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 wanted to put out to you all and ask, is anyone going by the “refuse to choose” book as to getting a “good enough job” to hold you while you do what you really like to do? I’m curious on peoples thoughts & if anyone has found it to be something that could actually be done vs. a theory, nice on paper but not practical. I’m just curious as to how “doable” the suggestions are in the book – for an example in her book the people who do “seasonal” work ( such as: the guy who teaches skiing in the winter in Colorado then goes to Australia to take diving pictures, then surfs in Hawaii in the summer, btw is that a true life story? ) – has anyone here had experience in this, if so I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks for your time.
Sure the stories are true! I’m starting my “good enough job” now as a pet sitter. Pet sitting has a lot going for it, and is in demand and GROWING. It’s good enough…while I also know that the amazing things people do with Barbara’s help may SOUND far fetched…it’s just us scanners being us in all our variety with the constraints taken off of us!
Hmmm…you use the word “practical”. The world is full of people living “practically”. The world is also full of people whose lives, like grapes becoming raisins, are drying up on the vine.
Have you defined what it is you want to do? The answer to your questions are all YES.
Yes, it’s all possible, because YOU have set an intention.
I invite you over to my writer’s blog to read a post I wrote after Joan Rivers died.
sandrafranktalks.com
You just have to take one small step in the direction of your heart’s desire. Then, you’ll see: doors will open naturally to support you. The people and things you need will magically appear.
Walk WITH your fear while staying focused on your passion. It’s easier to just admit to the fear and move with it.
But you have to move.
Thank you very much for your wonderful and kind reply, namaste! 🙂
Hi Sandra,
This is nice and very motivational. However, it hasn’t been true in my case. I put a lot of time and energy pursuing my writing, music and acting but couldn’t earn enough money to live on. People tend to take artists for granted and don’t necessarily reward you for doing it. In fact, I think a lot of people deem me as “flaky” for pursuing my dreams.
To make a long story short, I ended up homeless as a result of pursuing my dreams, wrote a book about it, discovered agents/publishers weren’t interested in the book because it disproves the “American Dream” theory, plan to self-publish at some point but now am living in an environment that provides few opportunities for me to use my talents so it’s hard to get motivated or to get emotional support.
When I’m working all the time at a job unrelated to what I want to do it takes up all my time, and I don’t have the time/energy at the end of the day to do my creative work. When I put my all into my creative work I end up running out of money.
I’m still trying to reconcile the two–making money and doing what I love. Barbara Sher also talks about doing freelance work and becoming self-employed. I think that’s the answer for me, as the “good enough” day jobs I’ve been getting aren’t paying the bills. However, I’ve been having a tough time in this economy and while living in a city I dislike finding a way to become self-employed.
There are no easy answers. A “good enough” job works for some but not all of us. Some of us have to find a way to do what we love or something related to what we love to do that also pays the bills and it can take time to figure out exactly how that will work.
No one’s been able to help me. I’ve gone to career coaches, SBA and SCORE, and no one seems to have an answer for me. I figured out on my own that playing guitar for weddings could be an extra income. No one suggested it to me. I just noticed when I worked for a catering company that there were people who had the money to pay for these big weddings and I found ways to get booked to perform for them and I’m still working on finding more ways to make money as a musician.
Deb, one thing that helped me is to write down a list of all my marketable skills and talents, (things I’m good at) then another list of what I like to do (not just practically speaking but just generally.) In other words, I like having regular contact with people but I don’t like dealing with conflict or angry, unhappy people. (I get intimidated easily.) People are usually happy at weddings, so no conflict there.
Once you have a list of things you enjoy and another of things you’re good at the trick is to find a way to combine them. That’s how I came up with playing guitar for weddings. I like playing guitar, am good at it so it’s a skill, and it’s something that other people will pay for at a wedding. Again, I’m still figuring this out myself and still trying to find more income streams as I’m struggling, but maybe this will help you too.
