[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Lead with Heart. I'm your host, Dr. Jesse Hansen. And today, Metamorfinka, the farm of transformation. Because Lead With Heart is all about amplifying transformation. So let's go check it out.
So Metamorfinga has many different accommodations. However, I'm just going to show you guys a couple of my favorites. La Cascada, if you don't know, as waterfall. One of the most amazing waterfalls in Costa Rica called San Luis Cascara, that is just outside this view. Metamorfinga is also amazing. It's much more homey me. You've got your own little kitchen here, nice space here, accommodations for sleeping or upstairs. The best part, of course, is that that brings nature in. San Luis waterfall right there. When you've got a space like this, transformation happens a lot easier. And if you guys aren't familiar, this is a beautiful blue jade plant that I just found on the ground. And just another one of the blessings that comes out of this beautiful, deep nature jungle that we have. And one more accommodation I want to show you guys. Mariposa. I couldn't bring this whole show about transformation without honoring the master of transformation. Her.
La Mariposa, the butterfly. We are in the OSA in Costa Rica, which is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, which is at the core of Leading with Heart. So what would a retreat center be without a beautiful spa section? Got an infrared sauna, a beautiful jacuzzi, little fire circle here, and a beautiful swimming pool, fully set up. Spring water, it is actually heated, believe it or not. It can get actually a little bit chilly up here on these mountaintops in Costa Rica and just a beautiful sacred space to enjoy yourself. So today, this is going to be our set where we are going to open up people's hearts and minds, including my own. So can't wait to make some magic. Stay tuned for more what's coming here on Lead with Heart.
Pura vida. Live the pure life.
Welcome to Lead with heart. I'm Dr. Jesse Hanson. And today we explore the essence of leadership beyond strategy and status. You're watching now media Television.
Hello and welcome back to Lead with Heart.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: Hello, everyone.
[00:02:24] Speaker A: I'm your host, Dr. Jesse Hanson.
This is the show where strategy meets soul, where we look at leadership that goes beyond the head, deep into the heart.
Going away are these days where we feel like leaders have to be perfect and in control of everything. And we're opening our minds and our hearts to these days where leaders can also be real humans. So I'm delighted to bring on Michael Wade today onto my show. Michael is the founder of Mike Wade Trade Coaching. He spent the last 14 years in corporate America at Oracle. Then he left in 1998 to trade options full time. He learned the hard way before building consistency and eventually teaching others how to trade. Just like him. His practice is very unique out there because he has this brilliant way of all the normal things you would hope from a good trader. And yet the key ingredient that makes me be so deeply grateful is that you're here today, Michael, is that you also found a way to weave heart and soul into what you do in the stock market.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: So we're going to learn more about the heart and soul part. But before we get to that, I want to take time to slow us down and get to know you as a human being.
We all have our LinkedIn profiles, we all have our ways. We want to be seen. That feels really comfortable. And yet the point of this show is to allow authenticity and vulnerability to be the real superpowers behind how we do what we do.
So this first window into looking deeper at Michael Waid is about who you were.
And, you know me, I love the vulnerable, authentic stuff. So as comfortable as you feel, I want to know what has shaped you to become who you are. The light and the shadow. Oftentimes great leaders. We have challenging upbringings, challenging stories behind us. So open your heart.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a pleasure to be here, especially in this environment, man. Pura vida, as they say down here. Right? Yeah. I'd have to say I had really good parents in terms of care.
My father was an Air Force sergeant, and I grew up in an Air Force environment. We lived on Air Force bases, and I was taught impeccability, being first, being best.
You know, outstanding was a word that was sort of in the. In the vocabulary all the time.
So my dad really got underneath me and. And drove me to be successful in sports, in school, with women, and even baseball. I. When I was playing baseball, I was so afraid I was going to strike out or make an error or something
[00:05:03] Speaker A: and not be outstanding.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Not be outstanding. Yeah. And so I took on that sort of Persona through my dad.
And that Persona in particular has created a lot of stress in my life from the earlier days. Going through high school, getting to college, getting good grades, getting a good job. I went to Oracle right out of school, and it was hard. I felt a lot of stress, and if I messed up just a little bit, it would crash me. It would tear me apart. And so I lived in constant fear. And even to this day, pressure. Yeah, pressure and fear of failure drove me.
And to this day, I work really hard. I can't let go. It's got to be done. It's got to be great.
It's created things in my life, but it's also added a lot of stress and anxiety to me.
So I'd say he was one of the big, big influences in my life that had me create what I've created
[00:06:07] Speaker A: for better, for worse.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: Yeah, right? Yeah. I mean, in terms of creation, creating something, it works, but it hurts, you know, Stress, anxiety, never really feeling safe was another sort of outcome.
And my mother was a bit distant and not available to hug and love, and so she. She's British. And now I'm worried my mom's gonna see this.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: Hey, you know what? It's okay. The truth. The truth. Yeah, the truth. And. And to. To mom and all moms and anyone, they. It's not about blaming and shaming. It's about understanding how it all happened. And. And hopefully, no matter what stage of life we're in, making amends as best we can. But please know, Mama, that there's no shame in blaming. It's really just about, I love you
[00:06:54] Speaker B: to death, you know?
[00:06:55] Speaker A: Good. Yeah, of course we love our mamas, and our moms are humans, you know, they're not perfect. And they had their own childhood traumas. Right.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: I found out about some of those traumas. And no wonder.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: She opened up to you.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: Yeah.
Over a long period of time, bits and pieces. I got a good feel for what her childhood was like. Childhood was like.
