How Does the Online Idea Party Work?
You have a dream or a wish, and an obstacle to getting there. (If you don’t think you know your wish, work through my kick-starter and read this post. To learn why you must put logic aside to find your dream, read the following.)
The online Idea Party is here to help you – and the other fellow party goers – with your wishes and obstacles.
Voices from Success Teams and Idea Parties:
Having a team to report to and hearing what everybody did each week is very exciting. It’s kept me moving all year. In the past I made some good starts on my own, but found, every time, when the energy ran out, I ran out. Now it doesn’t run out.
Jade G.
Children’s Playroom Therapist, New York Hospital
I would do a painting a year, a sketch a year. If it was only me I know I would never do it. Having to tell you makes all the difference. It’s crazy why I didn’t do this years ago, it’s so easy all of a sudden.
Caroline R. Personnel Executive, Macy’s Dept Store
Post Your Wish and Your Obstacle Here!
And help your team mates out when you can. Use the Reply link to help, the form below the comments to add your own Wish and Obstacle.
(Your first comment below has to be approved, so it may not display instantly depending on the time of the day. Once your email address is approved you can post instantly. If you want your own profile photo to show up beside your comments, instead of the cute little design, upload your photo on Gravatar.com and give them an hour or so to make it happen.)
I want to start a traveling theater company – right now it is only a dream but I do have some experience directing. I am still very interested in fashion – and have been sewing and working on that dream, too. My idea is a big one. Any advice on how to get started? I’m not great with business side of things – but I excel at the creative aspect. I’m so excited when I think about the possibility of making this a reality!
Hi Michelle
Years ago I read (and tried to save, apparently unsuccessfully) an article in an airlines magazine about an actor who came to Hollywood, couldn’t get an acting job so he started a traveling children’s theater (I forget how – he had no money of his own.) He got funded I guess and went to small towns to schools that had arranged to hold auditions for him. The kids loved it and worked hard to do good auditions. The teachers and parents loved it too, because the kids did better in school all year knowing the theater was coming. Everyone had a part or a theater job for the duration of the show in their town even if they didn’t do a good audition. It was so successful there were about 4 of these traveling theater companies after awhile. I don’t know where to look for that article (it was at least 10, maybe 15 years ago, I bet, and probably American Airlines. They used to have a terrific magazine.) But someone who’s good at Google might be able to find it and see how he did it. Good luck!
Dear Barbara,
I know that performance grants are available through the Foundation for the Humanities.
Thank you!
Successful big ideas often start off very small. One way of starting is to be a travelling solo performer. A kind of theatrical busker. Make yourself an eye-catching costume, and maybe some props, and start going from town to town performing in the streets. Put out a hat or box to collect money. It could be a spoken performance or a mime, or maybe a living statue who only starts moving when someone puts money in the box. A lot of people will want to stop and talk to you too, and you will especially attract people who could be interested in joining or supporting your future theatre company. So get some leaflets printed explaining your plans, with contact details and a website address, and give one to anyone who seems interested.
Also have a blog and/or facebook page where you write about your experiences in each town, and tell people where you’re going next, and some background info and stuff about your big plans. Carry a small camera and ask passers by to take photos of you and any audience you gather, and probably people would love having their pic taken with you too. Then post them on your blog or page. And videos too for Youtube.
I started a tradition in 2009 of doing a New Year’s Eve Twitter Idea Party. It can be amazing! The only problem is that, while we have lots of people hanging out to help come up with ideas, connections, and information you didn’t know anyone knew, we never have enough people asking for help! Some problem, huh?
Practice now: head over to Twitter, set up an account for yourself — feel free to use a (short) pseudonym so no one knows who you are — and take up the challenge of telling your wish and your obstacle in 140 characters. (That’s why it’s a good idea to use a short name.)
Then search for #ideaparty and say Hi. I’m going to keep my Twitter open and watch it to help set things up.
It will run on Dec. 31 for 12 hours, basically from noon to midnight in New York. (I’m in Europe so I’ll be there at that time, but we call it 6pm to Jan 1 6am over here.)
It’s *fun,* especially when it catches fire. And we’ve changed some lives, every time we do it. So come on over and bring your friends. Ask for things to your heart’s content. We’ve got some wizards who come in and out who know everything!!! Real gamechangers. You’ll see.