Meri, You’re obviously a very good writer. Have you ever considered becoming a freelance technical writer / content developer? Most jobs of this type pay very well and since they are contract, you can work for a few months, then do your art for the rest of the year.
Hi Meri,
It’s certainly not easy but good for you, for continuing to find what works for you. Just a thought…a lot of cruise lines and all-inclusive companies are hiring entertainers. Perhaps with your guitar experience that might be an option? Also, many high end and/or Mexican restaurants like live guitar being played at dinners. All the best to you!
Thanks, Priya. Yes, I think I need to contact some more restaurants. I have a dislike for rejection (silly in my field, as rejection is so commonplace.)
I’d looked into cruise ship jobs once b4 and it looked like it wasn’t easy to get into, that one had to already be “established” as a musician, but might check that out again.
Hi, Meri. Sounds like you need clients in wealthier places than where you can live while getting back on your feet from this setback. Have you considered being a Virtual Assistant?
Thank you for your replies Sandra and Lisa. I like the admitting the fear and focus on passion suggestion. I feel when one does not admit or acknowledge a fear, it has more power over us. I so appreciate being reminded about that. Also Sandra, I appreciate your blog on Joan Rivers, very inspiring.
I need the money to join Hanging out with Barbara before it closes. For people living below the poverty limit, 29. a month is too much
Why don’t you try emailing Barbara personally – maybe she will comp it for you? Good Luck! I hope she or one of her assistants will help you out.
I am not sure if Barbara will answer though as I did send her a message on face book a few weeks ago as I wanted to see an actual example of the working backward goal example she refers to in her refuse to choose book – since I have not been able to locate an example, she never replied.
Deb, take a look at Chapter 6 in Wishcraft. You can download it at http://www.wishcraft.com.
Thanks Patty! so helpful 🙂
Thanks, that’s a good idea. Any “extra” money I have goes to help stray and feral cats that have been abandoned on my street!
I would like a success buddy to help me move along with my writing career.
Sandra –
I’m not sure I’m that person specifically (I am looking for a success buddy, but not specifically for a writing career, so I’m not sure if I’m the person for you) but I do know there’s a big annual writing “convention”, if you will, and it’s going on right now, this month.
You can check it out at this URL:
http://www.nanowrimo.org
and they have a specific word goal for people to meet at the end of the month (5OK words, which averages out to about 1666 words / day for an average quota) — and on site they have a special section if you’re looking for a buddy to pace you who is also doing it.
It used to be just for fiction writers, but recently they’ve added sections for people looking to do non-fiction and poetry as well (they’re all under the “rebels” section, LOL).
Hope that helps you find what you’re looking for!
Hi Sandra,
Did you find anyone yet? What are you looking for in a success buddy? I’m also a writer, though not making any money off of it, so I don’t know whether we’d be a match or not but, if you haven’t found anyone, I’d be willing to try.
🙂
Hello, my name is Necie and my Wish is to create a Mastermind Group for people newly diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. In addition, my big big wish is to create a local Patient Education Symposium to provide education to our loved ones, partners, friends etc, on what it’s like to live with Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis. At the symposium I wish to invite local government officials so they can learn about these diseases and understand why more funding needs to be made available to Fibromyalgia suffers.
I wish to obtain sponsors for these events to rent meeting space, provide gift bags to attendees, honorariums to designated speakers and money to film a documentary on my life with Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis from a patient perspective.
As you may have guessed from reading my post, I have Fibro and RA. I am sick and tired of working a job that is toxic to my health and overall well-being. Also, I am tired of wishing and dreaming about it and need to take action. I have a lot of thoughts on how to get started but need support to get moving and find sponsors to fund these events.
Anyone have any suggestions or feedback on how to bring my dream and wishes to life? I need help finding sponsors and assistance creating the Mastermind Group and finding participants.