But my experience with her is I was pining for love from her. You know, I need to please her. This is. I didn't get the love. I didn't get the hug. So I need to do something more.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: Especially with the dad's teaching of, if you can just be outstanding, you're. You're good. You'll get it. It makes sense that that was sort of how you were getting imprinted.
[00:07:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Something. I need to do something better in order to.
[00:07:36] Speaker A: If I could just do it more. Outstanding. Maybe I'll get the hug.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Correct. Yeah, correct. So, and. And what made that really painful is I just came into the world with a. A really kind, soft, loving heart. I really do love people a lot, you know, so to not receive it back from her, it created some problems for me a little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: No, thanks for being so vulnerable and owning that. And. Yeah. Just again, I mean, it's amazing hearing. And as a psychologist, both on and off the show, I've heard so many stories and oftentimes for great leaders, either a mom or dad, often the dad. But you know, high pressuring success, performance, all that stuff. And of course there is the amazing side of it, which is how much productivity and creation can happen. But there's the downside of it, which is not only the, I think the neurological pressure on our nervous system and heart rate and all that, but at a soul level, that feeling of like, yeah, I've gotta hit this mark in order to be good enough.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: Yeah, right. Yeah. I remember when I was at Oracle.
Oracle is.
[00:08:42] Speaker A: And what age would you have been when you.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: I was in my mid to late twenties is when I got into that high pressure environment. I was, I got in, I started off a developer and I got into sales. And in sales it's like, you know, this year Your quote is 3 million, next year smaller territory, 4 million. You have to deliver. So it was incredibly stressful.
And I used to cry on Sunday nights, Sunday nights, because Monday was coming. Yeah, Monday was coming. And the pressure was relent, self imposed pressure, plus pressure from Oracle, the, my managers to bring in the, bringing the business, you know, and I was so upside down, my soul was crying. I mean I, I suffered a lot. And then I ended up in this car wreck on August 31, 1997, the same night Princess Diana died in a car wreck.
[00:09:33] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: And I had one and I, I almost killed somebody. I got a phone call in the middle of the night that the woman was going to die.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:09:41] Speaker B: And that, that was one of the most painful experiences in my life. But it was the catalyst that within six months from there she lived by the way, which was Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
[00:09:54] Speaker A: And within six months from there was when you stopped Oracle?
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Yeah, that was 98. And I went right into trading. And I remember the experience.
I knew I had to leave it, but I didn't. Man, I was making good money at Oracle. If I leave Oracle, how am I gonna survive? Maintain the lifestyle.
And then I remember and this is where Grace came in and I, I really felt it for the first time. I was really in a hole. Like I went to my, my wife at the time was, was Catholic is still and we started going back to church. I was a Catholic when I grew up. And I knelt down and, and I said, God, give me something.
Give me, give me some light here.
And I remember this flip that happened in my mind because I had a bunch of Oracle stocks, so I had money that I could do something with. Thank God. And then it got to. This message came so loud and clear. You can take that money and make money with it. And I wasn't sure how, but I remember feeling, like, uplifted. And I felt like I was floating. It was like Grace moving through me. God, source, energy, whatever. But it was so distinct.
And then I went into a bookstore, and I was.
Because I knew I need a book for something. I didn't. What. What am I going to do? And I walked. Literally, I walked up the stairs to the financial section, and on a pedestal with a spotlight on it was the Wall Street Money Machine by Wade Cook.
And that's about option trading. And I picked it up. The hairs on my arm are standing up as I speak, because that's how I felt. I was like, oh, this is it. So I feel like that the juice that I have for this is divine.
It's grace. Something is pushing me in this direction.
And I remember I said, all right, I'm going to go to the seminar. I took the seminar. I understood what was being spoken about, and I said, all right, now I've got some freedom, and I'm going to quit Oracle. I did, and I'm going to have a free life. So for the first time in my life, I felt a sense of peace and safety that I really hadn't had before.
Yeah. Wow.
[00:12:07] Speaker A: Wow. Amazing. No, thank you so much for opening all that. And, yeah, just from the roots of what you described with mom and dad dynamic to then, you know, basically falling suit from the. Where'd you say? Air Force Base Energy. Right. Of, like, get it done. Oracle became the military, more or less.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: And. And from there, you having the. The wisdom, even though you wouldn't have maybe said it or known it at this time in your life, but you were listening to your body.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: You're listening to your heart at some level, which was screaming at you, I don't want to do this anymore.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: So good for you. Even. Even that. That was late 20s, early 30s, it sounds. Right. Like, even at a relatively young age, having the wisdom to. To listen that way.
And I can definitely testify not only how much I can see the light coming out of your eyes right now, but knowing. Knowing a bit of your journey, you know, you. You really do have a big, beautiful heart. And I. I know that has always been there with you since you were a boy. And so I think that's also a big part of what is allowing some of these, if you could call them divine interventions or moments of grace to come through, you know, wow.
[00:13:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Wow.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Okay, so you've done a great job of painting sort of the backstory of how you're getting to this place.
And now we're at the point of the story where you're roughly in your mid-30s. You're following the body wisdom, some levels of leap in faith. You allowed prayer to come in. That's been another major theme that I've noticed in listening to people's stories is when we can bring in prayer and faith, it does seem to do something almost magical.
So I really love to hear that part of your story.
And I realize we are going to have to take a quick break here, Michael, but when we come back, I want to go deeper into understanding how this story continues and who you are becoming.
So, please, for our viewers, stay tuned. After this break, we're going to continue this journey on Lead With Heart. Take good care. We'll see you soon.
