This is my first column here at NABBW and I\’m very excited to meet all of you. I believe that a great way to get to know someone is to share a little something. So here\’s a revelation about me:

I love ruby slippers!

Yes – the classic Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz kind, or my very own snazzy, red sequin Converse sneakers! Ruby slippers mean a lot to me, in part because I always wanted red shoes when I was a child and never got them. My mom believed in black patent leather, saddle oxfords and navy blue Keds – that was it!

The slippers are also important to me because I believe in what I call the “5-Step Ruby Slippers” plan. The Ruby Slippers plan is an amazing life strategy that will help you weather transitions and make change that\’s not easy. Like Dorothy\’s journey to Oz, Midlife is full of challenges. They may not look like witches and flying monkeys, but if you think about it, they feel like that sometimes, don\’t they? But just like the wicked witch didn\’t stop Dorothy from getting home to Kansas, midlife crisis won\’t keep you from an amazing life after 50 if you have a success strategy like Dorothy\’s.

Frankly, it wasn\’t just the power of the ruby slippers that got Dorothy back to Kansas. She got back home because she implemented the 5-Step Ruby Slippers Plan that took her from Munchkin Land with her house on top of a dead witch to the emerald city of Oz. Dorothy\’s journey wasn\’t easy. And yours may not be either if you\’re in the middle of midlife like millions of other Baby Boomer Women.

That\’s where the 5-Step Ruby Slippers Plan comes in. Dorothy used this strategy long before she knew that those awesome-looking ruby slippers of hers had magical powers. Here it is:

  • Visualize where you want to be. Dorothy discovered there was a wizard who could help her get home to Kansas. He was in Oz so that\’s where Dorothy had to be.
  • Make a plan on how you\’ll get there. Since Dorothy didn\’t have the power to swoop around on a broomstick, she knew she had to walk to Oz.
  • Assemble your resources and support system. Like many of us, Dorothy found her support team along the way – the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Lion.
  • Have an unwavering belief that you\’re going in the right direction. Despite everything she encountered, Dorothy knew in her heart that getting to the Wizard was her ticket home to Kansas and nothing stood in her way.
  • Head that way. You know this part – she followed the yellow brick road!

    • And just like Dorothy did when her goal was in sight, click the heels of your ruby slippers, metaphorically speaking, and let them take you home to where you\’re really supposed to be at this point in your life.

    Karen Batchelor life coach, speaker, author and authority on how to have an amazing life after 50

    Karen Batchelor is a certified life coach and proud midlife crisis survivor who provides inspiration, encouragement and support to other women (and men) as they navigate through life at 50 plus. After more than 20 years in corporate and legal careers, Karen completely reinvented herself after 50 and started getting what she really wanted out of life – personally and professionally.

    Now as the premier coach for 50-somethings, she combines her diverse and extensive skills with her natural blend of creativity, enthusiasm and humor to help Baby Boomers make their fifties the gateway to the best half of life.