With a toddler and a preschooler in my family, I thought I was well versed in all things Seuss. Hop on Pop
But one that hadn’t been part of my childhood bedtime story routine, On Beyond Zebra, has recently joined our household, and has got some real gems in it.
Speaking to young Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell, who is sure that now that he has learned the alphabet A to Z that he must know "everything anyone knows", the narrator of the story encourages him to go "beyond Z":
"In the places I go there are things that I see
That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z
I’m telling you this ’cause you’re one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!… You’ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found
Once you go beyond Z and start poking around!"
Teaching young Conrad Cornelius about new letters such as Yuzz, Wum and Humpf, the narrator continues:
"When you go beyond Zebra,
Who knows…?
There’s no telling
What wonderful things
You might find yourself spelling!"
The narrator continues with dear Conrad through many lands with many fantastic creatures, continuing:
"So you see!
There’s no end
To the things you might know
Depending how far beyond Zebra you go!…The places I took him!
I tried hard to tell
Young Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell
A few brand-new wonderful words he might spell.
I led him around and I tried hard to show
There are things beyond Z that most people don’t know.
I took him past Zebra. As far as I could.
And I think, perhaps maybe I did him some good…Because, finally, he said:
‘This is really great stuff!
And I guess the old alphabet
ISN’T enough!’"
This story of course reminds me of many lessons in my own life, and part of what draws me to coaching: what’s possible when you have a shift in perspective on something that’s seemed fixed, permanent, know-able, stuck or immutable.
Like where the alphabet ends. Maybe it doesn’t end at Z. What’s after Z?
Beyond z… my curiosity leads me here:
What’s "beyond Z" for you?
What could you find there?
What old alphabet are you using?
Before specializing as a professional coach in 2004, I spent more than a decade in leadership, management and program development for state and local government and non-profit organizations. Now I get to help leaders and teams have more clarity and ability to stand up for what's important in their work and in their organizations. Working with me, leaders and teams find more meaning and purpose, feel happier and more confident, navigate change and conflict, and work together better.