We'll be right back with more insight stories and practices to help you lead from your whole self. This is Lead with Heart on NOW Media Television.
Leadership isn't just about decisions. It's about presence, compassion, and courage.
I'm Dr. Jesse Hanson, somatic psychologist and healer. And on Lead with Heart, we explore what happens when we lead with awareness, compassion, and the body in mind.
From brain health to relational intelligence, from trauma informed leadership to embodied teams, each episode reveals a deeper way to lead.
Lead with Heart is airing now on NOW Media tv. Because the greatest leaders don't just guide people, they awaken them.
And we're back. I'm Dr. Jesse Hanson, and you're watching Lead with Heart on Now Media Television. Let's continue embracing leadership with presence and purpose.
Please do stay tuned to Lead with Heart and all your now media favorites by downloading the free app on Roku, iOS Android, Apple. It's out there. You can find us easily. And if you prefer to listen on podcasts, we're on Spotify, Apple, all the major platforms. So please stay tuned to NOW Media tv. We've got you covered.
And I am here covering the story of Michael Waid. Really beautiful opening. Thank you so much for bringing us forward to roughly early 30s. Starting to have some kind of awakening that you don't have to just play out the. The original imprint.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: Right.
[00:15:36] Speaker A: And we also kind of just closed around the highlight of you were listening to your body.
So tell me more about that.
[00:15:41] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, in hindsight, I, I wasn't conscious that my body was signaling me. I, I sense things and I felt things and I kind of went that way. But I I wasn't. I didn't haven't. Until recently. I haven't distinguished that. That's a signal I can follow. You know, I can use that to guide my decisions in life, especially when things get a little difficult or fearful. But I remember another instance.
Gosh, when I look back, it's just. It's just amazing because I. I went to my first seminar, so I. I got the book, I found another company, and I studied and I studied books, and I went to a webinar, a seminar. Back then they were seminars.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: Yeah, they had webinar webinars.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: This is way back when people were in a room and you were listening.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Is there this weird thing there called pen and paper?
[00:16:28] Speaker B: Yeah, they had pens and papers.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: Those, like, ancient things.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And those slides where they used to take a slide on the overhead projector.
[00:16:35] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Oh, no.
But, yeah, I went to my first seminar with a guy named George Fontanels. He.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: He.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: He founded Optionetics. And the other partners, a guy named Tom Gentile, who on still close with today, George passed and I went to my first webinar seminar. And I haven't said seminar in a long time.
And I, I was watching this thing, and I'm like, my. All of a sudden I'm like, this is what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to teach this. And I didn't know much about it at that point.
[00:17:11] Speaker A: This being options trading.
[00:17:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Well enough to stand in front of an audience and teach it.
And I was also afraid of public speaking at that point.
[00:17:19] Speaker A: And that is what you do now?
[00:17:21] Speaker B: Yeah, I've been speaking for money for a long time now. I speak and I teach. And. Yeah, that's another fear that I had that, That I have to go through, you know, to face the fear of it and, and go, you know, so I've developed a comfort around that now. But I remember watching this seminar, being in the seminar, and by the second day, I was like, man, I'm going to be a teacher of this. Not knowing how.
But I felt it again in my body. There was this sense of, like, expansion, like flow, energy moving through me.
And I just thought of it during this interview, and that is, I chose to follow that. And then that put me on this path of what I've created today, you know, and just having the courage and the faith to follow the, The. The information.
[00:18:16] Speaker A: Information from the body and the heart.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:18] Speaker A: And if we think back to the story you shared with dad, though, again, there's the positive in it. It does tend to Keep one in their head because it's constantly thinking, am I doing it right? Am I getting it enough? How is dad, mom, teacher going to feel about it? So there's the sort of hyperactivity of the left brain or the mind. And even though you didn't have all the language and the understanding of you have now, it sounds like all these years ago, you already had connection to your body wisdom.
[00:18:45] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:46] Speaker A: So beautiful. So beautiful.
And yet I know that it wasn't just a straight shot from that seminar, because it never is for any of us. So talk to me more about the dance that you've been in since that time, and you're more than welcome to bring in the way it translates to your professional life and maybe accolades along the way. But mostly what I'm curious about is. Yeah. That for you personally, that dance of recognizing. Oh, wow, okay, I'm up here or I'm here and. Well, can I be bypassing if I'm here or, you know, just curious.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:15] Speaker A: How that has been for you in the journey.
[00:19:18] Speaker B: Yeah. The speaking went well. I was able to really grasp material and found myself to be a good teacher. And I love connecting and contributing to people, and so I became a good instructor.
However, the model that the typical options education model is, here's a class, go out and good luck.
Then you need another class, and then you need another class. And I remember I was in Sydney. I also lived in Sydney for a while, and I taught Australia. In Australia? Yeah, I taught in all over Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore.
It was a beautiful lifestyle, but the model was flawed.
It's like, you know, give somebody a Formula one race car, here's the keys. Good luck. It's kind of like that, you know, where the chances of any average individual going through an options education course and then going home and making money with it, even though it works, the education can be valid, but the chances of success are limited. And I remember I moved down to Australia and I was in front of an audience of about 3, 400 people.
And that was the second time we'd been there and three months before I was there. And I was a speaker at that point, too. And right before I started, like two minutes before I started the webinar seminar, I don't know if I can ever get seminar back in my head.
Yeah. And this woman from Jamaica comes up to me and she goes, michael, I am so sad. I've lost all my money right before I stood up. And that was in the two, three years in as a speaker.
And it Hit me. I was like, my God, what are we doing to these people?
They need something else. You know, there's something missing.