Warm regards,
Necie
Hello, I sympathize. FMS is a very exhausting and ever-changing condition or syndrome to have. I have read and put into practice some of the ideas in From Fatigued to Fantastic by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum. It helps some. I used to subscribe to a newsletter put out by Dominie Bush that had interesting ideas but she had to stop doing it. It was getting to exhausting and expensive. She used all kinds of things, aroma therapy, massage, supplements, and had arranged her half-time work schedule, piano instructor, to help her as she is better in the evenings so her students usually came then. I also joined a Meet-up.org group in my town that related to FMS but sadly, it folded. I enjoyed a book by a Donna Jackson Nakazawa who wrote The Autoimmune Epidemic and her new book, The Last Best Cure, seems to have interesting things to say. Several FMS sufferers have started blogs. I sometimes receive their postings. I’m not sure how to help you market, but I can sympathize with your concerns. I’d Google and see what blogs and groups are out there. I know most FMS people either go the medication route, Lyrica and lots of pain meds, or they try the allnatural route. Different people seem to be helped by different approaches. Different people seem to have different subsets of FMS: some have adrenal fatigue, some have candida overgrowth, and others I think have chemical sensitivities. There are lots of things out there, some dubious, too. It’s a trial and error process. I’m not there yet. I have sleep issues and diet issues. I’m about to try for 7days an anti-inflammatory diet, no dairy, grain, soy, eggs, peanuts, sugar, or corn. I may go crazy! Do keep in touch. If you want my email I can ask Patty to send it to you. Best and much success with this.
Please forward David my personal contact information and email.
[deleted by webmaster after forwarding them]
Kind regards,
Necie
There is a group called MCS Friends that is “Multiple chemical sensitivity”. We meet over the phone, so you might find this helpful as well.
Hi Barbara!
I’ve been observing for more than a year and it’s now time to find more assistance. I have long list of projects and desires and right now hardly enough energy to clean house. I am involved in community with Toastmasters International and Unity Fellowship Church which includes study in A Course In Miracles, etc.
I am a retired clinical social worker and I have studied coaching with several expert coaches.
About 7 years ago my life came apart and I have been finding my way forward to myself. Just last week I was able to clear a very old but powerful block that I knew was there, but could not seem to release on my own or with other help I have sought out in the past. I am feeling ready to move forward and just checking out what you are up to!
Thank You!
Alice
What is it you need a success buddy for?
Hi everyone,
I have a problem which I can’t seem to sort out: I’m so ‘scared’ of following my dreams properly that I never seem to get anywhere following them. I start to take steps to follow them, I freak out, and then I think ‘This will never work! I need to be applying for normal jobs so that I can have financial security!’
Then I end up spending time applying for jobs, and eventually get fed up and think ‘What am I doing with my life?… Why am I doing this?… This isn’t what I’m meant to be doing…’ – and then I have another half-hearted stab at the Dream.
Last spring, for example, I was in between jobs, and found myself working part-time as a supply teacher. Instead of just doing that, and using the rest of the time to build a brand and create a business, I seem to have used up all my time and resources chasing leads on ‘better jobs’ (in my case, nice jobs in admin at the local University), filling in lengthy application forms, preparing for job interviews, ‘so I can have a day job and earn more money’.
I have currently landed an academic research/writing job where I am more or less the boss of my own time. This job is for a year. I have a PhD, and the point of this job is for me to be able to turn my thesis into an academic book. I can get away with doing, say, maybe 16 hours a week on the actual book, and spending a considerable amount of time on my own projects.
What seems to happen, however, is that I sit around a lot, trying to force myself to do my ‘day job’, and feel guilty either that I am not doing this job very well, or that I am not spending enough time on my own projects.
Basically, I have a very hard time believing that I could ever make money from what I love to do. In my spare time, I am a writer, actor, comedian and singer. (All these things come together when I write and perform comedy stand-up gigs… with the odd song!) I am also an artist (painting and drawing). I am sure that, somewhere in a parallel universe, there is an identical twin of mine who is making a good living out of doing all these things. I just seem to freeze up whenever I try to take a step towards taking these activities more seriously.
