Great serving leaders have several values that they live by. Wayne Dyer was a great example of a serving leader because he lived his life by these higher standards. So what can we learn from Wayne Dyer’s life and passions?

How can Wayne Dyer help you become a better serving leader? Here’s what I learned from Wayne Dyer’s life and leadership.

Wayne Dyer loved to color outside the lines. He spent his life helping others become all they could be. He understood that successful people throughout history have not been willing to work in traditional values when the values are wrong for society and the world.

Wayne Dyer helped share a different perspective on many well-known historic figures and events. Wayne understood that many of the world greatest thinkers and leaders where ostracized during their lifetimes by governments and others in power because they shared a different view of the world.

Many of these serving leaders spoke truth to power long before the 20^th century. Many paid with their lives and their futures. He asked us to consider how to apply what we learned from them to today’s complex world. He believed that those to whom much is given, much is expected. He never shied away from the tough questions about his life. Wayne always worked to create a better world for future generations.

Wayne Dyer introduced many old spiritual concepts in a new way.  He looked for ways to help teach timeless truths to a new audience of readers and viewers. He was able to bring many sacred books to audiences who would not be exposed to them without Wayne’s efforts.

Much of the later stages of his life focused on translating this ageless wisdom into our modern culture.  He also wrote books that could be read by anyone who was interested in learning more about earlier cultures and their wisdom teachings. He was a teacher who understood the value of good teaching and would invest significant time translating the complex into the simple.

Wayne Dyer led with passion and curiosity. In every book or program, Wayne’s passion for his topic was infectious. As a master teacher and learner, he understood the importance of telling stories that the audience could relate to.  His laughter and ever present smile as he shared stories made topics come alive for generations of readers who were swept away by his imagination and storytelling.  Readers and viewers felt that they were exploring history with a great guide who was committed to helping them learn and grow.

His curiosity was infectious.  He would set readers up to want to know more about the people that he shared with them. His ability to share the smallest details in his stories allowed viewers to be part of the programs by going through the original books in a library or at home. I can remember several times when associates of mine went out looking for the original source material so they could learn more about the characters in Wayne’s stories.

Wayne Dyer supported what he believed with his time and energy. Wayne’s ability to move others to his point of view created significant opportunities for many teachers and speakers who would follow him onto the public television platform. How do you make self-development available to a wider audience? Wayne’s pioneering efforts provides us a platform that changed adult education for future generations. His early shows were successful in helping PBS provide a wider range of programming for new viewers.

Many of my friends who weren’t interested in self and spiritual development enjoyed learning from Wayne Dyer. His earlier successes allowed him to get many more speakers to be involved in fundraising efforts for PBS.

People sometimes forget how a younger Wayne Dyer built a large community of followers long before social media became available. He did this by travelling extensively coast to coast in his car doing interviews and giving away his time to anyone who might be open to the conversation. He wrote over 40 books in his career, many becoming bestsellers in both book and multimedia formats. His programs have helped motivate a generation of entrepreneurs and serving business leaders.

Oprah Winfrey called him the master motivator for his earlier work. He was regularly interviewed by her and many leading late night hosts throughout his career. He always knew how to inspire his audiences.

When he was diagnosed with leukemia Oprah again provided him a platform to discuss the disease and treatment options. His choice of treatment again had him coloring outside the lines.

In later life Wayne invested significant time talking about how to raise children in our challenging times. He spoke candidly about the challenges he faced with his own children and his several marriages. Like everything else, he shared wonderful stories that moved you to joy and tears. But you could never expect less from Wayne Dyer. He would share in hopes others could avoid the pain he lived through.

When he was diagnosed with leukemia he took on the challenge with the vigor of an Olympic athlete. Sharing his points of view on how modern medicine must change if we hope to create a healthier society, he spent many years running everywhere he was but he couldn’t outrun leukemia forever.

Sadly, Wayne Dyer recently died in his sleep at home in Hawaii, surrounded by his family and friends. I will miss his voice at the many conferences he spoke at that I attended. I will miss him on PBS asking to help support his greatest cause.  It leaves me wondering who will take his place and what impact will they have on our planet? Rest in peace Wayne Dyer. God bless you for all you did and shared.