Make Your Own Mark – Advice from Glinda the Good Witch

What does Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz have to teach us as solopreneurs?

Before I answer this question, let me tell you a little story.

My 7 year old son has been doing Junior Theater and is performing in The Wizard of Oz for his school play. He’s a flying monkey and a munchkin and has all of one line, but he doesn’t care.

He asked if we could watch the movie on tv, so we rented it and snuggled up to watch it together. I loved having the memories of that movie come back to life and was amazed at how many of the songs and lines I remembered.

One part I didn’t remember was at the very end when Dorothy discovers that she had the power to get back home the whole time, just by clicking her sparkly red shoes together. She asks Glinda – why didn’t you tell me what to do in the first place?

To which Glinda responds…because sometimes you need to figure things out for yourself if they are to be meaningful. Watch the video clip below to hear what she says.

 

As soon as I heard these words I realized how meaningful they are for us as entrepreneurs. I posted the question on my Facebook Page – what does Glinda the Good Witch have to teach us as entrepreneurs, and there were some great answers. One of the top responses was “we have the power to choose our own destiny”.  I couldn’t agree more.

Let’s take that a little further and think about this. When you invest in a program to help you build your business, or you listen to a free teleseminar with a leading mentor, what do you do with the information you learn? Do you take it at face value and figure out how to apply the “formula”? Or do you dig deep to understand the strategic principles behind what they share and figure out how to apply it to your own business?

We all want shortcuts, and we love templates and formulas that help us get faster results. I’m all for that! But sometimes you can’t just take the information handed to you. You need to figure out for yourself what it means for your business. How will you apply what you learn? What do you need to tweak to make it work for your target market, for your business model, for your personal style and strengths?

I urge you to get strategic, get creative, and dig deep to see how you can best apply all that you learn in a way that is meaningful for you.  You might get there faster by just clicking your heels and listening to the shining stars, but the journey will be much more rewarding when you follow your own yellow brick road.