some important questions for you: Are the goals you’re chasing after the ones you really want? Are they the ones that make your heart sing?

In our success-driven hustle culture, we’re all surrounded by the call for more. Bigger. Better. Faster. 10xing everything.

And before you know it, you’ve lost your way.

“People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall,” Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton once said.

It’s a haunting image. A life full of effort and achievement. Only to realize it wasn’t your wall. It was someone else’s goal; someone else’s dream.

The world loves success stories.

But real success starts with this question: How do I want my life to be?

Not just your work life. Or your financial life. But your life.

This question shifts everything. It invites reflection. Alignment. Purpose.

So my invitation to you as we move into the New Year is this: Pause. Take a breath. Ask yourself:

What truly matters to me?
Who do I want to be?
How do I want my days to feel?

This isn’t about rejecting ambition. It’s about clarity.

Goals are only worth pursuing if they lead to a life that feels whole.

Maybe this year isn’t about doing more.

Maybe it’s about doing what matters.

Take the time to choose your wall. Lean your ladder against something that feels solid. Something that aligns with your heart and soul.

Because a meaningful life isn’t about how high you climb.

It’s about where you’re climbing to.

This year, start with the right question. Build from there.

And may you find joy, peace, and purpose in every step.

May it be so.

What Do You Really Want?

by Walt | Jan 1, 2026 | Success | 0 Comments

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

How are you today?

I hope you’ve woken up rested, refreshed and satisfied as your holiday celebrations draw to a close.

But if, instead, you’re feeling dazed and depleted and maybe a little bit empty, you are not alone.

The holidays are a huge source of stress; a seemingly never-ending torrent of buying and wrapping and eating and drinking and binging and networking and connecting and partying; with concomitant unceasing demands and obligations and expectations.

Likely you’ve spent the last several weeks (or months!) hustling around fulfilling everyone else’s wants. Tending to the needs of others.

Maybe you think you’re done.

Except that you’re not.

It’s today. Another day. And while you can, perhaps, distract yourself for a little while longer, “ringing in” this New Year, the day is coming soon when you will face the expanse – or the abyss – of the year ahead.

So today’s question is not about all those other folks you’ve been attending to. It’s about you.

What do you want?

What do you really want?

Not what you think you should want; or what you think you’re expected to want. Not what your father wanted; or what your mother thought would be right. Not what your partner or boyfriend or girlfriend or neighbors want. Not what your clients want. Not what some well-intentioned teacher or guidance counselor wanted for you.

Rather, what is it you want ? For yourself? Right here? Right now?

The folks who read this blog are, by their very nature, givers. The challenge for givers is receiving. The challenge for givers is getting quiet enough to listen to the still small voice that speaks to us of our heart’s desires. The challenge for givers is giving to ourselves what it is we really, really want.

Because, we often presume that what we want is bad. Or selfish. Or self-centered.

Or more frequently, we forget what we wanted. We become numb to our heart’s desire.

So on the threshold of a new year, I have a challenge for you: Set aside some time just for you; and spend some time asking yourself (and perhaps journaling about) these questions:

If I could make my life any way I wanted it, what would my ‘perfect’ day look like? My ‘perfect’ week? What time would I get up? What would I wear? Who would I spend my time with? What work would I do? What projects would I pursue? What travels would I take? What would my ‘perfect’ life look like?
If this were my very last year on earth, what would I do? Would I stay in the same relationship; would I keep the same job; would I hang out with the same people; would I go the same places; would I do things the way I’m doing them right now?
If money were no object, if I won the $30 million dollar Powerball, what would I do? After I bought all the toys I wanted, where would I go; who would I go with; where would I spend my time; what experiences would I want to create; what legacy would I want to leave?

Because here’s what’s true: Those whispers that are in your heart, those dreams that you have, those projects you want to create, those places you want to go, the empires you want to build, the impact you want to make… they’re not random musings; they’re not accidents. They are the call of your Spirit, the Divine within you, showing you – telling you – the way.

