Hi! Tammy here. So glad you have joined us. Our book clubs, including the 2018 through 2023 Refuse to Choose! book clubs I led, have been so wonderful, and I am glad to join you for the 2024 club. Great people, great insights, plenty of sharing and encouragement. I am really looking forward to reading Refuse to Choose! with you. We will do the exercises in the first part of the book, then try out the Life Design Models, Scanner Careers and Scanner Tools in the second part to find the best ones for each of us.
Also in the second part, we have a real treat: some brand new exercises and a quiz created by Barbara just for our book club!
Refuse to Choose! is all about doing everything that you love, and that is just what I have been doing with my life. I was so excited when Barbara wrote this guide to the Scanner life and let us see we are not all alike, and we need our own custom-tailored approaches to enjoying life as a Scanner. I used ideas in this book to raise the extra money I needed to join Barbara for her first-ever Scanner Retreat in Corfu, Greece.
The book: You will need a copy of Refuse to Choose! for all 16 weeks. If you don’t already have one, try Abe Books, Powell Books, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. Any version, hard cover, paperback, Kindle, Nook, new or used or borrowed, is fine.
Our agenda: Each of our 16 weeks will begin on a Thursday with an announcement posted online, giving the week’s reading assignment and exercises. We begin on July 25 and end on November 13. The comments and your ability to reply to them will remain available for a full year, through July 24, 2025.
| Week Beginning | Section |
|---|---|
| July 25, 2024 | Are You a Scanner?, Prologue, Chapter 1 |
| Aug 1, 2024 | Chapter 2 |
| Aug 8, 2024 | Chapter 3 |
| Aug 15, 2024 | Chapters 4 and 5 |
| Aug 22, 2024 | Chapters 6 and 7 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | Chapter 8 |
| September 5, 2024 | What Kind of Scanner are You?, Chapters 9 and 10 |
| September 12, 2024 | Chapter 11 |
| September 19, 2024 | Chapter 12 |
| September 26, 2024 | Chapters 13 and 14 |
| October 3, 2024 | Chapter 15 |
| October 10, 2024 | Chapter 16 |
| October 17, 2024 | Chapter 17 |
| October 24, 2024 | Chapter 18 |
| October 31, 2024 | Chapter 19 |
| November 7, 2024 | Epilogue, Appendix, and Pulling It All Together |
The weekly announcement emails: The online announcements on each of the pages linked above are also sent to you by email if you clicked the confirmation link in the email sent within an hour after you signed up. If you opt out of the weekly announcements, be sure you bookmark this page. If you would like to start receiving emails, let me know at webmaster@barbarasclub.com.
To change the email address at which you receive these emails, use the link at the bottom of any of the emails.
Each week: You will check the assignment, read the pages, and do the exercises on your own. As you finish each exercise, come share with us a little about your experience with the exercise. Read what others had to say about their experiences and offer encouragement, answer their questions, share what you know that might help them. After you finish each chapter and the exercises in it, share a little with us about what you learned from the chapter.
Because we will all be online at different times, it is important that you make an effort to read and reply to some of your fellow book club members’ comments by Wednesday evening. You can subscribe to email notices of the comments they post, or you can make it a habit to check back during the week.
Comment subscription emails: See the Reply form down below? It lets you subscribe or not each time you add your reply. The subscription is for comments posted on a particular page, like this one. Please note that some email providers block comment emails because they suspect us of spamming you. If you are not getting the comment notices, be sure to check back, or try a different email address when you post comments. Our weekly announcement emails, with links to each page, come through a different email server and almost always reach people.
Finding others’ comments: To find others’ comments, you can use the link to each comment that’s included in the comment notices, or you can use the links to the exercise and chapter pages in the week’s announcement email, the welcome page, or your Member Profile.
That’s a lot of information, I know. Don’t worry. I’ll include reminders in your emails and on each web page. And I’ll give you a link to the Book Club Help Page every week.
Now, let’s get started. Use a Leave a Reply box below to introduce yourself. Where are you from? What is one fun or rewarding thing you have done at least once in your lifetime? And if we ever want to send you something to cheer you up, what should it be?
Feel free to use the Reply button under anyone else’s introduction to say hi, too.
Hello fellow scanners! My name is Natasha (27) and I currently live in Las Vegas. I came across Barbara’s Refuse to Choose two years ago thanks to my therapist. Since I can remember I have struggled with sticking to one thing. I start projects and become SUPER immersed, only to completely lose interest and stop a day/week/month later. I’ve been told I’m a quitter or that I’m an adult now and it’s time to figure out what I want for a career. How am I supposed to choose/stick to ONE thing forever, when there are so many possibilities in life to explore??