It doesn’t help that, when you have a day job, the day job seems to ‘want your soul’. The people paying you a salary seem to assume that you naturally want a career in that particular field, and they seem to encourage you to take on more work and ‘think about your next career move’… When I think about telling them what my desired career move really is (to write and perform more comedy gigs, get better at them, eventually find a way to get paid for them; to sell prints of some of my more popular artworks online regularly; in short, to start to build my own brand) – when I think about telling people about this, my ideas seem small and impossible and even ridiculous.
I could really use some advice on how to calm myself down, stop panicking about potential future financial instabilities, and make the most of my time this year, while I have a stable income on the side, so that I don’t wake up in twelve months’ time and think ‘Why on earth didn’t I use that year to build my business?… Why did I spend twelve months procrastinating on my day job?…’
If anyone has any insights, or advice, I would be very grateful to hear them!
Fellow Scanner/ Former ‘Rager Against The Ordinary’
Hello Eva,
I understand completely what you are going through as I have three major dreams, a family and a day job. I found that I was getting so distracted by *not* being where I wanted to go, that it led to a hamster wheel of stress, self-demands, and tension. Then there was the self-perception of what others would think of me on top of all that.
My most heartfelt suggestion to you is to *stop* the wheel right now, take a step back and breathe. As Barbara says: what you want is what you need. So plan, and then schedule everything in. Everything.
I particularly liked one of Barbara’s blogs where she recommends an easier transition into what we love, by taking on and accepting the day job and spending your time enjoying the evenings and weekends on your dreams.
May I suggest to first accept where you are now. Getting the day job that you have seems to be a real plum, as you get to manage your time…this doesn’t mean that you have to sign over your soul to this career. Allow it to pay your way while you enjoy the freedom of setting up your day.
Next, set up your workspace and home so that you have MINIMAL clutter. I find the more clutter in our surroundings, the more in the mind too.
After that, set up your day in a way that suits you…if you find you feel best working on your thesis when you start your day, then schedule that time of x many hours each day where you do only that first. Turn off all your other distractions (phone/email/FB etc.). Once you’ve finished your thesis hours for the day, start by setting up your flowcharts as Barbara suggests for each of your goals (in Wishcraft): a chart each for your comedy, your writing, art, acting and singing. Where do you want to see yourself in each of these dreams?
After you set up the targets, then schedule in an hour of each day for each of these dreams just filling in the flowcharts. Or 45 min. Or 30 min. Whatever you can do, no matter how little, is all moving you forward towards them!
Once you have your flowcharts ready, then schedule another afternoon to set up the calendars for each of these, then another day to set up your pocket calendars (all explained beautifully in Wishcraft). Once I’ve set up my Calendar, I set them up in my yahoo calendar and the daily task lists in an email in my drafts, so I can make notes during the day.
Aside from the planning, which you can do during your day, make sure you plan in time to actually enjoy doing the arts, schedule in time every day to do a little singing, painting, etc etc or schedule one night every day for 2 of these dreams, whatever suits your time.
Leave everyone else’s opinions about you aside. I had to take a big break from social media to disengage mentally, find what works for you. Also, may I suggest that you set up a LinkedIn account with only what you want to be doing (i.e. put in only your arts profile). Forget about the money for now, just enjoy the pleasure of thinking about, feeling out and sketching your plans for these dreams.
You will find that as you focus on one dream at a time, even if it’s just for an hour or less each day, it will boost your mood, your energy and will snowball into its own momentum.
Best of luck!