And I care so much about people and that if I could be this. If I was at source of somebody losing money and experiencing pain, that ain't gonna work.
It doesn't work for me. And I felt it right before I spoke.
So I have to say, though, that I stayed in the model and I did the best I could with people.
[00:21:35] Speaker A: To drive the F1.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: Yeah, to drive the F1. Make sure you get out at 50%. Make sure. Be very diligent. Work on your psychology.
You know, I worked on all that stuff and try to simplify the system so they'd have more, greater chance of success.
I did the best I could, but that didn't work either.
So I.
I moved to Costa Rica about four years ago and I decided. I said, what's missing is community.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: Heart and soul.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Heart. Community with words like love spoken in the stock world. In the stock making world.
[00:22:11] Speaker A: Crazy. You crazy.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: It ain't done. Nobody does.
[00:22:14] Speaker A: Nobody does that.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Nobody does that. I end every one of my webinars with that. And on the Mac, it puts hearts on. I say, I love you all. See you tomorrow. Love. I talk about consciousness. I talk about you. You know, people that I admire and respect that are in this. In this work and.
And what I'm seeing.
A lot of my people are, you know, older. They retired. 70, 80, I'd say our average age is 70.
And they are in community.
They get their name spoken. Last night I was on a webinar and this beautiful woman, her name is sue, and she used to be a doctor. Now she runs a symphony.
And she didn't have her camera on. I said, sue, you have a question? I said, well, I need you to take your. I want to see your face. I want to see your beautiful face. You know, that's the type of interaction and the icing on the cake is that people are making money. Yeah.
On something that's hard.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: And, you know, community is, for me, is about contribution.
It's them first. It's caring about the impact of their lives, how their lives are going, how they feel.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: Yeah. I want to rewind a tiny bit to the woman from Jamaica, first of all, just. Yeah. Empathy of what that's like Right before you're about to go up and do this big presentation to get rattled.
[00:23:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:31] Speaker A: Right. And also to say blessings to her. A. For just being honest. But that. What a messenger she was at that perfect time. It was almost Better that it happened right there because it really shook you. Right? And I just love it. Again, I mean, that's just another moment where even prior to your creation of today, microwave, trade, coaching and love being used in, in the stock world, you were already leading with heart because you chose to feel that.
I know a lot of people would have said, oh, yeah, that sucks. I can't feel that right now because I need to go give this presentation. Not to mention, this is how I make my living. So, oops, sorry, move on. Thank you for letting it matter. Thank you for letting it influence you and change you and help you grow.
[00:24:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:14] Speaker A: Really beautiful, man.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: Thank you, man.
[00:24:16] Speaker A: Really beautiful.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:24:19] Speaker A: So four years ago, you come down here to Costa Rica and any particular. Why Costa Rica as opposed to any other?
[00:24:28] Speaker B: There's a handful of reasons.
One, I lived in South Florida and I found a lot of people were unkind and they always used to hurt when I say hello to somebody and they don't say, hey, buy it back, or simple things where their hearts are closed and they're not interested in interacting with me as a human, you know, And I found that really painful.
I remember one day I was walking down Delray beach with my dog and I was testing. So I said literally hello to 10 people, and I looked him in the eyes and said, good morning. And they would.
Nine of them just looked away and didn't say anything.
And I felt, I said, oh, my God, do I want to be here?
So that was one reason, because I've been to Costa Rica and I find the people here pretty happy. Mega kind.
[00:25:22] Speaker A: Pretty happy and kind.
[00:25:23] Speaker B: They're nice here. You know, you say, hey, good morning. Hey, good morning, pura vida. You know, they're, they're very connected and empathetic, you know, so I, I really love that.
So that was one reason. And the other was I, I really wanted to sort of get off the, the wheel I was on in the States and to put more attention on what's the most important thing in my life, which is spirituality. You know, I could use the word God.
For me, it's not the typical name of use of God. It's more just really looking inward and getting to abide in the consciousness that I am.
You know, the, the, the indescribable beauty of existence and consciousness, you know, and awakening.
[00:26:19] Speaker A: Awakening to that every day a little more.
[00:26:21] Speaker B: Right? Yeah, every day.
[00:26:22] Speaker A: No, I really appreciate that. Part two of your story now, hearing it from childhood through to pretty much present day, that, that, you know, even though you have had great Success with Oracle and for the North American mind, you've, you've won the game you've played, create a lot of abundance for yourself and yet you are still here doing the work, looking deeper. And now I'm better understanding the mixture of Florida not feeling right, Costa Rica feeling warm on many levels, felt like the perfect playground to come and do that right.
So when we come back from this break, Michael, I want to go deeper into, we've kind of seen the timeline. I want to go deeper into and almost zoom in on your personal transformation and how you grow lotuses. So please stay tuned with us on Lead with Heart. We'll see you back here soon.
We'll be right back with more insight stories and practices to help you lead from your whole self. This is Lead with Heart on NOW Media Television.
Leadership isn't just about decisions. It's about presence, compassion and courage.
I'm Dr. Jesse Hanson, somatic psychologist and healer. And on Lead with Heart we explore what happens when we lead with awareness, compassion and the body in mind.
From brain health to relational intelligence, from trauma informed leadership to embodied teams, each episode reveals a deeper way to lead.
Lead with Heart is airing now on NowMedia TV. Because the greatest leaders don't just guide people, they awaken them.
And we're back. I'm Dr. Jesse Hanson and you're watching Lead with Heart on Now Media Television. Let's continue embracing leadership with presence and purpose.
