Why This Year Starts With Fun (Not Hustle)

What if fun isn’t something you earn after working hard—but something you start with?

In the first episode of the new year, Justin flips the script on productivity, discipline, and “being good” and asks this:

👉 What actually lights you up? Do you ever let yourself enjoy it?

Using movies as both a literal love and a powerful metaphor for life, Justin shares:

• The best and worst movies he saw in theaters last year
• What those experiences reveal about freedom, creativity, nostalgia, and choice
• How following your delights can transform your life

🎥 Key Points & Takeaways

• 🎉 Fun is not something you earn later — it’s something you can have now
• 🎬 Why movies are like life experiences (not all are meant to be the same)
• 🧠 How curiosity, play, and imagination reconnect us to ourselves
• 💡 Letting experiences be what they are—without forcing meaning or perfection
• ❤️ Why following what you enjoy is a powerful act of self-trust

🎧 Listen all the way through to hear Justin’s surprising best movie pick—and why it matters

💬 Join the conversation:

What was your favorite (and least favorite) movie or experience last year?

📺 Watch on YouTube for the full “movie theater” visual experience

⚡ Curious about deeper alignment, clarity, and ease?

Explore Justin’s Life Energy Activation Process (LEAP):

👉https://www.justinwenck.com/leap

Watch the full video episode at Justin Wenck, Ph.D. YouTube Channel!

Check out my best-selling book "Engineered to Love: Going Beyond Success to Fulfillment" also available on Audiobook on all streaming platforms! Go to https://www.engineeredtolove.com/ to learn more!

Got a question or comment about the show? E-mail me at podcast@justinwenck.com.

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Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, music and pics belong to the rightful owners.