Hi Priya,
Thank you for your lovely comment (for some reason I am only just seeing it right now!) – I like what you say about stopping the wheel – yes, yesterday I felt like a hamster on a runaway wheel, and had to sort of slow the wheel down and have a bit of a cry!…
I have recently downloaded Wishcraft onto my Kindle and have started reading it. Sounds like there’s a lot of useful stuff in there which I will need…. I am not very good at long-term planning (including financial planning!) – and I just have to get better at it, I guess, and be really rigorous about setting up plans. I learn about how to do that, and then I think ‘Oh it’s OK, I can just do it on my own now’ – and it never works. I think I need plans and schedules and a three-year calendar.
Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to write and calm me down with your kind words! Best of luck to you too!
Hi Fellow Scanner/ Former ‘Rager Against The Ordinary’
It looks like you’ve read Barbara’s book I Could Do Everything If I Only Knew What It Was, but have you read Refuse to Choose, the one she wrote just about Scanners? That gives lots of ideas and solutions for following all your interests while earning an income.
But I’ll try to give you some pointers here.
The main problem I see is that you are confusing taking your dreams seriously with turning them into a business and making money from them. Unlike some people, Barbara never says follow your dreams and the money will come. She says you must take your interests very seriously, and do all of them, but she doesn’t say that following them properly means you have to earn a living from them. For some people that’s possible and advisable, but for many others it isn’t, or at least not in the early stages.
You say, “Basically, I have a very hard time believing that I could ever make money from what I love to do.” Well you’re not too far wrong. It can be very difficult to make money from creative arts. And there’s a danger that if you succeeded you would lose your love for them. Are you really interested in running your own business and doing all the marketing, accounting and self-branding stuff? Would you be willing to change your art to make it more suitable for popular taste?
It might be that a nice job in admin at the local University would work very well for you, and be what Barbara calls a Good Enough Job. It would pay the bills, and give you the use of all those nice university resources, while allowing you to develop your interests very seriously in your free time. Maybe permanently, or maybe just until the time when you’re earning enough to live on from your arts.
Your current job looks pretty good for that purpose too, except that it can be very difficult to be the boss of your own time without any structure or accountability. It might be that scheduling time for your work and your personal projects would be enough to get you unstuck.
Depending on your preferred length of attention span, you could schedule them for alternate days, or use Barbara’s school day system where you do one thing for an hour or two, then when the timer rings move on to another. Avocation stations could also be useful, with the stuff for each interest set out ready to use whenever you have a spare piece of time.
Getting some accountability would probably help too, both with your job and your interests. Get a mentor or success buddy who expects to see a certain amount of work done at set intervals. Or join a writers’ or performers’ group or club. Or arrange to participate in a concert or gig or exhibition. Or start practising a double act with another comedian.
No, don’t tell the day job people about your real ambitions. Not unless you reach a stage when you can happily say bye bye day job. But get into the habit of writing all your ideas down in a nice blank book specially for the purpose. It doesn’t matter if they seem small or impossible or ridiculous. They still have value. Sometimes the seemingly impossible or ridiculous ones turn out to be the best.
Thanks, Skannie… I’m really happy that you took the time to write this reply. You say a LOT of useful things and you DID just manage to make me smile, and calm me down!…
I guess I do really love getting recognition for the things I’m good at doing. People praise my drawings and say ‘But why aren’t you selling these online?… Why don’t you make some greetings cards and sell them to card shops?…’ People hear me singing and playing guitar and they say ‘You should be on the X-Factor!’ (hahaha). I once crafted a special wedding gift for a friend (a little cake-topper with figurines of her and her man) and was told ‘You know, you could be selling these, I could help you make a website…’ Everywhere I go, there’s lots of people encouraging me to make more of these things that I like doing. At the same time, it feels like there’s a kind of pressure: ‘why aren’t you making money out of this?…’ ‘You are good at this, so why aren’t you more successful?’… ‘Why are these designs not in the shops? What’s the point of doing it just for you?…’ This pressure to be ‘successful’ (ie. making money) is a bit depressing.
