Have you ever watched the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’? I mean really watched it to try and get behind the message conveyed?
When I was a young boy I watched the movie every Christmas and to me at the time it was just a great story about a group of friends going on a fabulous journey together. Each of the friends desired a solution to their own unique problem. Together, they set out on an adventure of a lifetime. The answer to their dreams, or so they thought, would be provided by the great Wizard of Oz.
On their journey they met with many obstacles only to find at the end of their journey, the wizard of Oz was a sham. The person they thought held all the answers was not who they thought he was. However, the key point here is it made little difference to the outcome.They each achieved their dream because of the journey they made together!
The message is clear. No one else can fulfill your dreams for you. Your dreams are achieved through personal growth. The journey you take is the real key to self improvement! And strangely enough, the best way for you to achieve your dreams is by helping others achieve their dreams. This is exactly what Dorothy and her friends did on the road to Oz.
Although our dreams are important and give us hope it is only through personal growth we find true happiness and inner peace. Think about this for a moment. We might be happy to achieve our dreams but how about what we have become on the way? Do we not grow through experience? Are we not better, more confident and happier people by the progress we make? You see, the obstacles we meet and overcome are necessary to our progress and vital to keeping our dreams alive. In turn, the whole process is essential to holding onto your dreams once they have been met. Think of the Lottery. The majority of Lottery winners can’t hold onto their money after they have won it. Why is this? Because, they were not ready to receive it. They haven’t become the person that large amounts of money demands. Even worse, self motivation is very difficult when you’re handed everything you want on a plate!
Going back to the story of the Wizard of Oz you will no doubt remember what each of the characters was after. If you think about it you will realize that a balance of courage, heart or emotional character and knowledge are the things we need to be successful. These are the roots of success and the things that ultimately create the fruits of success. The more we work on them the more successful we will be. To exercise these important attributes we need dreams and the passion to pursue them. You really can’t get anywhere without taking the journey.
Doing something is the real expression of faith. Learning from the actions we take is how we build our knowledge. Walking into something without knowing the outcome is how we build our courage. We train the mind by giving each task our complete focus. The development of empathy rounds off our emotional character.
Personal growth is a product of pursuing our dreams. This is the real reason why dreams are so important!
Stress in our personal and professional lives is ever changing and constantly on the rise. Everyday we’re expected to do more and more with less and less – less resources, less energy and less time. 
