Follow the Yellow Brick Road

 We are off to see the wizard the wonderful Wizard of Oz. Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow  the yellow  brick road. Follow the yellow brick road…. Follow the yellow brick road…..

 Most of us are familiar with the movie the Wizard of Oz . Have you ever thought about the  meaning behind  the movie? Recently I had the opportunity to have it explained to me from a  mentor and friend  JR  Ridinger. He explained how everything Dorothy wanted she already had  she just had to believe in herself. The movie is about a journey of self-discovery and  enlightment. It is about traveling life’s path {the yellow brick road} toward happiness,  fulfillment and success. The movie starts out with Dorothy realizing life holds many challenges  and obstacles. She starts to second guess her ability. Have you ever thought or even been told you cannot do something? It made me take a look at the message the movie projected and I started to relate the cast of characters and experiences to my own life.

While away with some of my closest friends I asked if they would help with an experiment. I would like us all to look deep inside ourselves and find a characteristic about yourself that you often doubt and then without telling us what you considered a weakness we will as a team voice the character from the movie who we feel best represents you as a person. It truly was amazing where we saw strength the individual saw uncertainty. We all guessed the same for each individual because we did not see that they needed to find this characteristic we saw them as having an abundance of it.

We will start with Dorothy. The team selected myself as this character. They felt I represented the power of a leader that pulls together the group and takes them on a journey. I however second guess my skills in this area. I need to believe in myself but understand it does not always rely only on me. There is a group willing to help with the navigation.

Next we come to the Scarecrow. This was very easy choice for the team there was no one better than Maria. She is a wealth of knowledge but she has not found her rhythm. She knows so much and is on a path to learn even more. She will soon systemize her knowledge so she can impact the health and wellbeing of many lives.

The next stop on the yellow brick road we come to the Tin Man. The tin man is looking for his heart. This characteristic is the one thing people see when first meeting the tin man. Sahana your love and passion for people outshines all your other traits. We are blessed to know you.

Out of the jungle comes the Lion with a roar but when we roar back he runs for cover. Fenny you have strength and courage just dig deep do not doubt yourself. You are on an incredible journey and let no obstacle get in your way.

The great and powerful OZ. The story shows us he doesn’t have all the answers and he is a phony. We however see the OZ as the person who knows what is happening behind the curtain and can direct us to stay on the right path. Kim no one fit this role better than you.

Although we all have doubt, we second guess our abilities we even tell ourselves enough times we cannot do something that we start to believe it. It is when you look deep inside at who you really are who you surround yourself with you realize your weakness now becomes your strength. As a team we can conquer any obstacle that lies in our way.

To sum up this experience I now see Dorothy had the power to return home the whole time she was on her journey to OZ. She could have just clicked together the ruby slippers 3 times but then what fun would that have been. Life is full of ups and downs you must experience them in order to appreciate what you already have.