The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1996) offers us three suggestions: a brain, a heart, and courage.
1) A Brain
Dorothy: “How can you talk if you don’t have a brain?”
Scarecrow: “I don’t know… But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking … don’t they?”
2) A heart
Dorothy: “Goodbye Tinman. Oh, don’t cry! You’ll rust so dreadfully.”
Tinman: “Now I know I’ve got a heart ’cause it’s breaking…”
3) Courage
“You have plenty of courage, I am sure,” answered Oz. “All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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We often don’t dare to share our inner-most feelings, sometimes, even with ourselves.
And that’s where we start our journey of exploring what is deep inside of us.
Buried like a lost treasure, we dig and excavate through the cobwebs of ourselves. Nothing that anyone prepared us for when they gave us the cookie cutter templates of our lives — go to school, make friends, be popular, dress fashionably, get degrees, find a partner, get a job, buy a house, decorate it well, buy a car, go on vacation, manage a career, have children, be professional, do volunteer work, follow the trends, dress well, eat well, save for tomorrow and oh yeah, have some fun while you are at it.
There are no manuals here. There is work. No one prepares us for this chapter in life when, at any age, we are ready to explore what is in our heart.
I have been witnessing the masks that some people around me feel they need to wear because they don’t want to appear weak. And underneath the hood, there is pain and shame they are walking around with. Some of it is very deep. You would never think they were hurting. They stay silent as they are supposed to be strong. But the cracks are starting to show and it is so important for us to acknowledge them. New conversations and mindsets can emerge to break the current molds of how life is supposed to be to encompass the new dreams that spark the imagination.
We live in a world where we are celebrating being vulnerable and authentic. And this just makes me wonder how we got here. To be human is to feel. To be human is to have faith. How do we learn if we don’t get in touch with our human vulnerability? Authenticity requires us to feel deeply and be in touch with our biggest dreams and fears.
All of our systems are starting to crack in front of our eyes and this is an opportunity; not a crisis. New mindsets need to architect a new way forward on a planet where every living being is connected in ways we never imagined. So much is possible.
We will have more 21st century leaders in the world when more of us take a journey into ourselves before we try to fix everyone else. No one needs fixing. No one wants to be fixed.
What we want and what we have the capacity to do is to be connected to people who care deeply about themselves, us and our planet. When was the last time you practiced this ancient technology that is making a comeback? When was the last time you had an open two-way conversation where you can show up with whatever is in your heart; in life and in work? What makes you feel listened to?
Instead of being addicted to our busyness, what would happen if each of us reached out to someone and truly listened? What is possible when we break down the armor?
And so much is possible today with technology. We could be having so many conversations via video chats and staying connected to other people despite what the Outlook or Google calendar monsters tell us about who which meetings we need to attend.
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21st-century leaders are human. We understand that trust, community and relationships are the currencies that sustain life. We don’t need to talk about vulnerability or authenticity as we live the highs and lows of our humanity.
Our world needs each of us to stop needing to be right in making our arguments and points when we have conversations. Empathy, listening and connecting deeply are our opportunities in every aspect of life.
Like you, I am on this journey. I am exploring, excavating and connecting with the most heartfelt people on the planet.
I send you an open invitation to take the first step and join us in co-creating a new path where people matter and we recognize that we are in the business of people.