Feel Good Fridays-Follow Your Yellow Brick Road

"As you journey through life, choose your destination wisely, but don't hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads, the forgotten paths, the unknown ways, as you keep your dreams in your heart as the light that guides you. 

Seek out new voices, strange sights, and bold ideas. Such things are riches for the soul. 

And if, upon your arrival, you find that your destination is not exactly what you dreamed it would be, don't be disappointed. Think of all you would have missed if not for the journey there, and know that the true worth of your travels lies not just in where you've come to be, but in who you become along the way." ---Linda Staten

 When all is said and done, I hope my journey takes me back here.

Photo: Jaclyn Mullen. Cancun, Mexico in July, 2010.

Upon waking up this first Friday of February, I grabbed a book that was gifted to me by my college roommate Nicole (who happens to be one of my closest friends). The title "GO FOR IT--A Celebration Of Your Dreams" just called my attention this morning.

As most people do when reading a book, I flipped open to the first few pages and came upon the paragraph above. Then, I paused in my tracks. For some reason, the Wizard of Oz popped into my head and I thought about the "yellow brick road."

We all have a journey; a yellow brick road but where is it leading us? 

Does it matter where we are going so long as we grow along the way?

More importantly, have you ever arrived at the destination of the road feeling like you went down the wrong way?

Each new year is a new road to follow. That's why we create New Years resolutions and set annual goals. Some years are better than others. And for those that may not turn out as we had hoped, are we able to see who we have become along the way? 

I, unlike a lot of other people, have the fortune of pursuing various yellow brick roads. For one, I have a risk taking spirit by nature, not in a wild sense. I am a gypsy. I can live out of a suitcase without any discomfort. I am single, no husband, no kids, no pet. I can roam freely and have always taken advantage of that.

Plane picture I took circa 2007

There was the time I left my hometown at eighteen to move to Florida and start completely anew. Several years later, I moved to LA. There was the time I quit my corporate job working for a commercial real estate firm to pursue my passions and joined a hip hop dance crew. These days, I'm on a whole new path and have to work really hard not to rush to get "there."

But what about you? Are you frustrated that the route "there" is taking so long? Do you stop and make a list of accomplishments you have achieved along the way? Daily, weekly, monthly? Do you venture off into the unknown or is fear holding you back from pursuing something you REALLY want to do?

Read the statement above from Linda Staten again. Seek out a new sight today in your hometown, drive or walk a different route home. And if you can't enjoy the journey because you're pressed for time, have no fear. I'm happy to provide one new voice, one strange sight and one bold idea this Feel Good Friday. 

1. New Voice...sort of. These guys are definitely guaranteed to make you get up out of your seat and move, courtesy of many other people's voices. I don't know how "they" do it but I LOVE IT. Check out Hood Internet vs Chicago, these dynamic DJ's mix up an amazing assortment of hip hop, rock, 80's music. Whenever I need to be productive, I listen to a Hood Internet mix. Being 'hood never felt so good.
2. New, strange sight. I don't mean strange as in funky or weird, I mean strange as in new--something you don't see everyday. Newsflash, you don't have to fly anywhere to see a new sight. Check out National Geographic--with a few clicks of your mouse, you can see the sunset in Kenya.
3. One bold idea. Apple, one of America's most popular brands, has always been bold, brave and bad ass! This article from The99Percent.com demonstrates how a brand like Apple can think different and find success. Perhaps it can inspire a bold new idea or approach in you.

As this post proves, you don't have to go very far to find something new. After all, it was the wise Lao Tzu has said, "the journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." 

Beneath--not ahead of one's feet, or behind. Right where you are. Follow the yellow brick road, even if you don't end up at your desired Emerald Castle, for maybe, as it's been in my case, it will be a Ruby Castle instead.