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Transcript

Justin Wenck: 0:00

Welcome. Today, we're starting this show for the new year off with how to have fun. That's right, this is very important to be able to have fun in life. It's not something to have later. It's not something that you eventually will earn now is the time to fun. So I'm going to share with you what I really like to do for fun, you know, one of the, one of the many things that maybe you don't know about me, and that is watching movies. So I'm going to be sharing the best and the worst movies that I saw in the theater, because I saw 15 movies in the theater. That's how much I enjoy going to the movies. So with that, let's get started. Are you ready to live a life with enough time, money and energy have relationships and connections that delight you? Are you ready for the extraordinary life you know you've been missing? If so, then this is the place for you. I'm a best selling author, coach, consultant and speaker who's worked in technology for over two decades. I'm a leader at transforming people and organizations from operating in fear, obligation and guilt to running off joy, ease and love. It's time for engineering emotions and energy with me. Justin Wenck, PhD. This is the first podcast of engineering emotions and energy for 2026 yet whenever you're watching this, listening to this is the right time for this message, because it's a great time to bring more fun into your life. Now, this is the time of year that most people are like, I had too much fun. I, you know, did too much for New Year's Eve, and definitely overdid it for the holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, whatever you might celebrate, Festivus for the rest of us, but you know, you over spent, you over ate, you over indulged in substances, perhaps. And it's okay fun times over, it's time to, you know, buckle down, work hard and be a good person. Like, like, most of those things that you did made you a bad person. They didn't what? If it's time to rediscover what truly lights you up, what truly helps you enjoy your life, what really delights you, fun without any consequences. Because maybe that was the thing, was, you had too much fun that resulted in too many consequences. So I'm going to share a little bit into one of the fun things I really enjoy. And I think this is also going to kind of show how you can maybe make maybe some of the things you do and more of your life more fun. Because, like I said at the top of the show, movies is something I really love and enjoy, which is why, if you're you know, watching this, which definitely suggests you do on on YouTube, Justin Wenck, PhD channel, I got a special, special background of being at the theaters, kind of like Siskel and Ebert Back in the day, would review movies at the theater. So I got this virtual, virtual theater environment that I'm in coming to you, and I saw 15 movies. I'm not going to go through all of them, but that's a that's a pretty good amount of time, you know, going going to a theater over a calendar year. And I believe my best movie of the year is really going to surprise you, so stick around for that, because we'll end with that. And so not only do I like movies, but I also like hearing discussion about movies of you know, just ways to enjoy them. Look at them and it's just something I really enjoy. And so my guilty pleasure really, is podcasts where people review, criticize, make fun of movies. So if some of my favorite podcasts are like the flop house, how did this get made? Even in the past, gone to see live showings of those of those podcasts, I would say my favorite, my favorite podcast about movies is blank check with hosted by these two gentlemen, Griffin and David. They're based in New York, but they'll go through a director's entire filmography. And so if you if you're a fan of that show, or know it, then you'll probably understand a little bit more of why the number one movie in the theaters for me is what I picked. So what is it about? What is about movies that I really enjoy? I mean, one is, it brings me back to being a kid. And the second is, it really is about experience and about having, you know, having fun, and, you know, imagination, and getting to see creativity and getting to be part of a whole other world that really can ignite the imagination. So again, as I mentioned, I've seen 15 movies and the theater. So the rule is I had to have seen it. So there's probably better movies. Probably worst movies. But again, I didn't see all movies in the theater that were available. I don't know how many there are. There's a lot. I saw 15. So the rule is I had to have seen it, and then I had to have seen it in the theater. This can't the calendar year of 2025 so these are 2025 my worst and my best. Not gonna go through all 15 but I think you're going to be surprised at what I thought was the worst, and you're definitely gonna be surprised about what I thought was the best. And what's really incredible is that both of these movies actually share a common heritage, a common thread that they borrow from one way more heavily than the other. And when I go over it and tell you about it, you're going to recognize how one does it so much better than the other. So what is, according to me, the worst movie of 2025 that movie wicked for good, or, as I'd like to call it maybe wicked, not so good. So this is the second part of wicked. I actually saw the first one last year. And musicals are not exactly my thing. You know, sometimes I go, I went. I had a good friend that loves Wizard of Oz. She even wrote a book. She's a friend of the show Tanya. And so went and saw that kind of in celebration of, you know, her, of her, of her book that's, you know, pays a nod to, to the Wizard of Oz. And then saw the first one last year, the previous year, 2024 and so like, well, let's see how it ends. So what is, what is it about? So it's, it's after the first film, wicked for good continues the story of Elphaba now demonizes the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, the celebrated good witch, as their Divergent Paths challenge their friendship, test their beliefs and reshape oz. Alphabet fights for liberation of the silenced animals, while Glinda confronts the respondabil responsibilities of fame and power, driving them towards the final reckoning that will change oz forever. So alpha was played by Cynthia Revo. Glinda is played by Ariana Grande, who you know, are friends in the movie, and then also, apparently, really good friends in real life. If you want some entertaining clips, you know, look at them being