Welcome back to Lead with Heart. I AM your host, Dr. Jesse Hansen and I'm here with Michael Waid. And in this segment, Michael's been generous and kind and vulnerable to share his story from where he's been to where he is now. What we want to do in this segment is we want to zoom in on the actual process of transformation, the process of coming into the heart, coming into the body. So without further ado, I want to pass it over to you, Michael, and just share as we, you know, we've heard your story, I'd say some of the key pinnacle places that leaving of Oracle, that moment of awakening, I guess it was the car wreck that also shook you. But talk to me more about just. Yeah. What you know now about spiritual bypass versus embodiment, what you know about consciousness. Why does this matter so much to you?
[00:28:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:57] Speaker A: And how, and how do you balance all that and still run a very successful trade coach business?
You know, it's pretty special.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
The, the, probably the biggest part of my life has been a deep seated thirst to self explore, self inquiry.
I remember I was, I was a Catholic As a boy and an altar boy even.
And I remember I had this idea, well, I think you should be a priest. I'm like, oh, I don't want to be a, I don't want to be a priest. So there was something in me that was directing me towards God.
Consciousness, self inquiry. When I was in college, I had, I took computer science, but I, I was, I was mystified by the, be the human being.
And I minored in psychology because I, I got to, I got to look at myself, you know, So I had that in me, you know.
And then I quit my job, started the trading, the teaching, and it was good, but I was just, I was, I had this thirst. I want to understand.
There's something here that I want to explore.
And I picked up a book by Neil Walsh called Conversations with God.
And I couldn't put it down. I must have read that book eight times. And I started a group, I did seminars with Neil Walsh five times. I was with him, I knew him.
I was just like, insatiably thirsty for it.
And as I started to inquire, you know, it's like, there's a lot of distinctions I could share because I've done a lot of work in this area.
I ended up working for a guru named Saima, her holiness Saima, she's a jagged guru in India and India, but she actually lives in Naples, Florida.
She's lovely and I love her.
And she, I was in a workshop with her.
And to cut a long story short, she goes, you're, you're here to be enlightened. I, I, I want you to come work for me. And then while I was working with her, I saw things that are, were previously impossible for her to know. Her eliciting energies, experiences in my body, knowing what I was thinking, stuff that there was no way she could have known if, because I didn't speak it.
[00:31:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:27] Speaker B: So I was really attracted at that point.
And then I got into the plant medicine world and just really looking at, what is this thing here? What is this comprised of?
One of the analogies I really like when I speak about this with others is if you were to name objects in a room, you would name the furniture and floor and the ceiling, all the objects, but you wouldn't say space.
Oh, there's space here too, you know. And most humans, if you said, who are you? They, they wouldn't, they'd say, I, you know, I'm Mike. I have a body. I'm this old and that, that and all the objects, the feelings, the past Experiences that can be objectified. They'll name those, but they won't name consciousness.
[00:32:08] Speaker A: I just am. I am, I am here.
[00:32:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Like the eyes, when you say I, I, to what does I refer?
[00:32:18] Speaker A: And how many eyes are there in this one body?
[00:32:21] Speaker B: Yeah, there's quite a few.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: That's what's awesome, what happens when you bring in the neuroscience. Right. I, like you, have had lots of great experiences like that on the spiritual front. And it was in my late 20s when I was introduced to neuroscience and quantum physics. And I think the same kind of aha moment of just like, wow, this is amazing. There's finally a science that can explain all this. And so now, 20 years later, almost from there, you know this model, you're aware of it too? One of my favorites. But of how do you navigate the eye?
We call it the eagle, the shepherd and the crazy kids.
Eagle being pineal, gland being higher consciousness or third eye, it's often called. Right. Expanding out to be able to see the bigger see beyond our body.
Shepherd is the present moment choice maker who has to shepherd or guide all the different choice points of every moment. From right now, am I going to sit like this or am I going to sit like this? Am I going to breathe deeply? Am I going to.
[00:33:13] Speaker B: Thanks for reminding me.
[00:33:14] Speaker A: You know, Right. All these little micro choices we make all day, that's the shepherd and the crazy kids are the neural networks. They are all the different parts of us inside that are, in a way all biting for control. They're biting for do what I want you to do. Go eat the hamburger. No. Go eat the pizza. No. Go get the cotton candy. No. Go have sex. No, don't have sex, whatever it is.
So I appreciate you bringing that up. And I know you're. You're awesome with all this. So I feel like this to me is. I'm starting to hear you and I know for my own self, like, this is the art of transformation is becoming a better shepherd.
So. Yeah. What's happening to you as you hear me share this?
[00:33:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
I did spend a lot of time in the bypass. I started getting into non duality with Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. And that is all bypass.
[00:34:05] Speaker A: And just for viewers may not know, what does that mean by bypass?
[00:34:07] Speaker B: Like, it's like ignoring the body and too much transcendence. Transcendence, right. Yeah. Transcend body, form, emotions, suffering, and then rest and being as the isness of us, you know, the consciousness of us. And you can live it. And I'm Quite masterful at dropping myself into just being.
When I met Saima, I started noticing that I can close my eyes and I don't. It's, it's consciousness and I don't even have thoughts. So I, I, I have that. I've nurtured that ability through, through my studies and through Saima, but at the same time, it was like rest in beingness, the bliss of existing, and then go back to my, my daily life with automatron.
[00:34:56] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Automatic living.
[00:34:57] Speaker B: Yeah. And a lot of fears that I have, I, I used, I've, I've been enc.
Maybe blessed with fear of death since I was seven. You know, like, oh, my dog's gonna die one day. I'm gonna die one day. And just really feeling like the, the grief of that, you know, and so that's what led my bypass.
