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 just had a thought about desert gardening, a trying and new experience. Plants seem to melt in the heat, and the wind gets really high here in the spring (50 miles per hour all day Saturday)…anyone know of organic minded people that know about container gardening here? I also have a plot at the community garden, and have had an opportunity to use straw bales as recommended by Ruth Stout in the late 1970’s (No Work No Worry Gardening). I would like to be in touch with others living in the desert without a private yard, just containers.
Scanners in general with low funds or high interest in really fresh, nutritious home grown food, would surely benefit from being in touch with the earth, the dust from which we came, right??
Hi Faith,
thanks for the night stays in NYC.
Concerning your post on desert gardening, maybe you want to read this article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/let-a-billion-trees-bloom-can-a-great-green-wall-of-trees-stop-chinas-spreading-desert/2013/11/22/12908e0e-2d13-11e3-b139-029811dbb57f_story.html
look up “wicking beds”. It’s used in Australia, self watering. works in containers, also.
Regarding that $40 or $50 per night NYC stay, I’m sure you will get some great replies, but youth Hostels, which are not just for the young, and special groups that you might be interested in (ie Classical Musicians, Joggers, theatre, etc. ) would be somewhere to start.
Check out SERVAS.org, but only if you genuinely want to take time while in New York for making new friends with community and peace-minded people. Wonderful organization that has been around for a lotta years. They check references on both hosts and guests.
Maybe someone can answer this question. Does anyone know possibilties, or websites to look up,
to stay in New York City for a week for a reasonable price, maybe 40, 50 Dollar a night?
hostelworld.com , airbnb.com, couchsurfing.com if you have a good story …
google all the travel hacker blogs and websites and you will find amazing ideas
Frank, if you don’t mind sharing dorm room, there are youth hostels in NYC. I stayed in this one: http://hinewyork.org/ It was clean and fairly safe. the staff had the typical NY attitude (not too friendly) but it was cheap and not too far away from everything. You might need to reserve ahead of time though in case they get busy, especially in the summer. As I recall, there were lockers, so you could lock up any valuables. It’s a good idea not to keep anything worth a lot of money with you, but the lockers are there.
Hostels are a great way to meet other travelers (and people to sightsee with) too.
I call myself an Accidental Author because a story that I wrote in 1998, just for therapeutic purposes, got published in 2005 through word of mouth from co-workers. Wow!
So now I am a published Author in Atlanta Georgia and I have a children’s book called Pookie Lookie, the PInk Spotted Panda Bear. I have recently updated the look, created products, got a commercial on youtube and had a video cartoon done. I greatly desire for my character book, that teaches LOVE,
SELF RESPECT and DIVERSITY to become a international cartoon before the end of 2014, replacing all the uncool and reckless cartoons with a heartfelt one.
Please Help! Where should I start? Who should I talk to! Where should I go? Thank you in advance!
I want to move out!
I’m currently living in the same house as my ex-husband- not by choice. We have 2 kids, and live in the DC area (expensive). Which all culminates in my inability to live separately. I’m not even working at this time, as childcare is ridiculously high cost and would be counterproductive for both mine and my ex’s financial situations. As such, I have no idea how to get out of this scenario and move on with my life.
Help? Please?
E.V., here are a few ideas. I’m sure you’ve thought of many of them, but maybe one you haven’t yet. The nice thing about being in an area with expensive housing is that the skilled jobs there tend to pay a lot more.
1. Find work you can do from home (this home first, then one of your own) with kids around.
2. Find work with a company that offers daycare as a benefit.
3. Get your kids modeling jobs.
4. If your breakup was due to resentment or anger issues, take Steven Stosny’s Marriage Boot Camp in Bethesda and maybe get back together with the guy paying the bills.
5. Join Meetup.com groups for moms and find one or two single moms looking for at-home day care (or willing to provide it) to share a home with.
6. If you don’t have parents in the area, find a group that will hook you up with foster grandparents (the Unitarians used to do this, might still) or a Big Brother/Big Sister, and use the couple of hours a week (plus some weekend hours) to clean homes, be a professional organizer, detail cars, walk dogs, take your crafts to craft shows, deliver herbs you grow to gourmet food stores, or whatever else gives you some money of your own and eases you back into the workforce.
