The Wizard of Oz and Your Career Do Not Mix

If you’re like me, you can still fondly recall the first time you saw The Wizard of Oz. It was a masterpiece in its own time, and it is still seen by pretty much every child ever since. When someone mentions a scarecrow, a witch, or red slippers, your mind may drift back to the comforts of that old classic. However, you probably don’t want to follow the pattern of the Wizard of Oz in your career.

Traveling Companions

In the movie, Dorothy had a slew of traveling companions to “help” her on her way. They included a brainless dunce, a heartless brute, and a spineless wimp. In fact, the one with the least faults was Toto! If you surround yourself with brainless, heartless, and spineless people, then you’re going to have trouble succeeding. Find someone with courage, compassion, and competence to mentor you, and you won’t be attacked by flying monkeys. I promise.

Yellow Brick Road

The Munchkins pointed Dorothy along the Yellow Brick Road early on as a way to find her way. Throughout the entire movie, no matter how bad things were, she could always just get on that path and continue towards her goal. If you’re like most of us, then your career path isn’t going to be quite so easy to figure out. In fact, studies show that most people end up working in a different job from their college major, and the majority of employees will change careers up to five times in their working lives! Planning ahead is definitely worth the effort, because without direction and purpose, you may find yourself a dozen years down the road, sitting in a poppy field and wondering what's happening.

Clicking Heels

In the end, all Dorothy had to do was click her heels to fix the situation. If you plan on doing that whenever the going gets tough, then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. I’ve spoken before about how I take on obstacles, and while it required special footwear, it was something else entirely that forced me to reach my goal--determination. Decide that you're going to ignore the negative news and push onward in your life. And if you're wearing ruby slippers, please do it for a good cause (like the Red Shoe Project).

Comments

[Michael Long (The Red Recruiter)]

That was awesome Ben! Love the analogy and thanks for mentioning Red Shoe Project!

Looking forward,
Michael

[Ethan Bull]

Very sensible advice. As a company that wants to help twenty-somethings find their career path by getting into an industry of their choosing on the ground floor, having a mentor and looking down the path to figure out where you want to go are two of the most important steps. I would add that thinking that you should just be handed the job of your dreams without proving yourself first is a position that many people take and frankly, they're living in the world of Oz too... Thanks.

[Ben Eubanks]

@Michael Glad you enjoyed it! And it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to mention such a worthy cause.

@Ethan I agree with you wholeheartedly. Too many people want something (a good reputation, an awesome job, etc.) without having to do any work for it. Not going to happen. Thanks for the comment!

[Imee]

Very great comparison/analogy you made there. Yeah, real life (not just your career) isn't like the Wizard of Oz. We have to learn to be independent, and know that things don't always go our way. Things can be fixed, but not as simple as the clicking the heels of magic red shoes.

[Jess]

I'll chime in as well, love the analogy!

I'll add one more:

•The Emerald City•
We all think so much about the destination, that we rarely take time to enjoy the journey and the hurdles we encounter. In terms of a career & life, we should not consider diversions a waste of time but rather a shaping of a peppered lively existence. The Wizard of Oz would have been a boring story if they walked straight there with horse blinders, be sure the story of your life & career is a more fun tale!

-Jessl
www.layoffmoveon.com
twitter: __LOMO (that's two underscores)