Why Wow?

Inspiration can come at the most unusual times, like during a tennis lesson. My 82-year-old instructor, Lynda, is inspiring all on her own. She took up the game in her 40s. A former HR director, she starts new sessions with getting-to-know-you exercises. During my last session, we played “two truths and a lie.” One by one, each of us shared two truthful facts about ourselves along with one lie. The others had to guess the lie.

Most people were sharing interesting facts like, “I’ve never been in car accident,” “I’m a cat person,” “I was in the Army,” and “I don’t know how to ride a bike.” When it was my turn, I said, ” I’ve been a contestant on a game show, I’ve written two books, I was on MTV in my bikini.” The reaction was, “Wow.” Only one person guessed the lie (I was never on a game show), but the game paused for a moment, while people asked about my two truths.

On my way home, I wondered, “Do most people go through life without experiences that make others say wow?” And then I realized it had been a while since my last wow.

There are endless reasons for not pursuing wow, and they all fall under the umbrella of life. The irony is that we spend so much time trying to figure out how to accomplish the more mundane things in life, that we overlook the bigger picture and dreams we want to attain.

Maybe the answer is to shift your mindset. People have an endless appetite for productivity and time management methods that will help them do more in less time. I’ve covered these topics for 10 years for Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Inc., and the stories always garner some of the sites’ highest page views.

What if we took those same productivity methods, hacks, and mindsets and applied them to our dreams?

To be clear, this site is not about impressing others. While those “wow” reactions are affirming, this blog is about creating a life of accomplishments and lifestyles that usually never make it out of our dreams and someday aspirations.

My dad once told me, “A successful life is really just a string of great memories, some of which should make you say, “I can’t believe I did that!” It’s doing things that make you say, “Wow, I did it.”

I’m ready to start pursuing new interests, achieving life goals, and creating a life of wow moments.

Authors note: I wrote this blog post in the summer of 2021 and finally got the courage to post it over a year later. Little did I know that my life would suddenly change. The loss of my husband has made me realize that life is short, and my dad’s words hold even more meaning. I welcome you on this journey of self-discovery with me.