I’m announcing it in a Sunday newsletter. Be there or be square, as it were. 🙂
Well, I’ve tried to be there, and dadgummit, I can’t! I will give tweetchat a try before I give up entirely.
I teach drama – acting is as glamorous as it is demanding. Diversity and flexibility of skills and background knowledge are a plus for those pursuing a career in film or theater. But start with the basics first: take an acting class, or find a coach, and go to auditions, and be prepared for rejection.
My big dream is to be a famous actress . I have a talent but I have never played in the theater or taken acting lessons. When I was little (11-12 years old) everyone told me it was silly and gradually I gave up thisdream, or just stop talking about it and showing it. I am 19 years old now and studying medicine. Should I play for sure and continue my medical education (which I’m not so interested in) or should I follow my dreams?
Could you do both? Actors need money in between jobs, and you may find yourself starting out as an unknown, which is where most start. Start with a college elective drama/theater/acting class, get involved with community theater, or church drama. There may be a drama group at your university.
Wise advice. That way you can have both! Being a doctor and seeing the real life events (painful or grateful) of real people will give your acting more depth. And it helps you not grow bitter if your dream takes a while to fulfill itself.
Here’s proof that you can do both:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Jeong
I have wanted to be an actress since I was 7, I did plays in high school ,college and in community theaters in my 20’s did a few commercials then my husband..now my ex..told me to get a real job so I gave up my dream.
Now I’m 60, l live in Los Angeles ,am divorced and have NO idea how to get started again. I got headshots done,signed up for an acting class, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten.
HELP
How about getting started in community theater?
it sounds like you are on the right track….contact, or find theaters near you and find out when auditions are held, maybe read stories for children’s library, grab some friends and do some Shakespeare in the park, you and some actor friends could read war time letters or love letters for a community or women’s club, scripture dramatization at local churches, reenactment societies, maybe this helps?
Great ideas thanks !
your welcome – good luck 🙂
First of all – how awesome and inspirational that at 60 you are going after your dream! That is a lesson for us all. You have a great advantage in the acting world: your age. By the time many actors are 60 (usually more like at 30) they have given up on acting and moved on. So you’ll have a lot less competition than all the 20 year olds in the biz. If you are in LA then you also don’t have the obstacle of “living in the middle of nowhere” to deal with. You’re in the golden land of opportunity for actors. But I guess you already know that. 🙂 Since your in LA, my suggestion would be to do extra work for film, tv, and advertising first. Find out what agencies cast extras and what their submission guidelines are (where to send headshots and resumes, or do you need to go into the office to register etc.) You can find this info on their websites. If you are not in a performers union yet (SAG-AFTRA or Equity) then I STRONGLY recommend trying to do as much non-union work as you can. I don’t know about LA but sadly enough right now in NY and SF everyone is using more non-union than union talent and union members are seeing less and less casting opportunities. Even multi-million dollar companies who can afford union rates are using non-union talent. Union membership use to open doors but lately it has been closing them. Do as much non-union as you possibly can to build up your resume, get yourself seen by and get to work with lots of agents and casting directors, work with and network with other actors and industry people and get your name out there. Once you join a union you can’t do non-union work – even in other mediums. Like if you are SAG-AFTRA you can’t do a non-Equity play. Its called Global Rule One and it is totally unfair if you ask me. However you should know that many union members do break this rule all the time – but that would have to be your judgement call. If i had to do it all over again I wouldn’t have joined a union until I had more experience under my belt. So anyway, enough of me venting about the unions – if you start with extra work that will get you back in the zone and get you around other actors. I highly recommend a book called “Acting Professionally: Raw Facts About Careers in Acting” by Robert Cohen. It is a really really great “how-to” guide to the biz and it doesn’t sugar coat anything. Meet-up groups for actors are another good way to meet other actors. With friends you make in either the class you are taking or in a meet-up group you can all get together and put together shows and showcases. Less pressure than auditioning for and getting cast in something – a good way to ease back into it. Try and invite everyone you work with (actors, directors, stage crew) from one show to your next show. Build your audience and directors will remember you as someone who fills seats. And also – make sure you try to go to as many of your colleagues’ shows in return. You can also sign up with model and talent agencies that send out actors and models for advertising print work. Make sure in your acting class you get to work on monologues that you can use for auditions. If your class doesn’t do that then take an additional class that does or get a group of actor friends together (for free!) and have monologue performing and critiquing sessions. If possible, try to do this with friends who aren’t your “type” so