The fear, the fear, the, the grief and the inescapable, horrific grief of death. Like, this stops all of it.
My mom stops. My, My dog stops. I stop. My loved ones stop.
And that, that was, I'd say, the monkey on my back that led me, propelled me to the deep work I've done.
And then what I. So what I noticed about the bypassing is that those things didn't go away.
And so what I got into about four years ago and, you know, about this embodiment, you know, using the eagle shepherd, the chooser, and the kids, where all the grief is and the suffering is, is coming from and to embrace all of that as well, and having practices where you go visit those, those wounds or those crying kids, we could call them. The fear of death would be a good example.
[00:36:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:09] Speaker B: Like really going into that little, that little.
[00:36:12] Speaker A: Instead of going away from it, bypassing, we're going into it to face it. Because the way out of it is through it.
[00:36:18] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. And so what doesn't work and hadn't worked up to that point was I need to expunge it, I need to exterminate it, I need to kill it. It's bad. It's got to go away.
And until I. So that's bypassing. But until I directed my attention and embraced the little boy that's afraid of dying and loving him and healing him.
Without that, I wouldn't be where I am today. You know, it's, it's a beautiful practice. And it's holistic. It's, it's all of it. You're not just consciousness.
[00:36:52] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:53] Speaker B: No, you're a body, and you have a body and you have mind and you got thoughts and you Got emotions
[00:36:57] Speaker A: and we got duties and responsibilities. It's all real. Right.
[00:37:00] Speaker B: Yeah. And thank God we have because that's. That's the experience of who we are.
[00:37:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:04] Speaker B: That's where experience comes from. There's no. There's no experience in the non. Dual space. There's the pure consciousness space. There's. It's. It's beautiful, but it's not you, me, up, down, left, right.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: Hexy, sadness. It's not the fullness of us.
[00:37:17] Speaker B: Right. So these bodies are gifts.
[00:37:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:19] Speaker B: You know, I really get that now.
[00:37:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:21] Speaker B: Yeah. It didn't four years ago, though.
Yeah.
[00:37:24] Speaker A: That's so beautiful to hear you share all this. And I wonder if you're able to let the little guy who had the fear of death and the little guy who felt such pressure from his dad and absence from his mom, like, let him. Let him see right now, right here.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:42] Speaker A: What you're doing.
[00:37:43] Speaker B: Yeah. He sees it. It's. And you know, when I go there, I. I can feel the. The grief of it, you know, and it's really. It's really intense. And then I can. I can be with him and say, all right, yeah, I get it, but listen, like what we call, what I call ship up, and I say, all right, this. This is not the full reality of who I am. I'm also consciousness. I'm also able to choose to. The shepherd, you know, so come up. Look here, express. I'm with you, but it's okay.
[00:38:12] Speaker A: You're also part of all of this.
[00:38:16] Speaker B: All of it.
[00:38:17] Speaker A: And you as Michael Wade, within the this ness, you're also an amazing human being and leader, and you mean a lot to a lot of people.
And that's also a really important piece, I feel like, for all of us to learn. But especially as you're being so vulnerable right now, that opening and thinking of that little guy who felt like the only way he'd ever be good enough is just high, high pressure.
I know that now. That's not how you operate anymore. And you're still high functioning and you still get it all done, but it's not from the same place. So I just want to acknowledge and say that that is so beautiful too, to see that young guy who got grown up on the Air Force base using some of that structure to keep executing, but also being here, being brave enough to let yourself leak a little bit here under the shala. And you know, you know how much you mean to the people that you serve and help with their money. You're not really helping money. Money's Just energy. You're helping them with their heart, their healing, their community.
[00:39:13] Speaker B: Right.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: And yeah. So I just want to acknowledge that man. To me, you know, just such a beautiful example of what leading with Heart really is. And what you've shared about the difference between bypassing and embodiment, I think that's also a really important universal teaching for many of us. I know that. I am also constantly working on that. And especially us North American people, we have been programmed to be bypassers.
So thank you for doing the work. Thank you for growing lotuses. I'm grateful for you. When we get back from this break, our final segment is going to be all about extracting even deeper wisdom from Michael's story today. So stay tuned to Lead With Heart.
We'll be right back with more insight stories and practices to help you be from your whole self. This is Lead with Hart on NOW Media Television.
Leadership isn't just about decisions. It's about presence, compassion, and courage.
I'm Dr. Jesse Hintz, somatic psychologist and healer. And on Lead with Heart, we explore what happens when we lead with awareness, compassion, and the body in mind.
From brain health to relational intelligence, from trauma informed leadership to embodied teams, each episode reveals a deeper way to lead.
Lead with Heart is airing now on NOW Media tv. Because the greatest leaders don't just guide people, they awaken them.
And we're back. I'm Dr. Jesse Hanson, and you're watching Lead with Heart on Now Media Television. Let's continue embracing leadership with presence and purpose.
Welcome back, Lead With Heart. I'm your host, Dr. Jesse Hansen. And I'm here with a very powerful, vulnerable, authentic leader, Michael Waid. You were just opening up, bringing some beautiful, authentic tears around just this process. And if anything, I'm sensing these are tears of joy and love. These are, these are tears of, you know, I feel like you're hopefully seeing and appreciating yourself a lot right now. Yes. Awesome.
[00:41:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:22] Speaker A: So know thyself, Lead With Heart. Naturally, you've been putting in a lot of work on yourself to earn where you are today.
Right.
So I want you to just invite you to just breathe with me and sense into the wisdom that you walk with.