7. Use this time to qualify to teach elementary school, so you have the same daily and annual schedule as your kids once they start school.
8. Date a lot, looking for that rare guy willing to be a single-income step-dad. (No second dates if you learn he has an unreliable income, doesn’t treat kids well, or has any trouble managing his temper.)
9. Look for overseas jobs in countries that provide day care free or at very low cost and pay well for American talent.
Any of those seem to have promise? If so, let us know if there are any obstacles to them you need help with.
Bill O’Hanlon has a free course going now on earning money AND having plenty of time for your life!
Does anyone know how I might go about looking for a position working one-on-one with special-needs individuals (autism, cerebral palsy) either in the classroom as an aide, or as an adult job coach? And what extra training or certification would be involved?
2 options. 1- check the local volunteer coordinators – they may have some aide positions. 2 – a friend is signed up as a substitute teacher, but there are teacher’s aid positions on the list that she belongs to. She regularly takes the substitute half day positions at a special needs school. The requirements for an aide is lower than for a teacher, but changes state to state, so you could call the school district headquarters, for info on what they need for substitute aides.
I’ve accomplished a lot over my years and looking at it from the outside, I’m still doing a lot (producing local TV, playwriting, teaching) but I’m DESPERATE for cash and can’t get myself going on anything that actually makes money.
I used to freelance write for a living, and was doing decently, but now I can’t even get myself to write a query. I have a book in mind that I’d like to write, but I can’t get started, even though I’ve done tons of research.
I’m battling the double headed hydra that says- “I MUST make money/ I CAN’T make money!” It’s driving me nuts!
I guess what I need is something to blast me out of my paralyzed rut!
good question, I am into the same…the theoretical answer is get a 20h job and relax, hang out with people earning well and take one of those courses like overcoming under earning, I will teach you to be rich or guides for artists to charge for their products
Have you tried Fiverr.com, or Freelance.com? They have odd jobs. Erratic, but better than nothing.
My situation is very similar to yours, except I’m not making money teaching, making films, writing, etc., just doing it all for free and sharing it online.
The other comments look helpful though. Perhaps getting a part-time job or just some freelance work might take off the edge for you. (I’m also speaking to myself here…)
I think when we get desperate we panic and then we aren’t going to make the best decisions. Is there a writer’s group in your area where you could find people who might give you a gentle nudge from time-to-time toward writing your book?
My dream has always been to be the next Jack Hanna. I’m passionate about conservation, especially about protecting animals. I want to travel, see the world, and educate young and old alike as to the beauty of the animal world.
But… I’m an English teacher. I’m 33 years old. I have no science background, no connections to that world and the fact that I never ever wanted to be a public school teacher in the first place has made me feel trapped.
Maegan, meet Robin. She was a corporate interior designer when she realized what she really wanted to be doing with her life.
Find a zoo where you can volunteer during the school year and some place a bit wilder where you can volunteer during your summer break. You’ll figure out the rest once you’re spending your days with those animals you love.
There are a lot of rescue animal programs around the world that need volunteers (who don’t have to be professionals). One program my friend went to was in Greece, protecting turtles on the beach. Look for stuff like that…
Hello! I want to plan a summer trip to somewhere literally cool this summer to protect my health, MS, but also to travel. I feel a bit guilty admitting this, but I’m overwhelmed by options.
I’d like to work on my health, art, writing, volunteer, be somewhere green with cultural opportunities. I am lucky enough to have an income of roughly $700 a month regardless, so it does not have to be paid, though it could be.
I have lots of ideas, but lack a method of whittling it down, and at the same time, I know there are lots of retreats, residencies, and volunteer programs I have never heard of.
I think I might want to stay in the US this year (did I really just say that?) to check places out for relocation. I want to do something that ‘catches’ me.
Any ideas that fit the bill? Ideas for how to organize the search? Insights as to why I’m stuck?! 🙂
thank you!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7qT3RpaBlJo
Write down a list of places (Iceland came to mind when I read your post) and then you just go two at a time: “This or that?” When you pick one, cross off the other, until you get down to one. Go fast, don’t think too much. It’s interesting how it works. Kind of an intuitive thing too, since it’s not based on “reason.”