you don’t have to worry about anyone stealing your monologue or performance of it. Since you are older you should be able to do this easily. And do not, I repeat, do not ever use any monologue from a book with names such as “monologues for actors” or “best monologues of 2013”. It is a beginner mistake and every beginner will make that same mistake (I did) so you’ll be ahead of the game if you don’t. (You might already know that as you said you did some acting before, but just in case…) Every time you get a callback for an audition or get cast in anything (stage, tv/film, advertising of any sort – especially if it pays) make sure you let agents that you are trying to court know this by sending them a photo-postcard (your headshot on a postcard) and a note on the back telling them about your call-back/booking. And if it is a show or showcase make sure you invite them and offer them a comp ticket! If they see you are booking gigs and people like your work enough to call you back then you might be a money making opportunity for them and they might call you to audition in their office. Before this happens of course make sure your monologues are performance ready! As for monologues you need to have 3 minimum: one serious, one comedic, one classical. I believe that to truly be prepared you should have at minimum three but be working towards eventually having 5 to 10 to show your range. I never got beyond 7 myself. LA is very film and TV (I was NY based which is all about theatre) so LA might require you to have some film monologues mixed in there too. I don’t know. Also I’ve been out of the acting loop for a while but if you get the most updated Robert Cohen book (the 2009 edition) that should bring you up to speed.
I was a an actor back in NY but am trying to force myself back into it as well. Am getting new headshots (mine are 20 years old black & whites – which no one uses anymore) and am having my hubby help me put together my voice-over demo. In answering your post I am reminding myself of all the things that I need to do as well. Good luck. Maybe we’ll see each other on the red carpet someday. 😉
honestly I think being introverted might cost me my current job…I had trouble in a previous job for not being ‘outgoing enough’ so this is something that worries me – hence the seemingly overreaction to the industry leader’s comment. Thanks for all of the advice – I did search for Eileen West, and I will read the book about Introverts – thank you for the encouragement.
The psychologist, Dr Dorothy Rowe, says in her books, (and I paraphrase broadly) introverts are people for whom the world inside their own head is often more real than the outside world, while extroverts are involved in the outside world to the extent that they find introspection very hard. We are, she argues, predominantly one or the other but introverts have to acquire a bit of extroversy and vice versa in order to survive in the world.
In other words, while you may be introverted by nature you need to acquire some of the communication skills of the extrovert. How to do this? One way is to ‘model’ an extrovert you know by adopting some of their behaviours – not to the extent that you become artificial, of course, but we all unconsciously mimic the behaviour of others to some extent. I have a lifelong friend who is madly extrovert – talkative, vivacious, totally outgoing, and everyone loves her. As a painfully-shy teenager, I found that consciously watching how she communicated with people and adopting one or two of her techniques provoked similar resposes and eased social situations for me. I had to practice a bit before I was sure which ones felt right for me. Perhaps you know an extrovert you admire and can study to see how you might adapt some of their behaviours to your own style. You might also ask them how shy they feel – I think you’d be surprised at the response. My friend claims to be very unselfconfident and says of herself: ‘I babble because I can’t help myself’.
Another thing is to seek out situations where you have to become a bit more outgoing. It can be scary but it gets better with practice. Is there some kind of performance group you could join that might interest you e.g. a drama, musical or writing group where you sometimes have to do something in front of others? Could you volunteer to run a class in something you can do well. Teaching is great for bringing people out because you not only have to give a talk but you have to talk to your audience individually and put them at ease. Once I started teaching, I even found myself initiating conversations with people in supermarket queues! If that’s too hard, you could volunteer to visit people in hospital or something. Anything that means you have to talk to strangers.
As regards your job, is your fear realistic or is it something you’ve built up in your own head as a result of your unfortunate earlier experience? If you have a self-confidence problem, your employers would surely want to help rather than lose you, but perhaps they haven’t realised what you’re thinking. We introverts have an unfortunate tendency to expect other people to know what we’re thinking without our actually articulating it. Is there someone you could talk to about it at work, raising it as a positive initiative – that you’d like to be more involved but are not sure how to go about it (don’t make it critical of them, whatever you think)? Can you come up with some ideas how you could get more involved, such as volunteering for team work, or putting forward a project that needs a team and asking for help? Even asking for help and advice from more experienced employees shows interest, involvement and willingness to learn. Are there social activities attached to the workplace that you’re not getting involved in and could start to join in?