And this can be wisdom that's still applicable to yourself. It can be wisdom that's intended and hopeful to help our viewers who are listening. But for me, the main piece I see quickly to just pass it to you is that.
Yeah. I mean, just by the use of the word love in stock trading, like, how beautiful is this that if you hadn't have Gone through everything you've gone through, especially the last four years of deeper embodied work, you wouldn't have the courage to do that. You care more about the heart and the love and the closing than you do the, the main hook, line and sinker of a trade coach.
[00:42:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Right.
[00:42:13] Speaker A: So. Yeah. How does this feel to be you right now? And
[00:42:19] Speaker B: it, it's. It's like a dream life.
There's been such transformation that there are days I don't.
It's all new, you know, I don't recognize.
[00:42:29] Speaker A: Almost surreal.
[00:42:30] Speaker B: Yeah. But what I'm. What I'm starting to really embrace.
Is to.
Is to rest in the beingness that I am. To. To really know myself. I do now.
And I am a Mike character with a body and experiences and memories and physicalities and.
But even before that, I am consciousness itself. You know, the, the, the coaching I would give is to know thyself, you know, from the Delphi Temple, Inquire, like, what are you? Who are you?
You're not just body, mind, experiences, memories, emotions.
There's something else there. The awareness. You could call it awareness.
Inquire into what is that?
What? It's something.
It can't be located.
Scientists don't know where it's at. They think it comes out of the brain, but they can't prove it.
It's something. It's like space in a room. It's not an object, but it's here.
And if, if, if you were to point your attention at that and just inquire, what is, what is that consciousness thing? Yeah.
And it's so subtle because you can't talk your way there. I can't talk anybody there. You can't talk anybody there. Nobody can.
Because it's not an object.
The human mind dallies in objects. Something that has qualities. This has no qualities.
It has no size. It has no location, and it's beautiful.
So your salvation, reducing at the very least your suffering is right there at your fingertips. You're resting in it at this moment in time. That's the biggest piece of wisdom I could give any human being on the planet, whether you're a leader or you're a mom or you're a coach or whatever.
Take a look.
It's there. It's there.
Oh, yeah.
[00:44:46] Speaker A: So well said, Michael. And as you're sharing this, I'm just being flooded with, you know, as you. As you know, and views. I've been working with high functioning leaders for over 20 years now, and I cannot tell you how many times I've seen it where they won the game of Life X. Amount of money, stature, LinkedIn profile looks great. However, they're generally not happy. Yeah, not happy at all. My first big break was at Passages Malibu, the rediction treatment for the rich and famous. And, you know, wow, it was so enlightening for me. And so that's something. I'm looking at you now because you have danced in the. Danced with the Oracle and made lots of money, and you've broken from that and done this stuff in between. And yet here you are now, like, balancing the difficult balance of still running a beautiful business that's not just monetarily successful, but is spiritually successful in what it means to you and what it means to your. Your. Your clients, your guests.
[00:45:43] Speaker B: Right.
[00:45:44] Speaker A: So I just want to acknowledge. I mean, it was just so beautiful to see the tears in your eyes of just. I know very few people that can bridge these worlds so much. And so, first of all, just, hopefully you can receive that mirror.
[00:45:56] Speaker B: Got it. Thank you.
[00:45:57] Speaker A: Good, good. And. And second of all. Yeah. As we talk about Microwave Trade Coach and we talk about the wisdom that you are imparting, I wonder if you could share any stories, case examples of what you've seen within Microwave Trade Coaching. How your unique blend of bringing heart and soul in. What does that look like? And how does that impact the people that you work with?
[00:46:21] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, a lot of my clients I got from the other company that I used to teach for, I was a contractor, and I ended up with a lot of those people. And almost all of them said, I've been studying this stuff for 10 or 20 years, and I haven't figured out how to make any money with it. And they'd come in a bit dejected and skeptical.
And I'm witnessing now because of the community, because of the love, because of my primary focus is them and the experience that they're having.
That's another leadership quality I think is really important, is you're always dealing with humans.
You want their money, but I don't want your money first. I want you to experience something. It's not even just that they make money for me, I get lit up and enlivened by a human that comes in.
Maybe they're contracted or afraid. And then you watch them reach a new station, become lit up and enlivened. I got that from Landmark. That was another thing I did at Landmark.
But that, to me is like, God, it's like watching.
[00:47:30] Speaker A: That's why we're here.
[00:47:31] Speaker B: That's why we're here, man.
[00:47:32] Speaker A: That Experience of transformation.
[00:47:34] Speaker B: Yeah. And when. If I can be at least a little bit at source of that, I'm certainly a stand for it.
[00:47:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:42] Speaker B: And I see that all the time. I. I was.
We have a Christmas party online. We have Christmas. We have parties online. And we do. We had an ugly sweater contest over Christmas.
[00:47:51] Speaker A: Ugly sweater.
[00:47:52] Speaker B: Yeah. On camera. This is all virtual. On camera.
[00:47:55] Speaker A: And now you can say webinar.
[00:47:57] Speaker B: Did I say seminar? No, I'm kidding.
Go ahead.
And then my. My business partner Gerardo, who I met four years ago, he created this beautiful montage video of. Of the community. And there was one. One man in particular, I won't say his name, but a little bit shy and not sure of himself. And there. And I saw him on. On this video with his eyes like this, and I. I lost it on the call. I couldn't even hold it in.
[00:48:31] Speaker A: What did lost it look like? Like crying. Laughing.