So think. Write. Draw. Free flow. Tear down the boundaries. No limitations. Let your imagination run wild.

And then get busy. Because, that’s what you want. That’s what you really want.

That’s your heart’s desire.

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If this is a challenge for you, then you are not alone. It’s easy to lose touch with what it is we really want. I can help you find that place again. Email me: [email protected]

Be The Light

by Walt | Dec 25, 2025 | Success | 0 Comments

For as long as human beings have been telling stories, we have been watching the light.

We have marked its return. We have celebrated it. We have trusted that even after the longest night, something new begins.

That is why the winter solstice has mattered for millennia.

At the darkest point of the year, when daylight feels scarce and the cold seeps in, ancient cultures gathered to notice a simple but profound truth. The light returns. Slowly. Imperceptibly at first. But reliably.

Early Christianity inherited that wisdom.

The New Testament never gives us a date for Jesus’ birth, and the earliest followers did not celebrate Christmas at all. It was only centuries later that December 25th emerged as the Feast of the Nativity. Part of that choice was practical, a way to reinterpret popular midwinter festivals already centered on light, renewal, and hope. Part of it was symbolic. If new life entered the world at the darkest time, then darkness does not get the final word.

That symbolism has endured because it speaks to something deeply human.

This year, the darkness feels real.

Political rancor. Economic anxiety. War in Ukraine and the Middle East. Nuclear saber-rattling that feels unthinkable and yet very present.

Add to that the private darkness people carry quietly. Burnout. Grief. Fear about the future. The sense that the world is louder, harsher, and less kind than it used to be.

It is easy to get lost there.

But darkness has never been the whole story.

Light does not arrive as a flood. It arrives as a flicker. A candle. A decision. A choice to see what is still good and to act accordingly.

Light is clarity when confusion reigns. It is steadiness when others are reactive. It is kindness without an agenda.

And this is where the ancient story becomes personal.

Finding the light is not a passive act. It is a practice. It means choosing where you place your attention. It means resisting the pull to doom-scroll, catastrophize, or harden your heart. It means noticing competence, generosity, and courage where they still show up every day.

But it goes further.

The invitation is not just to look for the light. It is to be it.

Be the colleague who steadies a tense room. Be the leader who tells the truth without cruelty. Be the professional who does not add to the noise.

Light multiplies when it is shared. One calm presence changes a conversation. One thoughtful decision shapes a culture. One act of decency ripples outward in ways you may never see.

These holidays of Light remind us that change does not need to be dramatic to be real. The days lengthen by seconds at first. No fireworks. No announcement. Just a quiet turning.

So this Christmas, whether or not the world feels ready, the light is still returning.

You can notice it. You can protect it. And you can offer it.

That is how darkness has always been met.

The Turning Point

by Walt | Dec 18, 2025 | Success | 0 Comments

“Change today?” the beggar asked.

There was a touch of anger. Some sarcasm. A bit of sadness too.

My son glanced up at me sideways. “So now you want to be a father?” I’d been endeavoring to share some hard-earned, hard-fought, hard-edged wisdom. The conversation had been difficult. The topic unpopular. The message unwelcome.

A long silence.

“Now you want to be a father?” he asked again. (Indeed, I hadn’t always been the best dad I could be.)

“Yes, now,” I said. “I get to change and grow too, you know.”

That’s the beautiful part: we do.

We’re not caught. We don’t have to stay the same, be the same, do the same things, go the same places, have the same job, get stuck in the same relationships, be the same weight, have the same level of fitness, make the same amount of money, have the same outlook on our life. We can mix it up, turn it upside down, play it sideways. All out. Or not at all.

We get to choose. We get to change.

It is easy to feel stuck, to get stuck. All of us have been there.

We get overwhelmed by the circumstances of our lives: by the financial pressures we feel, by the demands of our jobs, by the expectations of our clients and customers, by our responsibilities to our children and significant others and loved ones.

