SEARCHING FOR THE WIZARD

SEARCHING FOR THE WIZARD

Sometimes in life we spend an inordinate amount of our time searching for the wizard; that something or someone in our life or our work that we hope will provide us with that something or that everything that we feel we need to go on, to be successful, to become a part of the team, to score, to win, to get home.

I think I can, I wish I had, I do believe I do I do I do believe, I’m hoping for more courage, a better brain, a more caring and giving heart, a raise, a promotion, a meeting with the wizard. We envision a yellow brick road laid out and easily followed that will end our search at a beautiful place where every wish and need is available and granted and is the end of our hunger, longing and searching. We have to get there it is our most pressing goal.

The fallacy of searching for the wizard is that the emerald city is a fantasy, a dream. There is no one there who has all of the answers and all of the solutions and often times late in life or late in a career we emerge from the dream and realize just how much time we wasted wishing for the magical easy way through our life and work, searching for the wizard.

What are you wishing for today? Is your attitude the same, better or worse than when you joined the service? Is your courage waning because you failed to build your confidence through training, or is the negative attitude you constantly display your cover for your lack of heart? Do you realize, or care, that the young people behind you are searching too and that their hope is for someone like you to see them through the darkness, through the swamps of sadness, and to help them fight the fights that will give them the courage, the trained brain and most importantly the heart of a champion?

Each of us has an hour glass in life and in our careers. The success we achieve depends on how we spend our time and whether we succumb to the witches we will encounter or not. The hour glass doesn’t care either way, time moves on and won’t wait for us.

The successful people are the ones who are told about the hour glass early, are redirected by a caring mentor when they get off of the road, who are coached to understand that anyone can fail and everyone will fail occasionally, but if you keep climbing and you rely on your training for courage, your trained brain to lead you through trouble and your heart to guide you in the right direction, chances are each day will get better and so will your team and your service.

I was recently asked if I was ever scared in my work. My answer was yes, with the caveat that my training kicked in every time and carried me through my apprehension, my tight spots and my fear. From that thought I hope to encourage each of you to help those who are rusting, falling apart or who find their courage lacking. We’re all searching and on the road together. We support each other, we protect each other, we teach the young, we climb as a team and while climbing we hope the one in front of us has the trained brain, the controlled courage, the heart and that their tail holds out. Where are you in the chain of success? Can you, will you pull your part of the load? I’m searching, I’m young, I’m afraid, I’ve never been here before, I’m behind you and I need to know.

The best part of searching for the wizard is when we realize that we already have what we thought we had to search for. We simply embrace and overcome challenges, we all think deeply about our responsibility to the team, we brain train together, we make each other courageous and we put our team hearts in the right place. If this requires us to change, to adjust, to adapt, to invert our hour glass and to begin again, and it often does, invert the hour glass. You will be better and happier for it.

I’ve been down the road a few times. No one is responsible for my stumbles and failures but me. My teachers, mentors and coaches allowed me to overcome them.  I tire today of the negativity, the hopelessness, the can’t do attitudes, the dreamless wanderers who infect those following and people who have no concept of what they want, what they need, and who seem always to lack the will to make it happen, to reach out and grab it. They didn’t lose their positive thoughts, their courage to care and to serve or their heart, they either never had it or they gave it away through a lack of self determination, a weak inner self or by yielding to a search for a wizard in a castle with a big bag full of easy and get well for them.

The road to success was paved one brick at a time. Get on it and respect those who built it.

Mentor, counsel, teach, grow, stand up or move over. Now that’s a horse of a different color.

If you’ve lost the edge, your heart, your will, your courage – invert the hour glass – it’s respectable to do.

Don’t be fooled by the miserable that need your company – go around, get away, leave them behind.

Pay attention to the signs. You may be on the road, making good time, headed in the wrong direction.

Winning teams win with winning players. Winning players play with heart.

You are the wizard.

Thanks for reading and sharing.

Have a great day – it’s a GREAT day for it.