The Dream Machine and the Wizard of Oz

Entrepreneurship in the land of Oz

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. More difficult is becoming an entrepreneur. Especially in a place like Kansas.

Dorothy and her dog Toto lived in Kansas, until a strong cyclone came along and whisked them away. They landed up following the yellow brick road to a wonderful place called the land of Oz.

That’s where Dorothy met the magical wizard. She eagerly described her dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

The wizard – Dorothy my dear, you must first understand all the implicit perspectives of becoming an entrepreneur. The first is the opposite of your wish – – 'an entrepreneur becomes Dorothy'.

The wizard continued --Implicit within your transformation to become an entrepreneur is the opposite, and equal, force – – much as in physics. Entrepreneurs actualize marketplace potential. There are unrealized market niches and wasted resources waiting for an entrepreneur to leverage. As Dorothy becomes an entrepreneur she will in her own way leverage an unrealized market niche. That market inefficiency is waiting for an entrepreneur and has a unmanifest entrepreneur in waiting. That unrealized entrepreneur will articulate this potential niche and leverage resources to both make a profit and improve society. That unmanifest entrepreneur is Dorothy – – that unrealized entrepreneur will become Dorothy.

The wizard of Oz – – Dorothy my child, something magical happens here in the land of Oz. Once you set your heart right and your spirit is committed, a process will start happening – – you’ll start having the traits and habits and passions of an entrepreneur. You’ll start articulating dreams of wonderful businesses, you’ll start planning and convincing others to committing to new businesses, even though they’re unproven and don’t have a product yet. You’ll start taking risks that the old Dorothy would avoid at all cost. These traits are scary, they are the characteristics of an entrepreneur; that entrepreneur is becoming Dorothy.

The wizard – –Dorothy, are you good with this?

Oh yes, good to go. The land of Oz sure beats Kansas. What’s next?

The wizard – – Dorothy, you are more than just the subject of this entrepreneurial transformation. You are more than just a noun. You’re alive and animated; you’re a vibrant process. In English grammar, like a verb. So with this next perspective you’re going to be alive and acting – ‘Dorothy personifies’ is going to be the verb in our next sentence. So the sentence will look like:

 Subject, Dorothy personifies, Object

Still the wizard – – Here’s the 2^nd new insight, ‘an entrepreneur’ is going to be the new subject and we’re going to look at it from that perspective:

From the perspective of an entrepreneur, Dorothy personifies becoming.

The wizard – – from the viewpoint of risk-taking imaginative entrepreneurs, Dorothy’s transformation, personifies the process of becoming. Dorothy becomes the land of Oz poster girl for personal transformation, for metamorphosing into a more powerful person, Dorothy personifies becoming.

The wizard continues – – after you become a successful entrepreneur instead of valuing your success you will learn to more so value the process whereby you became an entrepreneur. You will value the personal transformation you suffered through and exalted within. Our dear insecure Dorothy blossoms into and imaginative and creative entrepreneur.

The wizard - - Dorothy, are you hanging in there? Things move fast here in the land of Oz – – we can always backup.

Dorothy -- This was always my dream. But, I was always safe from my dream. I knew I didn’t have the courage to pursue it, so I can always left it at a distance, where I didn’t have to commit. Wow. Wow. My dream is now looking me straight in the face, I can’t hide. I am with you wizard, time to face the music.

The wizard – – Now, for our third new insight. We’re going to keep Dorothy as the verb and make the process of becoming the subject. Here’s the new perspective.

From the perspective of becoming, Dorothy personifies and entrepreneur.

Wizard – Dorothy, tell me what this is teaching you.

Dorothy -- Wow, I think I’m getting this. Here’s the new lesson. From the perspective of transformation, in the history of all personal transformations, I, Dorothy, am doing this like an entrepreneur. I take on personal transformation in the spirit of an imaginative, risk-taking, creative entrepreneur. I don’t just passively get changed into something new, I own it  – – like an entrepreneur – – I can see a dream coming true. I love this land of Oz.

Wizard -- Dorothy, you’re getting it. Just like you became a process, likewise, an entrepreneur is more than just an object. It’s more than just a noun. Entrepreneurship is a very active process, it’s alive, it’s a verb. We’re going to use is ‘entrepreneurship personifies’ as our verb. Our fourth new insight is:

From Dorothy’s perspective, entrepreneurship personifies becoming.

Dorothy – – let me take a stab at this. From my perspective, entrepreneurship is a good example of personal transformation. Stepping up to the many hazards of entrepreneurship and accepting the inherent risk epitomizes personal transformation.

I am really getting this – – thank you wizard. I needed magic for my dream to become true. This is magic.

Wizard -- There’s one more insight implicit within your original dream.  Your original dream had more dimensions than you could see in Kansas. There were five additional dreams, hidden, before you came to see the Wizard. Here’s your gift Dorothy, straight from the land of Oz:  You get six streams for the price of one.

From the perspective of becoming, entrepreneurship personifies Dorothy.

Dorothy – – wow, this really hits home. Wizard, this is such a compliment. I never would’ve dreamed of this back in Kansas. This is telling me from the perspective of personal transformation, entrepreneurship looks like me, acks like me, feels like me, thinks like me, is excited like me. I’m not only this scared person from Kansas becoming an entrepreneur, I am the poster child for becoming an entrepreneur. I am a good example. I am a teaching example moment, a teaching example.

More from Dorothy --- this is wonderful, I feel my dream is now empowered and I am my new self. However, I’m really nervous about going back to Kansas where the land is flat and imaginations don’t get off the ground.

The wizard – – you’ve now experienced the full consciousness of your dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Once experienced, you’ll have it forever. You learned beyond just you mind – – you learned with your heart and you learned with your courage. Don’t worry about Kansas. You just found your new home.