Traveling the yellow brick road

Traveling the yellow brick road

Tim Connor

I am not the Wizard of Oz, just to be clear, however I would like to ask you – are you traveling your path to tomorrow awake, asleep, with passion, with apathy or just not quite sure?

Many years ago when my youngest daughter was only five she knew every word in the entire movie and would often entertain us with her performances.  These were special times with wonderful memories, but I digress.

The Yellow Brick Road had a destination and Dorothy had no clue what that destination looked like, but she kept on the path in spite of her uncertainty and often discouragement. We are all on this road regardless of what you call it or where you are on it.  The question is – are you consistently moving forward toward your destination even though you don’t know what that will look like when you arrive or you are hesitant due to the advice or criticism of others, the fear that you might not be able to handle what you encounter or you lack the confidence and desire to just make the trip no matter how things turn out when you arrive?

For starters we can never know for certain the endings we will experience as life is and 

always be filled with detours, delays and uncertainty. But, this doesn’t imply that we should not continue to pursue our dreams, hopes, desires and plans.  Too many people die with their potential left in them as they failed to pursue the road ahead in fear of what they might encounter.

The Yellow Brick Road is symbolic for me in many ways and not because of the fantasy, but because of the journey we are all on while we are here. Each of us was give a great deal of potential and talent by God and yet too many of us fail to achieve the roles and accomplishments we were destined to complete.  Why is this?  Oh, too many reasons but here are three that I feel many people struggle with.

-The fear of the unknowns –

Everyone, every day faces unknowns of some type – the outcome of a decision, the fact that they can’t control every aspect of life, the future of a relationship, the circumstances of a career choice – this list is endless.  Fear is the fundamental emotion that prevents us from trying, experimenting, desiring, hoping and believing.  If we let it, it will dominate our every choice, action, behavior and emotion.  Far too many people become slaves to the fears of life but keep in mind, these fears are nothing more than emotional choices that each of us make.  Something that one person is afraid of can be a source of passion, adventure and positive action for others.  Yes, fears are common but not everyone responds in the same way to the fearful triggers that life places on our path’s events or in our minds.

We choose fear.  We let fear rule us. We are victims of fear’s agendas and we let fear rule our lives.  Or – we use our fears to get stronger, wiser, more confident and take back control of our lives and our destiny.

-The need for approval or acceptance of others –

As we travel through life hundreds of people cross our path – some for a short time and some for many years.  One of the traits of people who live with anxiety, stress and disappointment are those who seek the approval or acceptance of others.

Having been in front over one million people in my world travels as a speaker I can tell you with certainty there were hundreds of people who didn’t like my message, the way I dressed, the way I talked or the way I part my hair.  Get it – sooner or later not everyone is going to like you and many will not approve of you – your decisions, actions, behavior or your personality.  As long as we seek the approval of others and that drives who we are and how we behave we are certain to over time lose the integrity of who we are.

I learned a long time ago after being in front of hundreds of audiences around the world that it’s more important that I like me than you liking me.  Yes, I am friendly, compassionate, kind and thoughtful, but even possessing these traits are not enough for some people.  Sooner or later you are going to be rejected and not because of whom you are but because of whom they are.  Seeking approval is a waste of time and energy and leads only to a lack of congruence in who you really are and how you behave.

-The lack of a spiritual foundation –

I am not talking about religion here – I don’t care if you are a Catholic, Jew, Muslim or Protestant or never go to church or go several times a week – this is not the issue and I won’t dig here into the benefits or drawbacks of any religious beliefs, what I’m referring to here is simply – are you grounded in a spiritual foundation? Spiritual – divine, devout or you believe there is a higher power that guides, directs, influences or contributes to inner peace and contentment in your life?

As we travel the road into our future I have learned that spiritual people have more positive qualities than negative ones – no they are not perfect but they have the right intentions and agendas.  As you travel the yellow brick road your spiritual leanings will have a tremendous impact on the quality of your life and its circumstances and your responses to them.

“Life is a one way road. You can choose to keep moving forward to new territory. Or you can choose to go in reverse because it is familiar territory, but then you get further away from ever achieving what could be in the future.”

Anonymous