Did you know you have a pair of ruby slippers just like the ones that Dorothy wore in the Wizard of Oz? You do, even If you’re a guy and you’re not into wearing women’s clothing!

I want to share Dorothy’s story in the Wizard of Oz to show you what I mean.

You may remember how Dorothy was swept up in a tornado in Kansas and landed in a strange land of Oz, on top of a witch wearing ruby slippers that immediately moved to Dorothy’s feet.

She wanted to go home so badly and was told that the Wizard in the Emerald City could help her.

So, she followed a yellow brick road to meet him and along the way, met some interesting characters who all believed the Wizard could help them too.

Our lives are a lot like Dorothy’s, our yellow brick road is a journey called life, where we meet lots of interesting people along the way towards our goals in life, whatever they might be.

But mirroring our lives after a movie may not always be the best idea.  

When Dorothy and her friends met the wizard, he told them he’d only grant them their wishes if they brought back the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. They ran into this witch several times to do this and she did everything she could to steal Dorothy’s slippers and their power. She even sent those creepy flying monkeys to stop her and wrote in the sky, “Surrender Dorothy.”

We do the same thing when we listen to the wizards in our lives, like our parents, bosses, or friends who recommend certain paths to achieve our goals. We may even run into our personal version of flying monkeys that make us wonder, “Do I really have what it takes to do this? Should I surrender?”

In the end, we find out, just like Dorothy and her friends, we do indeed have what we need to get what we want…and, this power is right inside of us all along.

We, just like Dorothy and friends, can’t see them without the mirror that the challenges of our journey reflect back to us.

We may also discover what Dorothy found out in the end: The Wizard had no magical powers at all when they pulled back that green velvet curtain.

Why is that? Why is it so hard to see what’s right inside of us? Why do we rely on wizards, witches, and flying monkeys to move forward in life?

Apollo Robbins, a skilled pickpocket, says in his Ted Talk, The things right in front of us are the hardest things to see. 

Well, I have a short cut to your mirror that reflects your power and ruby slippers that doesn’t require wizards, witches or flying monkeys.

It’s called your subconscious and although it may seem like the mystical land of Oz, it’s quite easy and practical to work with once you understand its goal, what it wants, and how it communicates.

This is where the power and magic of your ruby slippers lie.

Your subconscious’ primary goal is to help you survive, not thrive and be happy. It views changes as a disruption to what has worked in the past to meet its goal to keep you alive.

When you want to evolve, it’ll resist and present flying monkeys to slow you down.

It also wants something which is the same thing that we all ultimately want: To be seen, heard, and understood.

The problem is that few of us understand how it communicates. Due to its archaic nature, it uses symbols, feelings, and metaphors based on your unique internal Land of Oz’s definitions and experiences which isn’t easily understood by our conscious mind.

When you learn to look beneath the surface of what you see every day in front of you, you’ll begin to see the deeper meaning that it’s expressing to you.

Once you understand this, it will understand that you understand it! Then, it will understand that you are ready to go beyond surviving and are ready to thrive.

With that out of the way, it’ll project your next steps to your ruby slippers in the hidden meaning of what’s in front of you.

This means you can confidently stop relying on a wizard, bosses, or flying monkeys to fully own your journey at the known and unknown levels.

So, don’t be like Dorothy. Instead, look inward then outward, to see your ruby slippers, and, without clicking your heels three times, find your way home.