I'm Off to See the Wizard

In 2000, I wrote a little story, a fable of sorts. It came in at about 95 pages. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. Why do we not trust our own efforts, especially the artistic ones? Painters, poets, sculptors, writers, musicians seem to struggle with doubts and fears. Shakespeare wrote, “Our doubts are traitors that make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing the attempt.” It’s ironic the title of my story was “Freedom from Fear” (Over 120,000 copies sold worldwide!)

When I sent the story to my mentor and friend, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, he called me two weeks later and said, “That little story you wrote is tremendous. If you can write another story like that, you won’t need to speak anymore!” What? Wow! His words changed my beliefs about my abilities. You see, I had a year of junior college. I had flunked high school English. My doubts were traitors…

Words. They trigger pictures and bring about emotion. Positive or negative. If they come from a source we trust and believe, they can predict and perpetuate the future. Do you remember watching the movie “The Wizard of Oz” by Frank Baum? The book was published in 1900 by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago when Frank was 44 years old. It changed his life. Up to that point he struggled to make ends meet. The story and it’s component parts were compiled from events in his life spanning over 30 years, like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces finally came together to form a extra-ordinary picture.

The protagonist was a young girl and her dog that simply wanted to find a way to get home. A charming and heart warming goal. Along the way she assembled a team of like minded misanthropes who also doubted whether they had what it took to achieve their objective. A Scarecrow, a Tin-Man, A Lion and a little dog, Toto. Each character doubted their abilities but somehow believed in the mission. If they followed the Yellow Brick Road, they could solicit the help of an all powerful being who would have the answers they sought. Along the way, the faced adversity (led by a Wicked Witch, the personification of evil) and her army of Flying Monkeys. 

When they finally reach the Wizard, they find out he was a faker, a charlatan. It was all smoke and mirrors. He does however give them a great gift, the gift of BELIEF. You see, every new belief has the word LIE right in the middle! Knowing this, he provides a symbol of the new belief. The Scarecrow receives a Diploma to prove he is smart. The Tin-Man receives a ticking heart shaped clock to symbolize that he has heart. The Lion receives a Medal that proves he is brave. Once received, they ACT in those ways and Dorothy finally gets home. The irony in this fable is, “They had what they needed all along!”  

Each of us has the power within us to “Get Home!” We need only trust and belief we can be our own Wizard. What if you engaged in the following actions?

1. What is YOUR Goal? How badly do you want it? We must first make a heartfelt and sincere DECISION to achieve something near and dear to our hearts. The objective must be emotionalized and strong.

2. Write out exactly what you want. Make it a single goal, written down as if it were already true. Be sure it Personal, Positive, Powerful and Present tense. Focus on it to the exclusion of everything else. BeLIEve you have the courage and ability to achieve it!

3. Assemble your team of people who believe in your goal. Make certain they possess the strengths and skills that you lack. Treat them well. Trust them to provide you with the necessary support needed to achieve your number one goal.

4. Be willing to bounce back from adversity. Setbacks, challenges and roadblocks are going to happen. Constancy of purpose is what is needed. Knocked down seven times, stand up eight! Stay the course. Be persistent and learn from your mistakes.

5. Understand the WHY of your WHAT! You must have highly emotionalized reasons to get you through. The objective must have meaning and purpose. Sometimes we only need one good reason to keep the flame of purpose lit.

6. Find mentors (your Good Witch) who can provide the tools and inspiration you need to stay the course. Your mentors have done what you want to do and been where you want to go. You will need their support more than once as you travel your Yellow Brick Road.

7. Celebrate your progress along the way. Capture the good things that happen. Whatever gets rewarded gets repeated. Share the credit and honor and respect those committed teammates. They will see you through to the end of your road.

I miss Charlie Jones. He would be proud of my newest book, “Freedom from FAT”. You see, I believed his words. They changed my life. I have worked hard on my writing gifts, and like Frank Baum, my children have provided the inspiration to stay on my own “Yellow Brick Road.” I have become my own Wizard and you can too. It turns out, each of already possesses the necessary tools needed to get home. After all, “There is no place like home!” Now what did I do with those slippers?

Mark Matteson - 206.697.0454 - [email protected] - www.sparkingsuccess.net/store