[00:48:33] Speaker B: I cried. Yeah. I couldn't speak. I was supposed to lead the webinar, but I. I had to hurt.
[00:48:37] Speaker A: Go ahead.
[00:48:38] Speaker B: Can you handle.
I choked up and I choke up all the time, you know?
[00:48:42] Speaker A: Well, you call it choking up. I call it lighten up.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: Lighten up. Yeah, yeah. It's not even choking. It's the opposite feeling.
[00:48:48] Speaker A: It's actually having feelings, which we've all been programmed not to do, especially in stock world.
[00:48:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:52] Speaker A: So good for you for feeling.
[00:48:54] Speaker B: Definitely trailblazer in that. In that regard, you know, whether you
[00:48:58] Speaker A: want to or not.
[00:49:00] Speaker B: But that's. That's the juice for me, man.
[00:49:02] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:49:02] Speaker B: Is their success in trading is important, but that they are in a community and they get seen and they're left lit up and enlivened by their experience of who they are because they've been with me and my community.
That's priceless. You know, the money is an afterthought. I don't care about the money. I mean, I want it, but I don't. I literally think of that last.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: The wisdom I'm hearing you. You channel right now, Michael, is that, you know, we often overlook this, but companies are. Are a lot like families. And in this way, you are the father of the. Of this family. And. And just like in regular families, energy trickles down, right?
So please know that, yes, you've built the infrastructure, you've got the technology that allows all this. This webinar. Ing to happen. And yet it is you. It's your energy, it's your big heart that is helping to create that whole sense of community.
That's pretty incredible. That's pretty awesome. And that's Lead with Heart.
[00:49:57] Speaker B: It's pretty good.
[00:49:58] Speaker A: Yes. That is like the epitome of lead with heart. So.
[00:50:02] Speaker B: Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
[00:50:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And just to see it the same way that I've seen it in so many companies too, that the shadow side of this, where the leader, the CEO, whatever the title is, is not doing their work and is not feeling their heart, and everyone in the company feels it, it sets the tone, it sets the culture.
[00:50:18] Speaker B: Right.
[00:50:19] Speaker A: Even more. Where I see, you know, I've done my diligence on you a good bit, at least enough to know that beyond everything else you do and you're. You're webinaring, you also host events for. For your. Your clients to gather in real, real time and real inhuman. Old, Old school.
[00:50:34] Speaker B: Like. Yeah.
[00:50:34] Speaker A: Before. Before the Internet. And to me, that's just something else so unique within a stock trading community that we actually get together and go on a cruise or come to a little bit of a wellness resort or whatever it is. Like, I mean, just. Yeah. Again, really beautiful leadership in that way. Do you give people something so unique and so different than what's out there with. Especially stock trading, but even almost any business.
[00:50:58] Speaker B: Yeah. There's one thing I'd like to say.
[00:51:00] Speaker A: Please.
[00:51:03] Speaker B: Before the transformation I've put myself through, there was always this, like, pining and grabbing and I need to pull money in to survive. Right. And it was hard, stressful. I gotta. I gotta get more money. I gotta make sure I keep the money. I gotta.
And then when you flip the battery the other way around and you really get what you are.
I'm consciousness and I have a body and I'm all of it.
Love emerges. The natural response is, you would never hurt somebody from that place. You want to. You want to serve people.
And then the. The icing on the cake is that flow happens and things get easier and more money flows in, more people are. It just sort of feeds on itself. And there's no. So you don't have to reach out and grab the money, the success.
You allow it to come in because you're leading with your heart. Yeah.
So that's the. That's. That's what's available. If, if, if we were to know ourselves.
[00:52:01] Speaker A: So powerful, so, so well said. And because I'm a therapist and I can't help drawing all these correlations.
Can also say, when you did the pining motion about money, I couldn't help but be remembered of the first segment where you admitted the combo pack of how dad was and how mom was left you pining for love. So it's also just a beautiful teaching for all of us of how much these early imprints carry on. And then maybe it's not even just with mom or then with woman, but with our relationship to money, for example. And as I watch you transforming and even all you're opening up to today, I see where as you make that shift with money and realizing, wow, I don't have to pine for it and grab for it, My bet is that's also helping heal the little guy in that whole dynamic where you don't have to do that with anything in your life.
Right. The love, the abundance and all its forms can keep coming to you.
[00:52:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:52:51] Speaker A: And it's really beautiful.
[00:52:53] Speaker B: It is beautiful.
[00:52:54] Speaker A: It is beautiful, man.
Wow. Well, you. You have brought way more than I could have ever encapsulated into 48 minutes. And I'm so grateful that you came to sit with us today here in heaven on Earth. And I would like to make sure that our, our guest, our listeners know how do they stay in touch with you? Because this is just an amazing offering you have.
[00:53:14] Speaker B: Yeah. If you're, if you're interested in being in community and in particular trading, you can go to my
[email protected].
even if you're beginners, we have plenty of beginners. We have ways to bring you up to speed and we want to love on you and put you in a really beautiful community.
[00:53:33] Speaker A: Well, thank you so much, Michael.
[00:53:34] Speaker B: It's a pleasure, man.
[00:53:35] Speaker A: Such an honor. Really appreciate it. And yeah, you guys, thanks for tuning in today on Lead with Heart. It's been a very touching story. Story and share and truly, what you're creating is unique, rare, and I'll even say sacred. You know, it's something we need so much more of in this world. So please stay tuned to Lead with Heart. We're going to be coming to you guys with more beautiful shares, vulnerable, authentic leadership that's setting the tone for this new world that we need to create. So thank you so much, Pura Vida. Take good care.