interviewed for wicked, for good, very interesting. Jeff Goldblum is the wizard, and then Michelle yo plays this Madame morble. I didn't even know that that was her name after watching the movie, but her character is, in addition to Elphaba, as far as I can tell, the only other person in the movie. They can actually do magic, even though I thought in the first one, the whole reason they all go to school is to learn magic. But apparently, only two people in oz can actually do real magic. Nobody else really can. The wizard, as you know, from The Wizard of Oz, spoiler alerts, only been almost 100 years the Wizard of Oz can't do magic. He just does mechanical stuff. And I will say, with this movie is spectacle. So I love the, you know, the sets and all the acting is great. Just the the some of the stuff is ponderous, of like, why stuff is happening, because it gets really weird. And for two reasons, one, one is any of this is sometimes what I find fun about movies, is learning about how they came about and what's really going on is so MGM is who created the Wizard of Oz. But wicked movies come from, I believe, Universal Pictures. And so even though it's all referencing the Wizard of Oz, MGM has the copyrights and trademarks to everything to do with the Wizard of Oz, from what the Munchkins look like to what Dorothy looks like, her dress, what the Yellow Book road looks like, what the Emerald City looks like, what the monkeys look like. So everything has to remind you of the Wizard of Oz without actually looking like the Wizard of Oz. So just that's bananas and incredible. Yet a big part of the purpose of wicked is to kind of tell you that what you know about the Wizard of Oz is all a lie, that the wicked witch is not actually wicked. She's just misunderstood. And this is a thing I find with a lot of movies now that like to, you know, basically tug on your member berries and nostalgia, and go, you know, we're going to get you into the theater, or get you to get you to watch this, because it's reminds you of something you enjoyed later, or, you know, when you were younger. And then they kind of just go on to to shit on it. And this is, it really does kind of like shit on the original Wizard of Oz, a lot of ways and go, like, all the things you thought happened didn't happen that way. I don't know. I'm not a fan of that. It's like, if you want to, I think if it's like an art house film, like, go, go ahead, you know what? But if this is really mass marketing, and the purposes, you know, for, for as many people. As possible, and they just kind of want to, you know, enjoy what they enjoyed in a new form. Now, again, I didn't see the the musical, the play adaptation, or the original play of wicked, so I don't know what was changed what wasn't. So all I know is the movie. And for me, yeah, it's like you're trying to show this alternate story. But also, in this movie, they bring in, do you see Dorothy and you see her the story of The Wizard of Oz beginning, but it's sort of like from the distance, because, again, you're not really allowed to actually see Dorothy that close or what she's doing, but she kind of like, pops up, and there's a lot of like, oh, well, this is actually how the Scarecrow came about. Well, this is actually how the tin man came about. And, you know, just trying to give you, like these, all these back stories that it's like, did I need that? Or does that make any sense to the Wizard of Oz? But to me, one of the things is that it's kind of like I'm, I'm forced to watch one movie wicked for good, and it's reminding me side by side of another movie that I haven't seen, probably since I was in high school, but I remember much more fondly, and I think most people agree, is still considered a really well done, great movie. And it's just like, why do you got to remind me of something of, something better, you know, it'd be kind of, it's kind of like going to a fast food restaurant. And if you were to be given like, see, have to see advertisements for a fine steak house, you know, or whatever, a fine seafood what restaurant, and something like that. And it's like, why are you reminding me that there's better food out there when all that's available here is garbage. It's just very, very interesting. And so the movie didn't work for me, although, you know, but I still, I still enjoyed the spectacle of it, because did see it at a very big screen. It was fun to go see it with a friend, and this, for me, was the worst movie I saw of the year, but I'm so glad I saw it, and I think that's something that we can all kind of appreciate in life. Is not everything that we're going to experience in life is going to be something that we're going to enjoy. Yet. What can we learn from it? What can we, you know, be grateful for that we experienced? And then what does it tell us about well, what do I enjoy what I want to be experiencing in my life. And so I think this is going to what bring us to what turned out to be my favorite movie of 2025 that I saw in the theater. And I think this is going to surprise you, because it was actually a movie that was released in 1990 by director David Lynch, called Wild at Heart. Now he passed away this past year, and I believe I saw this movie, and I know I saw this movie in February, and it was before he had passed. And now you can find this movie, Wild at Heart, streaming various places, and I think it's probably coming to DVD, I don't know exactly, but at the time, at this time, it was pretty much not available anywhere, and local theater in San Francisco was playing it and got an opportunity to see this on a big screen with a big crowd at night. And this movie is bananas. It stars Nicholas Cage playing basically a bit of a fall in a rebel guy named Sailor, and Laura Dern plays his his romance in that another really awesome person that shows up is Willem Dafoe, who just he's like, he looks crazy. And the synopsis of this is that fueled by love, violence and fate, two outlaw lovers flee across America's surreal underbelly, pursued by Hitman demons and their own dark desires in a ferocious road movie about passion and freedom. So this movie, there's a lot going on in it, but it's, I've got a coherent narrative, and each scene is just like, oh my gosh, this is kind of like, what is going on. Here I am, I am excited, I am curious. It's over the top in ways. And this, it's like, I'm enjoying what's happening, and I want to know what's happening next. And I mean, you know, Nicholas Cage and Lord Dern, amazing actors. And they're just, you know, they're riveting. And what's also incredible about this movie is that it also has