E-couragement: Oz

“Happiness is the uncovering of what you already have.” Leo Babauta  Several years ago I was enjoying a solitary lunch at Bear Rock Café in Greensboro, NC. I was multitasking by eating a sandwich, journaling ideas, and listening to music piped in overhead. My attention was corralled when I overheard a song from my youth by the band America; a particular lyric grabbed my attention and I quickly scribbled it down in my Day-Timer. The song was Tin Man and the verse is: “No, Oz never did give nothin’ to the Tin Man that he didn't, didn't already have.” That day…in that moment, this poetic line meant more to me than ever before.

Recently, a couple of my coaching clients had their very own Oz revelation. We started our journey by outlining the qualities they wished to attain as a result of our work together. Then I had them “interview” a number of their colleagues. They asked these peers to list the strengths observed in them while working side-by-side. Interestingly enough, the traits pointed out were the same ones my clients hoped to acquire. We had to agree that what they desired in the future, was already in their possession. 

This experience emphasizes my true role as a consultant, speaker, and coach. It helps me release the illusion that I might be Oz. It reminds me that my most effective work takes place without a smoke screen, or a booming know-it-all voice, or hiding behind a self-protective curtain. Actually, I’m less Oz and more Dorothy. I assist clients to anticipate life’s flying monkeys while helping them recognize and utilize what they already have and who they already are. You see, as I was reminded in Bear Rock Café that one afternoon, “I never did give nothin’ to my clients that they didn’t, didn’t already have.”

Just as my clients already possess everything they need to be successful—so do you. It might be nice to outsource your growth and development to a person or thing called Oz. That way it would be someone else’s responsibility. That’s not the case. You lack nothing. You have all the courage, heart, and brains you’ll ever need. They’re yours to discover, yours to embrace, and yours to utilize. Your personal yellow brick road is waiting for you. You’ll find everything you need and everything you are along that journey.

Leave your comments: What discoveries have you made about yourself along life’s journey?