I confess that, sometimes, when I’m in an art gallery, say, I look around at some modern art exhibition and I think, I want MY pictures displayed somewhere like this. I sing along to my guitar and I think, I want people to listen to this, and to enjoy this. I actually do get a kick out of creating something special and letting people see it. I would love nothing more than to create special things for people for a living.
At the same time, you raise a valid point; I don’t KNOW if I would be any good at running a business, or if I would enjoy making art if I had to do it because it’s my ‘job’. (When I take on projects from friends, I do get a bit stressed over them – I worry that they won’t be good enough…) I guess the trouble is, this world we live in expects us to be making money, and to be good at something we do. Whenever someone has a talent, or a love of something, you can hear the voices going ‘You could sell that; you could make money out of that; you could get a job doing that…’
I currently earn not-very-good money in academia, working in a job which has many nice things in it, but which I don’t love (research can be horribly mundane), and which has the added complication of being only temporary (it’s for a year), so it’s not secure. I would love to a) earn more, and b) actually create a working life that lets me use, and show off, some of the things I am good at.
I love your idea of reading Barbara’s book (I’m not sure I knew about that one!) and I love some of the things you suggest re. time management (alternate days sounds good), because I think my problem at the moment is that I have largely unstructured time, and I am not great at handling that. I panic!… (‘What should I be doing? Should I be doing this?…. Or maybe that??….’ ‘Am I doing the right thing?’… etc).
I think you’re right that my original idea of the nice job in Uni admin (secure, stable, one which does not make you want to vomit) might be a good long-term idea.
Anyway: I have set myself up a paid singing gig, which is in two months’ time (at New Year’s!!…), which is forcing me to put in a bit of guitar practice every day. And I have been fairly good at volunteering my services for comedy open mic nights (I’ve done three so far…) which forces me to prepare material (although I should do more!…). When it comes to my paid research job, the idea of accountability scares me witless, but it’s probably a good idea.
I have also ordered myself a very good book which tells you about the ins and outs of running a creative business (especially the practicalities of it, the money side).
I just wanted to say: THANK YOU, for restoring my faith in myself, just a little bit.
🙂
How weird, you seem to have written my post FOR me! 🙂 Anyway, I am an admin by day, a writer, artist, mother, comedian-type, designer, singer, B&B owner, etc. by night/early morning/free moment.
I have struggled with the Good Enough job concept for a long time. I took higher paying jobs (union) but had to basically let go of my soul for 8 hours/day. Ugh.
I recently left that job in search of a Good Enough job that was truly good enough. It was a long, stressful process, but I think I have found an admin job that doesn’t suck my soul, doesn’t ignore my other talents, and even though doesn’t pay me as well, it pays me in appreciation and gratitude more than anything else I’ve done.
For me, the key to a successful Good Enough job was really focusing on what would work with my other Scanner life. What wouldn’t suck my soul, make me feel sad, help me feel useful, align with my values, etc.
After THAT, then turning BACK to my creative pursuits was easier. I tried self-employment twice (two different tries over a 11 year period) and honestly, a regular paycheck just stressed me out less. I can’t work creatively when I am stressed. And I found that i needed the structure of a “go to work” job. So I don’t believe it’s a matter of what, but first a matter of how. I also needed to figure out EXACTLY how much I needed to earn to make better job decisions. It was much easier to search when I didn’t have to look at everything. I simply couldn’t. I took a temp job until I got this job now, but yes, that was pure agony for 3 months. I got very clear about what I needed and wanted though and stopped going for jobs I didn’t need or simply couldn’t pay bills with. I also just published a book on creativity (while working, so that seems to work for me to have something else to do), I see my friends, I get good sleep again (not paying bills makes for a horrible sleep life), and I am just thankful I don’t work for jerks anymore. The clearer you get, the better off you’ll be. I trust that you will (and are!) find(ing) your way.
Hi there!