We travel down long rabbit holes into careers that we are good at but that are unfulfilling, that fail to nurture and satisfy us at the deepest levels. We find ourselves in relationships that once fed us but now, perhaps only through the ebb of time, slowly poison. We wake up overweight and out of shape with cholesterol that’s too high and estrogen that’s too low and blood pressure that’s elevated and a sex drive that’s not.

It feels too complex to untangle the tangled web; too difficult to overcome the status quo. The maze is too complicated and the cheese is nowhere to be found.

Can we get out? How do we get out?

Ann describes her father’s later years: disillusioned, he moved away; caught in cycles of hopelessness and isolation, he self-medicated with alcohol; and died alone. He couldn’t believe that his world could be different.

The worlds we create can always be different.

We get to choose. We get to change.

Sometimes we need encouragement. Sometimes we need coaching or professional help. Sometimes we need patience. Sometimes we need a kick in the butt. But the door is always open. It is our birthright to continually transform our lives, ourselves.

We in the Northern climes celebrate the winter solstice this week. The shortest day and the longest night. The earth will turn on its axis, and begin its journey back toward the sun.

Light will triumph over darkness once again.

The seasons change. And so do we.

Years ago, renowned saxophonist Paul Winter composed a haunting instrumental piece as a hallmark of his magnificent winter solstice celebration: The Turning Point Suite.

Each moment in our lives is an opportunity, a turning point. Sweet.

Change today? Yes, today.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
— Isaiah 43:19

Step Out of the Fray

by Walt | Dec 11, 2025 | Success | 0 Comments

December has a way of speeding up the world.

The calendar fills. The inbox swells. The invitations pile up.

Shopping. Decorating. Family gatherings. Office parties. Neighborhood drop ins. The days blur into one another until it feels like you are running a race you never agreed to enter.

And then January 2nd arrives. You look around. You feel wrung out and worn down before the year even begins.

There’s a better way. You can step out of the fray. You can claim time and space for yourself even when the world seems intent on sweeping you along. Especially then.

We live in a culture that rewards busyness. The fuller your calendar, the more valuable you appear. The more holiday events you attend, the more you seem to be part of the picture.

It becomes easy to believe you should just keep saying yes. Keep pushing. Keep showing up. Even if your body and mind are begging for a break.

But this season does not have to be a test of endurance. You’re allowed to slow the pace; you’re allowed to rest; you get to choose what you say yes to; and you get to choose what you decline.

No is a complete sentence. And it’s one of the most powerful tools you have for protecting your wellbeing.

This is especially true if you are an introvert. Nearly half of the population is. I’m one myself. A highly compensating introvert. You might not guess it if you only see me on a stage or in front of a room. But the truth is simple. When life gets loud, I need quiet. I need to pull back. I need space to breathe and reset. Without it, everything else suffers.

Maybe you’re the same way; maybe you feel the world speeding up and your energy draining down; maybe you know you need a pause but worry what others will think.

Here is the truth. You can’t take care of others until you take care of yourself. You can’t be present to anyone if you are running on fumes.

Stepping back is not selfish. It’s responsible; it’s wise; it’s essential. Because the holidays are not meant to empty you. They’re meant to enrich you. They’re meant to remind you of what matters.

And what matters is not how many events you attend, or how perfectly decorated the house is, or how many cookies you baked. What matters is that you show up whole. Grounded. Rested. Alive to the moment.

So take the time you need. Take the space you need. Turn down invitations that drain you. Carve out pockets of stillness where you can. Read a book. Bundle up and walk in the cold air. Sit in front of the fire and breathe.

Let this season be calmer than the world wants it to be. Let it be slower and gentler. Let it support you, not consume you. And when January 2nd arrives, you will not be depleted. You’ll be ready and renewed. You’ll be able to begin the New Year with strength rather than exhaustion.

Step out of the fray. Claim your time. Protect your energy. Honor your wellbeing. Honor your life; your work; and your joy. Everything that matters will be better for it.

Need help? Let’s talk. Email me: [email protected]