It’s all a matter of confidence and gets better with practice. Take little steps at a time. One thing I’ve found very comforting is, if you read about the superstars of this world, most admit to having been, and in some situations still feeling, shy and unselfconfident. Watch a video of celebrities meeting the UK’s Queen or listen to them talking about the experience, or the experience of meeting someone else they really admire, and you’ll see what I mean. You’re defiitely not alone and you, too, can acquire the necessary skills if you really want to.
Hope that helps a bit. Best wishes.
Jay
from the start that sounds like me – I copied to a word doc so I can finish reading later….I’d like to take the dramatic world inside my head and do more creative things with it like writing…later
thank you
Thanks for all the great advice!
This post became so long that I deleted parts of it to focus on the key points.
Background: I’ve always had a dream of living in a foreign country. After high school i got up and did it. lots of practical considerations were taken into account and long story short I ended up in an engineering major but NOT because I was really sure that that was what I wanted to do. The program is now almost 50% over and it’s pretty much a done deal that I’m finishing it.
I do find programming fun, sometimes, and the cutting edge of technology is a very exciting and inspiring place to be, but I still have strong, strong doubts that the actual day-to-day working environment in the field is suited to me and my personality. (I’m the kind of person who finds it super exciting reading about new developments in the field, but I feel no particular motivation to be the one spending ten years in the lab developing them…)
The problem is that I’ve identified that what feel satisfying and enjoyable to me is informing people, and changing their perspective. What I mean is that if I think of “something truly satisfying”, it’s when my friend said the resources i directed her towards on marriage were the most useful advice she’d gotten from anyone in the time period leading up to her wedding. What I mean is that in high school i could happily sit down in the middle of the hall and help someone with their math homework or explain a psychological typing system to them. What I mean is that one of my proudest moments was when i helped reconcile two angry people on a public bus by somehow identifying what was making each of them unhappy, and trying to give them what they needed.
I’m doing a teaching certificate in conjunction with my degree (it’s not particularly satisfying because the program is a half-abandoned wreck, but i wanted to have the piece of paper, if i need it down the line). My model lessons for peers were amazing experiences for me– I loved researching the material, and I loved public speaking about topics I find fascinating.
But I’m also pretty sure that’s not what an actual teaching career looks like, and I think I’d find forcing information into people who don’t want to receive it frustrating, not to mention that instead of being able to teach anything I want, i.e. topics that I really care about, I’d be tied to a very strictly structured curriculum (thanks to this country’s education system, whose model i disagree with strongly…)
As for the obvious choices of psychology etc, the problem is:
1. I have heard that it is borderline impossible to get into graduate programs for psychology here (and by “heard”, i also include knowing very smart people who didn’t get in)
2. I have heard that it is very, very hard to find a job in the field
3. and the jobs don’t pay well (and i have serious insecurity issues regarding financial stability)
In addition, i have a few other insecurities, like:
-I don’t know if i actually have the people skills necessary for the job (above examples aside, I am a more blunt-style person, and i don’t feel confident in my ability to read or manipulate social cues, or play social niceties just to make someone comfortable…)
-I’m worried that if i successfully enter a psychology program, i’ll find the material being taught unbearably dull. this would be less of a problem if i could proceed straight to masters, but i may have to do a whole additional bachelors to get in. ((why would i find it dull? um, partially because as the daughter of a psychiatrist/psychologist (double phD) and a voracious reader, I’ve read extensively in certain fields of psychology– CBT, addictions, schema therapy, marriage therapy, very very light skimming of psychotherapy– and my experience with psych 101-type classes i;ve taken has definitely been impatience (behavrioual psych can be fascinating. rechurning the same old studies about sleep waves? um…. less so)
So my question is this:
i know i love sharing ideas, i know i love making people think, i know my most satisfying feeling is causing someone else to have an aha! moment (but i particularly enjoy these things in one-on-one, not group, relationships).
short of switching to a psychology major, what are opportunities to use those skills? what are places and careers those skills are very primary in? how can i find outlets for that stuff now?
(((annnnnd if i could have a second question it would be— tied into my desire to share ideas is a dream i’ve had since kindergarten of being a published author , but the stories in my head refuse to come out on paper, any advice? what i would love is a place i could publish as i write, and get an audience and feedback as i go, but not somewhere where i’d be posting to an empty echo chamber of just me. (my genre of writing is non-epic fantasy, like diana wynne jones, patricia c wrede type stuff))))
thanks!
