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.)
Ian not such how much commerce you plan to do on your site if it is minimal then I would use Vistaprint for both they have templates for cards and websites many to choice from.
Thank you! I think that would be sufficient. How does one access these?
I want to start a Home Staging PT business. I need to get a web site done and business cards made. I need to get a .com email.
I need to figure out how to do the pricing when renting furniture.
I have already done four staging jobs and design work.
Awesome! What a neat business.
I’m looking for some ideas of what kind of products I could make for my home sewing business I’m currently setting up. Aside from regular mending and fixing I’d like to have some items on stock to be ready to sell, using leftover fabrics and materials. Purses, approns maybe and the like.
What kind of products you might be needing or could end up buying?
Small stuffed animals and rag dolls always seem to be popular.
True, didn’t even think about that! And the bonus is that you can actually use leftover pieces of fabric for stuffing.
Also dolls’ clothes and accessories. Miniature curtains and quilts etc for doll’s houses.
I’ve just been having fun with Google Images search, looking for more ideas for you. Wow! So much fabulous stuff that can be made from small pieces of fabric.
Here are the search terms I used, so you can try them too. You’ll probably think of some more of your own. Or you could try putting in homemade or handmade or DIY instead of, or as well as, fabric. It might give you better results in some cases.
fabric jewellery
fabric keyrings
fabric phone cases
fabric tablet cases
fabric laptop cases
fabric spectacles cases
fabric organisers
fabric slippers
fabric lampshades
fabric decorations
fabric hair accessories
fabric flowers
fabric dollshouses
fabric books
fabric balls
fabric baby blocks
fabric baby bibs
fabric puppets
fabric toy animals
or probably better to search for specific types of animals e.g.
fabric toy cats, frogs, mice, elephants, horses, snakes, dinosaurs, birds etc.
Also fabric pet toys, fabric cat toys, catnip mice etc.
More general search terms could bring up some new ideas, e.g.
fabric leftovers
fabric scrap projects
Some of the images will lead you to patterns and instructions if you click on them. But if not, you can do Google web searches for instructions and patterns of the kinds of things that inspire you, if you need them.
Oh wow. So many things I didn’t even think about. Now I’m kinda afraid of starting to google them because I just might want to make them all xD
Hehehe! Yes you probably will want to make them all 😀
Beautiful napkins and placemats.
I am halfway through the book I Could do Anything if I Only Knew What it Was and decided to take further steps. I am semi-retired at 45, have tons of time and freedom and am trying to figure out next steps. Essentially all Ive ever wanted to do was to blow peoples minds and freak them out. The idea of being a magician, wizard or artist that profoundly affects others perceptions, minds and moods would be a dream. The idea that others lives would be immensely enhanced or even positively shaken up by something Ive helped to create is my dream. I have tons of ideas including a sense immersive show that is a combination of a Universal Studios ride, magic show, and EDM concert on LSD would be amazing. Alternatively a spa that takes into consideration every colour, smell and audio visual and sensory preference of the participant to create a mind blowing experience for them would be great. Even being a healer that helps unleash powerful transformation in participants would be amazing.
Too many ideas, no idea where to start. Help?!?!
Go to one of those “dark restaurants” (restaurants in absolute darkness, there are two of them here in Berlin, I guess there must be at least one in each bigger city) and offer them one of your shows. There is often some kind of program and people want to experience something special beyond just eating in darkness (which is already quite amazing btw).
Go to one of those “dark restaurants” (restaurants in absolute darkness, there are two of them here in Berlin, I guess there must be at least one in each bigger city) and offer them one of your shows. There is often some kind of program and people want to experience something special beyond just eating in darkness (which is already quite amazing btw). There you have people who want to experience something related to their senses (in this case everything but vision).
Thanks so much for the suggestion! That sounds like it would be a great venue. The challenge is that I don’t have an act nor do I know where to start in order to develop one. I know the end result I would like to see would be to have people leave shaking their heads in disbelief or crying with joy but beyond that I literally would not know where to start.
