by Karon Brandt

Created on: October 28, 2007   Last Updated: August 29, 2009

A modern day guru. A man who can make mistakes - and learn from them. A man who has gained wisdom that many strive to attain in one lifetime, but fail. We can learn from Wayne Dyer's philosophy of life.

Wayne Dyer was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 10, 1940. His father abandoned the family soon after he was born. Dyer spent many of his adolescent years in an orphanage and foster homes.

Dyer got his doctor of education degree in counseling from Wayne State University in Michigan. He has been married three times and has 8 children, 7 coming out of a long marriage with Marcelene, his 2nd wife. Some question why this happened, but many "celebrities" live under scrutiny, and spouses don't always handle that well. Perhaps, if we change profoundly in the span of decades, our spouses don't always grow in the same direction, and we part paths.

Dyer's home base is in Hawaii, when he has time to spend there.

In the beginning of his working years as an academic, Dr. Dyer worked as a guidance counselor. Later, he taught classes in New York and became recognized as a motivational speaker.

Dyer became nationally recognized when his book, "Your Erroneous Zones," became a best seller in 1976. He sold copies out of the back of his station wagon; it worked; and his name became a household word. (Harpercollins picked up on it, and it eventually sold over 30 million copies.)

He wrote "Pulling Your Own Strings" in 1978 and "The Sky's the Limit" in 1980. His early books spoke of ego and intent in the traditional sense. He brought humanistic ideas to the common man.

It wasn't until the 1990's that Dyer started gaining more insight into matters of a spiritual nature.

Dyer wrote "You'll See It When You Believe It: The Way to Your Personal Transformation," in 1995. He tells about finding his father's grave, while "defying the laws of logic," and forgiving his dad for abandoning him as a child. That was a turning point in his life.

He was a man on a journey of self-discovery: from an ego-driven life to an inspired life. He became "the father of motivation," a guru of self-empowerment to his followers. In "The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way," 2004, Dyer chronicles his own personal growth over a quarter of a century.

He defines the power of intention as a shift in his thinking "from a purely psychological or personal-growth emphasis, toward a spiritual orientation where healing, creating miracles, manifesting, and making a connection to divine intelligence

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