Consider management consulting and/or corporate instructional design. Your engineering background will be valued and your knowledge of psychology and teaching will come in very handy. People will be more likely to follow your suggestions, and you will only need to present your courses once, to train the trainers who enjoy delivering the same thing over and over. You will also surely be asked to design elearning, where you can easily measure how well it’s working.
Tell your stories in a blog or a writer’s group first, and you will start to get some great stuff on paper that you really like and know audiences like.
(I am an MIT grad with a fascination for psychology and that same love of providing perspective to others who did all of these for the past 40 years, except that my writing is marriage advice, at assumelove.com. I even got to support and be part of a bunch of key positive psychology research. It’s all been fun! And you don’t need an MBA. Find a small consulting firm that needs your skills and learn every job there.)
Thanks!
I guess i don’t really have the confidence to do management consulting since i’m still pretty young, so I wonder “why would someone listen to me?”
i’m also not entirely sure how to find a small consulting firm… but since i still have a year to go before i start checking out the job market i guess I more wonder what skills i should be pursuing to make myself more hirable?
“What skills should I be pursuing to make myself more hirable [for management consulting]?”
I’d say: presentation and leadership skills. I’m a great fan of Toastmasters, but whatever you can get your hands on should do the job, really. Also: Get familiar with the language and cases of the sector. Entrepreneurship/startup programmes are great for that, but a review of “Business Model Generation” and “The 10 day MBA”, combined with a look into the Harvard Business Review will get you quite far, too. While you’re doing this, pay attention to which articles/problems/topics you find fascinating – and which ones you find utterly dull. This will give you hints about your strengths lie.
I was 22 when I started. I brought my area of technical expertise and worked under more experienced consultants. I quickly got into marketing and the legal aspects of the business (for our government contracts) in addition to working on client projects, then project management. Join professional associations to meet folks from small consulting firms and learn the lingo, and search online for consulting + something specific you know about + a city you would like to work in.
Diane, I totally agree with Patty. You love to learn and share your ideas with others and this will serve you well in management consulting. Also in organizational development consulting. This link will give you more than you need to know (LOL) about management consulting. I’m Canadian so it’s from the Canadian Association of Management Consultants.
http://www.cmc-canada.ca/About_CMC_Canada/AboutManagementConsulting.cfm
I thought their suggestions for the different areas to get into were really good and what they consider to be important competencies. You have lots of this knowledge and these skill areas already.
Organizational Development (OD) consulting may be fascinating for you too. You’re always learning and growing. Here is what the OD Practitioners Network has identified as important competencies to do OD work. Remember these models are the “ideal” to stive for. Look at the main categories first (for general info) and then go into the detail. That way it’s not too overwhelming. http://www.odnetwork.org/?page=ODCompetencies
The great thing about doing consulting work is that you can work on your own doing reseach, etc. and then you go in and out of organizations. I do this kind of work and it’s great. You never get bored. You could also be a coach, for example do executive coaching or career coaching. I do both. There are lots of coaching programs. Their “foundations” can be very different. I studied with James Flaherty who wrote “Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others”. It’s a wonderful book that gives you the foundations of coaching. There is definitely no fluff in his work or coaching. Peter Senge (famous for his work on Learning Organizations…that work is important for consulting too) said “I think that James Flaherty’s book will come to stand out as a definitive work.”
Sometimes James Flaherty teaches a one week program at the Cape Cod Institute which is another wonderful resource for consultants, or to get into consulting. You’ll meet consultants from all over the world and learn from respected consultants, writers, teachers, etc.
http://www.cape.org/
I also agree with Wiebe. Presentation skills and leadership skills are really important. Toastmasters gives you an opportunity to practice with others and to get feedback. You could also take a more structured course on how to present where you are videotaped and coached through all the stages of doing a really good presentation. I was a manager of training at a university for awhile and I was fortunate to learn about presentation skills by watching a workshop leader present this workshop and then by going through it.
