17 Wizard Of Oz Inspirational Life Lesson Quotes

Sometimes I enjoy movie trivia and other times I think about the important life lessons that are reiterated in a good movie. So when I used a quote on my Facebook page from The Wizard Of Oz yesterday, I thought about some of the great tidbits of wisdom found in the movie.

Brains Need Knowledge

Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven’t got a brain?
Scarecrow: I don’t know… But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking… don’t they?

Too often people without any knowledge jump on the majority bandwagon and act like they don’t have any brains. The best way to avoid this behavior is to take the time to learn about the subject. Don’t just take the word of others. Research, study and learn for yourself and THEN you will have an opinion that is YOURS. Plus, you will have facts that you can discuss to support your view. Don’t do a lot of talking without a brain.

Give My Heart To The Tin Woodsman

Wizard of Oz: As for you, my galvanized friend, you want a heart. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have one. Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.
Tin Woodsman: But I still want one.

And don’t I know this to be true! My heart has gotten me into so much trouble and wasted so much of my precious time on the planet. When you love people who love you back, it is a glorious experience, but when love causes your heart to break…Well, it definitely isn’t fun. I wish I had an unbreakable heart or no heart at all. Just saying.

Keep Going No Matter What Happens

Wizard of Oz: You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; you’re confusing courage with wisdom.

Don’t give up. Life is hard and running away from problems is easy, but remaining in the battle builds character and makes you stronger. I can tell you that, but right now I’m struggling with this one. Every morning that I wake up the first thought that pops in my head is, “This isn’t the life I want and can I run away?” Obviously my courage is waning.

Fake It Until You Break It…No! Until You Make It

Cowardly Lion: Put ’em up, put ’em up! Which one of you first? I’ll fight you both together if you want. I’ll fight you with one paw tied behind my back. I’ll fight you standing on one foot. I’ll fight you with my eyes closed… ohh, pullin’ an axe on me, eh? Sneaking up on me, eh? Why, I’ll… Ruff!

When you are overwhelmed, sometimes the best that you can do is fake being the real you. It helps you put up a more courageous and happy face even though you don’t feel all that courageous or happy. Courage is essential if you are going to conquer your problems. The battles are not easy and you may have to muster all your energy in order to fake it until you make it through them. In the end, all your efforts will be worth it.

Mean People Are Not Always Intrinsically Mean

Wicked Witch of the West: You cursed brat! Look what you’ve done! I’m melting! melting! Oh, what a world! What a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness? Oooooh, look out! I’m going! Oooooh! Ooooooh!

When you allow someone into your life, YOU allow them into your life. At any time, YOU can boot them back out of your life. Remember, it is YOUR life. The hard part about all this is that sometimes the people you have to let go will also take a portion of your heart with them. Love can be so painful sometimes because “mean people” are not always really evil. Everyone is fighting a battle and if they can’t appreciate you in their life, it may be better if they conquer their problems without you.

Hearts Can Be Wonderful

Wizard of Oz: I think you are wrong to want a heart. It makes most people unhappy. If you only knew it, you are in luck not to have a heart.

Although I said earlier that you can remove my heart, I really am a total romantic. When I love you, I love you all the way. I have high expectations in love. I want it all. Trust. Honor. Companionship. Fun. Respect. Passion. Communication. Choosing a partner that does not share the same vision of love with you will usually lead to a failing relationship. No one wants to fail, be unhappy or have their heart broken. But if you can find a person who shares your view of the future, enjoys the love you lavish on them and wants to reciprocate that love back to you, a relationship and heart can be wonderful things.

Sometimes The Grass Isn’t Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence

Tin Woodsman: What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy: Well, I – I think that it – it wasn’t enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em – and it’s that – if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?

A lot could be said and written about being grateful and satisfied with what you have, where you are and who you are sharing your life with. The grass usually isn’t greener on the other side of the fence. The same old stuff may get boring, but that isn’t a good reason to wreck your life. It is a reason to become more creative and to look at things in your life from a different view…one that is filled with appreciation.

Home Is Where You Can Find The People You Love

Dorothy: Oh, but anyway, Toto, we’re home. Home! And this is my room, and you’re all here. And I’m not gonna leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all, and – oh, Auntie Em – there’s no place like home!

Home isn’t really a location on a map. Home is where the people you love are located. Now that my dad has passed away, sometimes I can find home in sweet memories of him.

Uncomfortable Sacrifices Are Necessary

[Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man watch as the Wicked Witch of the West vanishes into a fireball]
Scarecrow: I’m not afraid of her! I’ll see you get safely to the Wizard now, whether I get a brain or not. Stuff a mattress with me. Ha!
Tin Woodsman: I’ll see you reach the Wizard, whether I get a heart or not. Beehive, bah! Let her try and make a beehive out of me!

Friendship and love are not convenient, but when people give unselfishly in order to help you accomplish your goals, it’s not something you should take for granted. Be there for the people you care about even if you don’t fully understand their struggle.

