Put on your ruby slippers …

What movie do you think of when you hear the term “classic” movie?

There are a lot of good movies out there, but classics are those that are set apart because their quality exceeds the norm.

Surely, one of the great classics has to be “The Wizard of Oz.”

I think this movie is probably more entertaining if you watched it as a kid, which I did. It was funny and dramatic, and had a message, a combo I always enjoy.

At the heart of this movie is also another “classic” … a classic problem within human behavior. We see it by the simple story of seeing four persons — Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion, and Scarecrow — each having a very real need, each one knowing what they need to do to accomplish the need, and each one being so afraid of doing what needs to be done to achieve their needs that they nearly fail at the pursuit.

That is a “classic” or common story line in our lives. We know what we need, want, or desire, yet we’re afraid of doing what needs to be done to meet the need. We also know how empty our lives will be should we not do what needs to be done to bring about the needed change. We understand the theory, but are so afraid of turning it into reality that often we don’t try, or give up somewhere along the journey.

By now, I must have experienced at least thousands of times where I have sat with people who saw the great need for change in their lives, who understood precisely what they needed to do to bring about the needed change, but who were afraid of taking real action to make their journey of making the needed change a reality.

If this was in the movie, Dorothy would have never returned home. The Lion would have never found courage. The Tin Man would have never gained a heart. And the Scarecrow would be nothing more than straw stuffing.

In real life, the result of giving in to fear is as dramatic, if not more so.

Have you stepped out in pursuing making the changes you need or want? Or are you allowing fear to keep you from making the journey of turning your life theory into reality?

Scotty