I’m thinking back about what has been really helpful in my consulting career and I would say that one thing that a lot of consultants don’t have is a background in Adult Education. You don’t have to take degrees to acquire the learning that is so helpful. This program is very practical. You apply what you learn while taking the program so it’s really good for kinesethic learners, who learn by doing. It’s a Canadian program and it’s won lots of awards. I’m not sure where you live but perhaps you have a similar program you could attend. I’d highly recommend something like this. I’ve worked with so many other consultants who don’t come with this “framework” for their work. You can create much better workshops and facilitate much better discussion groups sessions when you have this learning about how adults learn and how they can learn better.
http://sites.stfx.ca/adult_education_diploma/
Diane, you’re very young. The competency you need now is Patience. LOL. I learned when doing international work that patience is a core competency for working in different cultures. You have so much to learn and you will. As Patty mentioned, research the consulting companies in your area. I started as a junior consultant after I had gained experience as a Research Assistant and then as a Policy Analyst and had acquired considerable writing experience, especially writing reports with recommendations. I love writing. It allows me to be creative.
You may be what Barbara calls a “Scanner”. If you’re not sure what she means by that her book “Refuse to Choose” is a wonderful read. If you are, choosing to work independently could work for you. It sure has worked for me. You can do a variety of things. That way you’ll NEVER be bored. Who said you couldn’t write a blog, teach a class, do presentations, do consulting work and whatever else you want to do? I found a small consulting firm where the President was smart and the work was challenging. Our team was so synergistic, and we were all women. We worked really hard, we got lots of contracts, and did some really creative, challenging work with our clients. I loved it! That gave me the courage to go out on my own and I created my own work. I bundled everything I loved to do and offered it. I’ve never been bored. Just do it Diane! You are everything you need to be to do what you love to do. Now you just have to build on those strenghts.Have fun!
The thing is that aside from programming i dunno that i’m learning the skills needed for what’s described. I mean i’m learning bio-engineering right now, i wonder if maybe industrial engineering would have been a better choice based on what i think i understand from the suggestions…
Well, here goes!
As a “shrink,” I can certainly tell you several things about the profession. Number 1: Before I dived into grad school, I was first a music major and then an English major in college, and graduated with a B.A. in English, plus teaching credentials. So you will NOT have to take a second B.A. to change fields. And that should be a relief! You can go straight for a master’s degree, providing that your BA grades are good enough to get you into grad school (3.0 or better.)
Given this, it is NOT hard to get into grad school. If I were you, I’d pick a handful, about 5 or so, grad schools and apply to them. To try out what works and what doesn’t work in terms of being afraid of something, and wondering if it will work, there’s only one cure that I know of, and it’s to dive in and try it out. I applied to 5 grad schools, and got rejected by 3 of them and accepted by two. One proved hopelessly expensive, and so I wound up going to the other one, with student loans.
Pay depends on what you mean by “good pay.” You can google the pay scales for your location, as pay scales vary considerably from state to state. In New Mexico, where pay is typically low, a beginning psychotherapist trained as a LMSW, which is what I am, makes $35,000-$40,000 per year.
It is hard to find work anywhere these days. The best way is to intern with some outfit that you would like to get hired by. Two internships are required for a master’s, so pick them wisely. If they like you, there’s a chance that they’ll hire you. Some of my colleagues got jobs this way.
Where else you can use your skills is in the whole arena of Wilderness Questing, which is gaining in popularity. Go take a look at the website for the School of Lost Borders. They are one of the leading wilderness questing organizations in the country. I’m in the library on a public computer, and the library is about to close, so gotta go. Good luck!
I am not living in the US. and grad school programs for psych where I am are almost hellishly impossible to get into. I have no idea why.
but thanks for the response! I’m sure someone else here will find it helpful.
((ouch i think that came out passive aggressive. i didn;t mean that last line sarcastically, i meant that i for example learned a lot browsing through other people’s questions and i’m sure someone else will learn the same from your answer))
Dear Diane,
The damn power just went off three times at the library, and I just lost everything I just typed for the last 20 minutes or so, so here goes again! I DO hope the power stays up this time, because I have a lot more to do than spend the entire afternoon typing.
What I’m wondering, basically, is what part of the world you are in and why it is so fiendish to get into school there.
There is a huge piece of me that keeps squawking, “This just shouldn’t be!”