Your message is really helpful – it’s so great to hear from someone who is taking real steps to get the life they want. I love hearing about all your different interests!!… 🙂 I totally agree that stressing about paying bills seems to make creativity impossible; I, for one, really freak out when I let myself dwell on how precarious my financial situation is. I think you are right that a Good Enough job, which earns enough and doesn’t make you vomit, is perhaps the best way forward. You’re right, too, that financial clarity helps with other clarity (this year I have started properly looking after my money for the first time!) Best of luck continuing to find your way!
Hi, I just thought I’d mention an idea I’ve just had whilst reading Refuse to Choose. I have set up a separate bank account called ‘Dream Account’ which is a savings account for money to spend achieving my dreams or starting a new venture/project. You fill this account in whatever way works. It could be a small standing order from your main account, you could take up an extra part-time job and put the wages from it in the account or you could cut down on some luxuries and transfer the money you save. I have been a portrait artist, as a paying hobby, for over 20 years so I will use my commission money for my dream account. Then, when I come up with an idea at least the financial obstacle will be removed! 🙂
That’s a great idea Lizzi! Do you already have a dream or project in mind to start saving up money for?
Thanks! I saw an amazing sounding animal communication workshop trip to Botswana that would just be amazing for me! It’s very expensive tho so that’s what gave me the idea for the dream account. 🙂
That’s a great idea. I just published a book on Amazon and I am fighting the urge to pay bills with the tiny amount of money I am getting…I definitely want to put that money into a dream account that builds for my dreams!
Definitely do that! Good luck with it. 🙂
Hi Skannie,
thank you so much for your comments and suggestions. Would love to get to know you a bit better – we seem to have a lot in common.
I live in Coventry UK at the moment, but have just sold my home and am moving down to Bournemouth, Dorset by mid November, so I prepared a workshop in advance to start trying it out down there. In the Mildands (Coventry) in particular, it is quite a depressed place, and as you said not many people are receptive to some aspects of this work – particularly the spiritual / self development aspect. I lived in Vancouver, BC for many years and that is where I started to take a strong interest in self help / personal development etc, in fact Wishcraft was one of the first books I read and it really opened my eyes to what is possible. However, people over here are starting to sit up and take notice, there is a lot of Mind/Body / Sprit festivals poping up all ove the place and down south, people are more receptive to this. The Uk is primarily more materialistic minded and are more interested in having the latest – houses, holidays, gadgets, cars etc rather than being more relaxed, peaceful, happier. But as I say that is changing slowly.
My website is inspirational.Insights.org.uk – but for some reason can only be accessed through internet explorer – if you want to take a look.
Your feedback and suggestions are very helpful and I will take them on board. As suggested in Wishcraft, it is always helpful to have a buddy to check in with and keep you accountable – would you be interested in being my buddy and helping to support, encourage and motivate each other?
Hope to hear from you again, best wishes
Sharron
is kind of stuff mys
Hi Sharron. I’m glad you found my response helpful.
” and as you said not many people are receptive to some aspects of this work – particularly the spiritual / self development aspect.”
Hehehe! I’m afraid I’m one of those awful people. I’m mentally allergic to the words spiritual and mind/body/spirit. I like Barbara’s methods especially because they help people improve their lives without involving any spiritual concepts.
But if you prefer a spiritual approach, you probably will find more people receptive to it on the south coast.
Sorry but I’m not interested in having an individual success buddy right now because I’m in Barbara’s Hanging Out Club and the Refuse to Choose book club. Plenty of buddies in both of those. Hope you manage to find someone else.
“My website is inspirational.Insights.org.uk – but for some reason can only be accessed through internet explorer – if you want to take a look.”
I use Chrome so I couldn’t look at it. You need to fix that problem if you want to get a wide audience.
Hi Brandy,
Have you thought about your local libraries (they usually have a group room, for which the charge very littel – and you could advertise it through them too.
There is also, communty centres, YMCA or even teaching a course through Adult Education, which you could get paid for and get the room free.
Good luck,
best wishes,
Sharron