Hi Jim. I Could Do Anything is an excellent book for people who are stuck and think they don’t know what they want, but now you do have some ideas you might benefit more from reading Wishcraft. The first half is about finding out exactly what you want to do, and the second part gives very practical methods for how to achieve it. The backwards flow chart in particular could help you decide what are your next steps. You can find it free online here http://www.wishcraft.com
Also “Too many ideas, no idea where to start. Help?!?!” is a typical complaint of people with scanner personalities. So I think you might get a lot of benefit from reading Refuse to Choose, Barbara’s book about scanners and how they can do everything they love in one lifetime.
But some quick ideas from me now. First, if you aren’t doing it already, make sure to write down all your ideas in as much detail as possible so you don’t lose them. Barbara recommends getting a nice blank journal for doing this, or you can do it on your computer if you prefer.
Then I think you probably need to spend time learning some relevant skills, and researching what amazing stuff other people are doing and how they are presenting it.
YouTube is a good place to start. You can browse through it or do specific searches for stuff like magic tricks, circus performances, acrobatics, fire shows, science demonstrations, 3-D street art, concept art, optical illusions, amazing animations etc. etc. TED.com also has a lot of mind-expanding stuff though much of it is spoken ideas rather than visual.
You can also find a lot of instructional videos on YouTube that you can learn from. Or try Instructables.com
I also suggest going to real-life classes and workshops in various artistic and performance skills. Anything that seems interesting to you. This will help you find out which parts you like doing best, and give you more motivation, plus contact with other students who share your interests and could collaborate with you on projects. Several brains are better than one!
Also look out for street and festival performers who often do amazing stuff. You can ask them how they learned, or if they would teach you.
If you already have some useable skills, you could try doing your own short Youtube videos. Or just start by showing off at parties and gatherings and see how people react. Starting with small steps is usually the best way.
What an in depth and detailed answer. I have never even thought of some of these approaches! I am so appreciative that an absolute stranger would be so generous with their time. I will start right away doing more research and as a result of your input I feel like I have the nudge I’ve needed. Thank you again!
skannie always has tons of fabulous suggestions!
W: to do many things, to accomplish many goals and fulfill many dreams
O: hesitation to jump into a(ny) project because it makes me to not pay attention to my family members.
When I get into my Scanner mode I’m all focused and excited till I finish my thing. Then afterwards I realize how much I’ve left everyone else unattended. Sure it’s only husband and two cats I’m talking about, and my hubby’s all happy playing videogames most of his free time, but still.
Suprisingly(?) I don’t have problems going after the things I want and making progress, and I already know how to get to the end-result. It’s not what’s keeping me from doing things, but fear of negleting everything else important.
What about using a timer? Or defining with your husband one (or more) open-end evening a week for your projects and the others for common activities?
Ask yourself: How much common time would feel good for you?
Thanks for your reply.
It’s a bit more complicated than that. It’s also all my problem. He has no complains about me getting into some project and ‘ignoring’ him for hours. He always says it’s enough for him that I’m somewhere close-by. Sometimes he even says that I should do my things because I seem to enjoy doing them, and he likes watching me paint, for example.
We don’t do that many things together (neither of us haven’t got much ideas about what to do together anyway). But we usually eat together at least once a day, and watch Simpsons together during the week. Like I said, he plays alot, and it’s not like he’d get bored even if I left him be. This problem is just purely in my head ^^”
Oh, and we live in a 2-rooms-and-a-kitchen apartment at the moment, so it’s not like I’d be very far even if I did something by myself.
Sometimes we have a story in our head left over from childhood that says ‘you are selfish if you do something for yourself’, or ‘if I do the things I like everyone around me will feel neglected’ or ‘if we are apart then we must not be connected anymore’… this story can remain even if we are in situations where it is no longer true and bring us a lot of guilty feelings.
You could try to get to know these voices a bit better – maybe journal them, or make up some funny characters and let them say these things to you, and see what you have to say back to them. It can be useful to be curious and try to understand these voices a bit better, and where in our past they might be coming from, and what feelings are attached to them.