I know that some schools have entrance exams that are virtually impossible to pass, except for the incredibly gifted. I have two or three serious learning disorders that I was born with. Even if I tried to study the books that come with those exams, I couldn’t hope to pass them. Fortunately, not all universities are this way, and I found one which would accept me and make it possible to go to school there, without the exam. One thing is that certain schools are very subjective about accepting people. This happened to me. I had all the qualifications, all the credentials, and I had the grades. I had to attend an “entrance interview,” and they rejected me without ever giving a reason. They don’t have to give reasons. UGH! If it becomes who you know, and not what you know, and you can prove it, then that’s a lawsuit! Then, it becomes sincerely time to grow fangs and claws and roar–in Court!
The university where I did my undergraduate work had an Ombudsman who helped the students with difficult admissions. The fact that they had someone like that shows me how rotten that place was! I had to go to him in connection with admissions difficulties that I was having getting into Library School.
The place where I went to grad school didn’t have such a person. They didn’t need one!
Another barrier, for sure, is $$$$. There was one school that accepted me that wanted all their $26,000 tuition up front! The first week of school. And insisted on holding back student loan money for 6 weeks, to see if students would stay in school or not. Well, I had nothing to do but withdraw from school, cry a lot, tuck my tail between my legs, and come back home. They had a curriculum I really wanted but couldn’t have. A master’s in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Ecopsychology, which is very dear to my heart. I got back on the adjunct faculty at the college where I’d been teaching, yelled at the other university that had accepted me that I wanted in right away, and they said yes. The rest is history. So, the point is to help you, not someone else. Why is it so fiendish to get in? (That’s why you apply for about half a dozen schools.) And where in the world are you?
There is an excellent article by Janet Malcolm in the September 23, 2013 New Yorker, on Eileen West, who was, and apparently still is, extremely shy, but now runs a multi-million dollar fashion empire. She had a lot of odd luck, but the piece is well worth reading because she is such a shy person who has had so much success. You can’t access the article on line without a subscription, but most libraries carry the article.
Michelle, you may like to check out this book: “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” by Susan Cain. Best of luck!
I’ve been researching fashion design and have received great advice from a few of you – which has been very helpful – thank you.
In one video an industry leader made the point of stating that only aggressive people, as opposed to shy and timid people, succeed in the fashion design industry.
I’m a shy, quiet, timid person. I have a lot of self-doubt – Is it possible for me to change my personality in order to achieve this aggressiveness? How can I be more aggressive? Maybe my shyness is a mask, and underneath I am a real tiger! Yeah! How to unleash my tigerness lol. Please advise? – Thank you!
in fact, I once applied for a retail position that I thought I was well qualified for because I possessed the creative and artistic abilities to succeed, but I didn’t pass the application’s “personality test” – the test concluded that I wasn’t bold enough or something like that. IDK, any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
I don’t know about the fashion industry but I am a tremendously shy, quiet person (and if you don’t believe it from my posts on here it’s because I’m good at disguising it) who managed to have a career in two hard-to-get-into, aggressively male-dominated professions. I also became a teacher later in life, when at one time public speaking would have been my worst nightmare (and was till I got used to it). Looking back, I think it worked out for me for two reasons: (i) Because I was so interested in and wrapped up in what I did that the shyness dropped away. You can only feel shy when you’re more conscious of yourself than what you’re doing. (ii) Because quiet people are often more listened to than those who are shouting all the time, and people also prefer to be listened to and have their views considered rather than be shouted over. It was once said of my father, a quiet, intelligent man: ‘He doesn’t say much, but when he does, everyone listens because it must be something important.’ I’d much rather be like that than someone whose shouting or yapping gets on everyone’s nerves.
Your very quietness can be a strength if you use it that way. So get out there and do it, Michelle. Don’t let your shyness stand in your way and, above all, since you will undoubtedly get snubs and rejections along the way in such an industry, don’t let them push you back in your shell and prevent you being the person you want to be doing what you want to do. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Best of luck with your career
Jay
Another thought occurred on re-reading your post, Michelle. The industry leader you quoted said “aggressive as opposed to shy, timid people …”. People often use the word ‘aggressive’ when what they really mean is ‘assertive’. Assertive simply means you make sure you are noticed. I can see that the fashion industry is not for people who hide in corners and cower away when anyone speaks to them, but I doubt you would do that. You can for example be assertive in the way you dress, or the way you walk into a room, or even in the way you stand or smile at other people, without ever having to say a word. There are some good books around about using appropriate body language too. It also probably means you have to be proactive and imaginative about getting your designs to people who you need to notice them, and having designs that will stand out in the crowd they inevitably see. I wouldn’t let the word ‘aggressive’ put you off.