Taking The Time To Know You

[snaps]
Dorothy: Oh, you’re the best friends anybody ever had. And it’s funny, but I feel as if I’d known you all the time, but I couldn’t have, could I?
Scarecrow: I don’t see how. You weren’t around when I was stuffed and sewn together, were you?
Tin Woodsman: And I was standing over there, rusting for the longest time.
Dorothy: Still, I wish I could remember, but I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. We know each other now, don’t we?
Scarecrow: That’s right.
Tin Woodsman: We do.
Scarecrow: To Oz?
Tin Woodsman: To Oz.

You never TOTALLY know anyone including yourself. Of course, the goal is to know yourself fully and to get to know your loved ones as much as possible. The “knowing” is the basis of appreciation, acceptance, trust, respect and love. If you don’t love yourself, it will be very hard, if not impossible to fully feel the love others have for you. So it is really important to take the time to love and appreciate yourself.

Ugly Is As Ugly Does

Glinda, the Good Witch of the North: Only bad witches are ugly.

Have you ever known someone who isn’t really that gorgeous physically, but as time passes, they become beautiful/handsome? The complete opposite is also true. I’ve known many physically attractive people who after you get to know them well, become extremely ugly. I think everyone has beautiful aspects about themselves, but if a person feeds their ugliness inside, their outside becomes ugly too.

I Think I Can! I Think I Can!

Cowardly Lion: Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the “ape” in apricot? What have they got that I ain’t got?
Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman: Courage!

It takes courage to face a physical fear head on, but it takes even more courage to overcome your inner demons. The more you exhibit courage, the more courageous you will become. By having trust and believing in yourself, your courage will grow stronger along with the confidence you need to overcome the obstacles in life. Easy? No, it isn’t easy at all, but being determined to succeed will help get you through the tough times.

Being Scared Doesn’t Mean You Lose

Dorothy: Weren’t you frightened?
Wizard of Oz: Frightened? Child, you’re talking to a man who’s laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe… I was petrified.

I have known fear. I didn’t laugh in the face of death, sneer at doom, and chuckle at catastrophe, HOWEVER, I did succeed at PTSD recovery. Knowing that I made it through the biggest trial in my life is what helps me to keep going. If I can pull myself up from rock bottom, I can do anything. I just have to remind myself of that when life starts to get tough.

The Golden Rule

Scarecrow: The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. Oh joy! Rapture! I got a brain! How can I ever thank you enough?
Wizard of Oz: You can’t.

It is hard to be grateful when you’re going through rough times, but counting your blessings is absolutely necessary to help you move forward and learn from the experience. No matter what you do, it is impossible to completely repay people for their kind acts. The man in front of you in line who pays for your lunch or the co-worker that tells the boss how instrumental you were in getting the project completed can’t be repaid. The best that anyone can do is to live a life of kindness. If we all lived the golden rule of doing to others what you would have them do to you, the world would be an absolutely wonderful place to live every day.

Having A Broken Heart Isn’t The End

Dorothy: Goodbye, Tinman. Oh, don’t cry! You’ll rust so dreadfully. Here’s your oil can.
Tin Woodsman: Now I know I’ve got a heart, ’cause it’s breaking…

Having a broken heart is absolutely horrible. Your heart aches and hurts so badly that you feel like you’re going to die. Actually, people have grieved so much from having a broken heart that they do die. There is a definite brain and heart connection that can’t be denied. The heart sends a whole bunch more commands to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. When we love someone and choose them as a companion, the brain is affected even more. It is often said that the two people become one. In a very literal sense, this statement is true. A person widens their scope of “me” to include the likes, dislikes, habits, actions, strengths, weaknesses, speech patterns and everything that makes up that other person. Then through touch, kissing and lovemaking, we are given physical cells of the other person which adds to our oneness and all of it is stored in our cell memories. That’s why when your heart starts to break, it is actually a very physical pain.

It’s Okay To Be Scared

Tin Woodsman: Oh, he’s just a scared again.
Dorothy: Don’t you know the Wizard’s going to give you some courage?
Cowardly Lion: I’d be too scared to ask him for it.
[sobs]

Although the path can be happy, sad, exciting, scary, it is always your choice. It is not easy to make choices especially when you are worried about having regrets in the future because of the choices you make now. The last thing you want is to feel regret for the decisions. I think one of the most important steps in decision-making is to analyze your choices both intellectually and emotionally. If you look at it from both views, you will be able to reach a decision that will make you the happiest throughout the rest of your life. What is good for you now AND later? Feeling peaceful and tranquil after you make a decision is priceless.

It Can Be Happily Ever After

Wicked Witch of the West: And now, my beauties, something with poison in it, I think. With poison in it, but attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell.
[cackles]

Appearances can be deceiving. The thrill of the moment is sometimes awfully enticing, but those kinds of experiences can often lead to poor choices that will affect the rest of your life. Some mistakes will actually wreck your life. Those are the kinds of mistakes that you should avoid at all costs. Our choices lead to actions which bring about good experiences or consequences. Hopefully, the older you get, the better you are becoming at making choices that will bring about true happiness instead of those that are attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell, but will poison your future.

In Conclusion

I still love watching The Wizard Of Oz and enjoy not only the characters and music, but also the wonderful inspirational life lessons that can be found in the movie. My favorite character in the movie? Well, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Tin Woodsman (Tin Man) who is seeking a heart. I bet that answer totally shocked you. (rolling my eyes)