Looking forward to reading/connecting with people like me, finally! 😀
Hi Natasha, I’m residing in Las Vegas at the moment as well! Maybe we can get together and work on the weekly material together when the lessons start.
Feel free to email me at lu.katherine@gmail.com
You are not alone. I have only a handful of completed projects. The rest, well, they were fun while they lasted.
That is nice that you have someone close to you to possibly meet up with! Scanners unite. 🙂
Hi Natasha!
Reading your post makes me SO happy that you are here and that you will have an opportunity to have tools and a tribe that (hopefully) resonate with you. Welcome!
Learning that Scanner was even a thing was a game changer for me, and today I also learned that there are different kinds of Scanners, which was a whole other game changer!
Very excited to get going here. I’m trying to balance the tail end of raising three kids, who are all “Generation P” (the kids who got mental-health-wise hit hardest by the pandemic), 20 years of people pleasing (read: not doing anything I wanted to do, and feeling like I can’t get out of my current life), realizing I’m a city person who has lived in the suburbs all her life, and finally starting to move toward some happiness.
I’m from Ohio but am in Minnesota now. One of the most wonderful things I ever did for myself was a trip to England (the Home of my Heart) with my friend. If I need cheering up, pretty much any dog-related things (videos, the WeRateDogs twitter feed, getting to pet them, etc.) will cheer me, as will car washes. Looking forward to talking to everyone else and to reading the book!
Congratulations on being aware of, and working on, the people pleasing and working towards a life of happiness. It’s a hard habit to break, but ultimately very liberating.
Hi Kendra! Glad you are here and welcome!
I have ordered the book from Amazon in hardcover. Can’t wait for it to arrive. Looking for anyone else here. Thank you.
Hello other Scanners! So excited to be here and part of this group. I am near Seattle, WA. I read Wishcraft many years ago (25+) and recently learned about the Refuse to Choose book and this web site. Several years ago, I joined to a local Success team while I went through a new job training program and had a wonderful experience with the program and process. I’m now embarking on more new projects (professionally and personally) and am looking forward to harnessing the power of being a scanner even more fully! I love all types of inspirational quotes and cute little animal photos – they always brighten my day! Looking forward to meeting you all!
Hi Wendy! I think Barbara Sher makes a perfect birthday gift at any age 🙂 Welcome!
Hi Fellow Scanners, I’m Zibby, short for Elizabeth. I’m based in Chester which is a City in England UK. I found Babara Sher only recently when I was given Wishcraft for my 51st birthday and I love her so much, I want to immerse myself in her teachings.
I’m also looking to move into a more expanded version of myself. I was a proffesional actress for many years which suited my Scanner brain, as no two jobs are the same. I then retrained as a counsellor and healer but now I ‘think’ I want to start working with groups in a workshop setting but I’m scared that I’ll start it and not finish it or I’ll start it and give up once I know how to do it.
I’m on the waiting list for a diganosis of ADHD which also might explain the scanner in me. I have started so many projects and ideas, hyperfoccussed on them, only to drop them when the allure wears off or something new and shiny comes my way.
I am looking forward to working with you all and finding out how to be a happy scanner rather than a frustrated one. See you soon.
Hi Zibby,
Nice to virtually meet you! I got my ADHD diagnosis last November and it explained so much and a big reason why I’m here as well. Look forward to connecting!
Best,
Apeksha
Hello Apeksha,
I’m hoping that Refuse to Choose will be a great way to claim some of the gifts that being ADHD bring.
Kind regards,
Zibby
Hi Zibby! That’s the best nickname I’ve ever heard. Good luck with the ADHD diagnosis. I was in my late 30s when I found out about my ASD, and it was only two years ago (now in my 50s) when I found out about my ADD! I own Wishcraft but haven’t read it – you’ve inspired me to do so once book club is over. I love your phrasing of “a more expanded version of myself.” Right there with you.
Hi Kendra, Thank you. I’m really looking forward to Refuse to Choose, I think it’s going to be a great help. WIshcraft is a beutiful book, well worth the read.
Hi Zibby! I love what you said about “finding out how to be a happy scanner rather than a frustrated one”! YES. Welcome 🙂
Hi everyone!
