Many of you may know what a big fan of The Wizard of Oz (and all the stories by Baum regarding this wonderful land) I am. It is a great way to while away the hours (oh wait, that's part of a song from the movie, right?) but it's also full of inspiration and business guidance when you read it with the right mindset.
The various characters all have qualities that need to be a part of any business owner -- leadership, heart, a sense of goal orientation, fear and courage, and even the supporting crowd around -- all have lessons to teach us when we watch with a clear eye.
I have written many blogs in the past about different lessons we can, and should, learn from these characters, from their words and actions. One of my favorite is that of the scarecrow who tells Dorothy that (I'm paraphrasing here) if she doesn't know where she's going, anywhere will get her there. Dorothy comes to a fork in the yellow brick road and she doesn't know which way to take to get her to the Emerald City. The scarecrow says that some go one way, others go the other and each is very nice. He is held up by the pole but he crosses his arms pointing down both directions. It is eventually up to Dorothy to figure out which way she wants to go.
Today, I am struck by a very different symbol. It's not one of the characters in the book, but is the ruby slippers that Dorothy wears -- a gift from Glenda to help guide her way. We know they must be very powerful because the Wicked Witch of the West wants them very badly. But we don't really know why. According to the Oz scholars they have several meanings, one of which is a financial one, but I'm not going to talk about that today.
Instead, on a much simpler note, the meaning of the slippers is that Dorothy could have used them anytime she wanted to take her back to Kansas. They represented a solution to a problem. Well, that's all fine and good, but I see some problems with this, particularly when it comes to the world of entrepreneurship.
In business today, we are bombarded with marketing that tells us, "Hey, join my business and you'll be making a ton of money overnight." "FREE -- come join me and I'll set you up for life in your own email marketing program." And more and more and more. There are FREE webinars that guarantee that we will soon become the go-to person in our field. We can be stay at home moms and still make thousands of dollars a month, only spending part-time on the product or service we sell. The tales go on and on. It's kind of like, when you get to Oz, you can have anything you want. A brain? Sure. A heart? Why not. And you want Courage? Of course my dear cowardly lion.
And then you have those ruby slippers. All Dorothy had to do was tap them together 3 times and say "there's no place like home." Wouldn't it be great if we could do the same thing, saying "my business is the best." Or, "I make thousands of dollars a year." The ads that we see for business building are those ruby slippers, telling us that all we have to do is believe, and we'll make it.
Unfortunately, I don't think that's true. And believe me, I wish it were. This is my first "dent" in the truth of what the movie tells us. All along the way we've seen the courage, the heart the tenacity of the group, working their way to their goal -- the Emerald City. And you know what? They make it and they get what they were looking for. FANTASTIC. Yes, I do believe that THAT can and should be a part of our actions and attitudes towards our dreams and our goals. Yet, when we're told that none of that was necessary, she could have done it all along just be wishing it were so, then the whole premise (to me) of the movie/book falls tumbling down and is totally discredited.
I get really frustrated, and yes angry, when I see all these tales of unbelievable probable success created by those who (in my terms) resemble the Wizard (a Kansas conman) who tricked the people of the land of Oz into believing he was the "Great and Wonderful Oz."
Holding to this analogy, there are those that might consider me the Wicked Witch because I'm trying to take away the ruby slippers, but I have to say, hard work, courage in the face of danger and a loving regard for others around us, and using your brain when it could be so easy to just follow along any old road, far outweighs the value of those shiny objects on Dorothy's feet or in our newsfeeds. Take heart, lovers of the Oz series, the truth does win out even in this fictional tale. Dorothy does get home, but she gets there because she was determined to do it and found her way amidst all the confusion, calamity and unknown along the way. You can do it too. Just follow that yellow brick road.
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