lots of references to the Wizard of Oz. And there's even a quote where David Lynch said, this is basically, they're following the yellow brick road through hell is what, is what he said that this movie is about. And it even ends with an appearance from the Good Witch in a bubble. And because Nicholas Cage's character is just like he's been so beat up and this things haven't been going his way, he's based. Been fighting. Well, you know what is possible in life? And though the Good Witch comes, and he's and, you know, she's like, he's just like, oh, I don't know what I'm so scared and but, and he goes, but I'm wild at heart. And then the Good Witch says to him, if you are truly wild at heart, you'll fight for your dreams. Don't turn away from love. And that's there's then a little bit more, but that's basically the end of the movie. And I think that's just a beautiful message that you know, if your heart, your heart is what's going to lead you and you want to follow love, what your heart desires, passions for, what your heart enjoys and is looking for. And another thing that this movie plays with a lot is What is what is freedom? Because the main character, played by Nicholas Cage, says, like freedom is so incredibly important to him, yet we kind of see what happens if you really, you know, you aren't really aware and conscious and wise with your pursuit of freedom. Because he starts the movie getting out of prison, and then base is doing things that are likely going to send them back to prison. So his pursuit of freedom, he ends up often losing freedom. And I think that's a very important thing for us to understand, is that freedom doesn't just mean, oh my gosh, I can have whatever I want the way that I want, because, of course, you know, there's consequences, and then of course, there's the other side of thing, is that to give any meaning to that desire, it sort of like requires the space for it to take place in, and that that space is going to come from a structure, a structure, some some guidelines, some things like that. Because, like, if there's nothing to like, push against or to be constrained, then how do you know something's going to be different in relation to where it was or what it is? And so to me, this is a key aspect of life in general, is to recognize that it's freedom of making a different choice. It doesn't mean you get everything the way you want it immediately. Yet anything is possible, just it might not in this, you know, dense world that we live in, you might not be able to have everything all at once, because, again, it's like you you can't simultaneously be, you know, someone like the rock or Arnold Schwarzenegger, and be someone like Sydney Sweeney or Laura Dern, like they're very physically different. You know, you can't be both of those types at the same time, and that's kind of what it makes it enjoyable to be one or the other at any given time. This doesn't have to do with your physicality, but you know, it's like, if you are a teacher of an amazing energy practice, like I am right now, it's like, that's going to be different than also being, you know, an amazing engineer at a tech company, which I was so it's like, you know, it allows different meaning and satisfaction that it's like, oh, I pursued one thing, and then now I'm pursuing another thing, and this is something that you can do in your life this year. And so that's why I just really thought Wild at Heart is the best movie I saw in the theaters in 2025 and I'm really excited, as you know, see more movies in this in this year. There's always good things coming out, and even if it's not what maybe I would want it to be, I always find things that I appreciate enjoy about any movie I go to. And part of it is, what, what is the purpose? What is the thing to enjoy and not expecting all movies. And again, movies here, it's a metaphor for pursuits, for experiences in life. They're not all meant to be the same, like, for example, I'll give an honorable mention to I saw pretty close to when it came out avatar fire and ash, which is the third avatar movie I've seen every I've now seen every single avatar movie, but I've only seen each movie only once, and I always saw it in 3d on a big screen, and I enjoyed it. But I would say if you haven't enjoyed the previous movies, you probably won't enjoy this latest one. There's not much story. The characters are a little bananas, but it really to me, it's just like, oh, it's an experience of this technology, of the spectacle, of visualness and then emotionalness. And just like taking. Each scene as it is, and just being going, like, wow, this is cool. And letting go of any need for a narrative or a story or anything that's really well thought out, like, let that go, enjoy the movie. And then there's other movies where it's like, oh my gosh, just the visuals were awful, whatever, but oh my god, the story, just the story, and then the what it made me how I felt, and what it made me consider as I was taken through that journey, brilliant. So different experiences are different, and letting them be what they are, and again, letting it there be something good, letting there be the gift, and then being open to, okay, well now I know a little bit about myself, what I enjoy and maybe what I would want more of in the future, what I want less of in the future, and just being grateful that you got to have the experience. So I would really love to know, you know, do you like movies, and if so, what was, what was your favorite and least favorite of last year? And what is it that you really enjoy? What's something that like is just fun for you? That doesn't there's there doesn't have to any be any benefit to anybody other than just It delights you. I'd love to hear that. So let me know in the comments. Send me an email, shoot me a message, love that, and would love to hear what kind of fun you're going to get up to, because really it is, it's the heart and it's following that. It's following love that's really a key to living a life that matters, that's fulfilling, that's beyond success, and that's what I want for you, and May this year be the best yet. So with that, thank you and good day. Thanks for tuning in to engineering emotions and energy with Justin Wenck PhD, today's episode resonated with you. Please subscribe and leave a five star review. Your feedback not only supports the show, but also helps others find us and start their journey of emotional and energetic mastery. You can also help by sharing this podcast with someone you think will love it just as much as You do. Together, we're engineering more amazing lives you you you.