I’m Apeksha. Born and brought up in India, I now live in Vancouver, Canada. I’ve been working in the Tech industry across multiple domains, roles and countries for the last 15 years. I have jumped around a lot because I get bored easily if I’m not actively learning. I have a lot of interests which I get super excited about and into them and then move on to something else after sometime (these days I’m learning the piano, tennis and exploring abstract acrylic painting). For a long time I saw it as my lack of commitment to stick with anything because that is the constant message I received from everyone around me. After a friend of mine recommended this book to me because she said she constantly thought of me as she read it, I got a copy from the library and started reading through and felt so seen, I bought a copy right away! I had only read a couple of chapters when I came across this book club and thought I’d do this here with a group. I’m at a point in my life when I want to move on from my current job to something else but not quite sure of what that is yet. Hopefully we can help each other in finding some of those answers. Look forward to meeting you all!
Best,
Apeksha
Hi Apeksha! Thank goodness for your friend and that you found the book club so timely….welcome!
Hi everyone, I’m Dana. 50 yo mother of 5 who has been a lifelong scanner labeled disorganized, collector, and hoarder of stationary lol.
I live 45 min outside of St. Louis Missouri.
The most fun/rewarding thing I have done for myself: completed a year long program to become a licensed massage therapist.
And if I could receive any one thing to cheer me up… any pen or book does the trick
Hope to get to know some of you.
Dana
Hi Dana!
I also love juicy pens and thirsty paper…and could be guilty of hoarding a few tubs of books to write in that I never write in, lol. Welcome 🙂
I’m Anna and I live in Alberta, Canada. I first heard of Barbara Sher a year ago when brainstorming and building a business. When someone heard what I was doing they said I sounded like Barbara Sher. I hadn’t heard of her, but looked her up, and who she was and how she thinks resonates a lot with me. I love being around creatives and people who love to brainstorm and see possibility and potential, so I’m looking forward to engaging with similar minds.
Hi Anna!
Happy you are here and welcome!
I read Refuse to Choose in 2022 and the early chapters changed the way I take notes. Before that I would keep a few notes in a notebook and when I got bored of a subject I would start a new one. I had dozens of barely used notebooks laying around my home and office. After creating a Scanner Daybook I was able to fill a 200+ page leather bound notebook with thoughts and ideas. I continued to fill a bunch of additional notebooks and then I switched to a Kindle using the same system Barbara taught on paper.
Today I’m thinking about my next venture and I’m excited to learn new things. I’m really looking forward to this group.
To answer the prompt…
I’m from Hooper, Utah which is a few minutes outside of Salt Lake City.
Just yesterday I heard a rewarding story. I showed a co-worker of mine how to make small notebooks out of card stock and printer paper using a 360 degree stapler. She took those supplies to an elementary school in Africa and left the staplers and paper with the students there. When she returned a year later these simple notebooks were pervasive throughout the entire village. She saw many people using them including an adult man who pulled one of them from his pocket and jotted something down. This simple idea had made an impact on them.
I’m often encouraged by simple words. To cheer me up, reach out, say hello, and offer your thoughts.
OMG! Lots of barely used notebooks – thats me! 🙂
I need to explore this scanner daybook idea. I also collect a lot of post-it notes, screenshots and photos on my phone. Maybe a shiny new notebook (and pen) needs to be on my shopping list this payday. I mean, any excuse for stationary shopping. Thanks for sharing this insight!
And that story about the staplers and papers is so heart warming. Never under-estimate the impact you may have on one (or many peoples) life!
I love the story of how the village uses notebooks! Makes me happy just thinking about it… I have many spiral notebooks filled with “stream of consciousness“ stuff, But always found it difficult to keep my ideas easy to find & access. Barbara‘s notebook method has helped with that problem
Awesome Monica!
Hi Joel!
Way to go getting your daybook digitized on Kindle….I still have many notebooks and sketchbooks and tablets full of stuff and have not took the leap to computerized notes! Welcome!
I met with a systemic coach and she recommended Barbara Sher and the scanner type for me to learn more about. It resonated with me so much, and I bought the book immediately. I’m almost done with it, but now I’d like to go through it again in a group setting. I’m excited to learn more in the company of other scanners.
I’m from Southern California and have resided internationally and in various places within the US. Every time I learn something is a wonderful time, even if the processes are difficult. For example, going to university, learning Portuguese in Brazil, going through multiple career changes, etc.
And to cheer me up – sharing new perspectives on how to appreciate something or to see something in a different way. This brings me a lot of joy!
Hi Katherine! So happy your coach told you about Barbara, and welcome!