In a practical sense,I really like Maria’s suggestion – if you allocate yourself one evening a week to ‘go wild’ and do whatever you want, work on whatever project takes your fancy, knowing that all the other evenings of the week you are available for and tending to your relationship, home and pets, then that might seem like such a small amount that no one could possibly think you were leaving your responsibilities untended.
On the nights that you are doing your own thing you can always reassure yourself that you are still connected by popping in to the other room to say hello and seeing what his game score is, or having a snack break together, or showing your husband what you’ve made at the end of the night if that feels right for you. You can even paint or do hobbies with a sleeping cat on your lap, in which case they will likely feel very happy indeed!
You might also find things to do outside the home related to your interests, that your husband would be happy to come along to (an exhibition opening, an art supply shop, or things related to your other interests). Sometimes one partner is very easy going and enjoys being exposed to the other partners wide and varied interests! When someone is excited about doing and learning new things it can actually enrich life for their partner too.
Good luck!
Thank you very much! After reading this I feel much calmer inside already. No doubt I can allow myself to sink into some project and see what happens when I follow your advice.
Thank you.
Hi Priya. I think you forgot about me :-). Still waiting for that list of recruiters. It’s not super urgent, but I think I need to get on with things or I’ll never get home :-).
I feel tremendous pressure to be an attorney because I can, I have passed law school classes – but I don’t want to do that. I was a performer all of my life, and thus have no retirement, no savings, etc. and I also have zero family, growing up in foster care and a homeless teen. The pressure is put on me due to poverty to take any job or to pursue law for money. I don’t want to do that though. I want to own a small farm. I really want to own a small farm, to grow organic herbs and vegetables, to also do research on farming and sustainability and wind/solar power, agri-tourism, education, etc. I also want to be a college professor and a writer with the farming. I want to farm on a small scale and then to teach a class or two a term, and to write at night. I am capable of doing these things simultaneously. My biggest obstacle is getting money to buy the land for the farm. After getting the land purchased, the next obstacle is the farming supplies and equipment but I think I could get grants for a lot of help. I feel getting the farm land is the first and biggest obstacle. I am applying for professor jobs, and I am a writer and continue to write, research and publish, but would like wider audiences and higher pay as a writer. Those two are en progress, but my biggest wildest most passionate dream is to have the small farm. That one has the biggest obstacles to it – and the first obstacle is BUYING THE LAND.
I need to find a way to buy a 2 acre plot of land I can live on and farm to fulfill my dream of being a small organic farmer.
Hi Dreamer
Looks like you’ve had an interesting life. With your variety of interests I suspect you have a Scanner personality, which Barbara Sher wrote about in her book Refuse to Choose. I recommend you read that for some new ideas about how to do everything you love in one lifetime, and support for you to keep on resisting that pressure to be an attorney.
What kind of performing did you do and why did you stop? You say you have no savings and no family, but on the positive side that means you have no ties and only yourself to support, and that gives you a lot of freedom to do what you really love.
The dream of owning your own farm is a nice one, but lots of people are doing organic farming and sustainability projects without owning land, so why are you making land purchase into you biggest obstacle to living your dreams? And lots of people teach classes without being college professors, so do you really want to be one?
I think you should plunge as soon as possible into the kind of life you want, with people who think like you, and leave the more difficult dream of land ownership until later. One good way of doing this is by volunteering to work on other people’s organic farms and sustainability projects in return for accommodation and food. Here are some sites where you can find places to volunteer. Wwoof is almost all organic farms. The other two have more varied opportunities.
http://www.helpx.net/
http://www.workaway.info/
http://www.wwoof.net/
https://wwoofusa.org/
Some people do a few weeks volunteering then return home to their everyday life. Others do it all the time, going from one farm to another. I met a Welsh man in France who did that, and he said he could usually find some paid casual work to do as well to pay his travelling expenses etc.
Also many of these places provide classes and workshops for members of the public, which you could offer to teach. I should think classes about legal aspects of sustainability would be very useful. Or maybe you could do some street performing for extra income, as I often do when I’m travelling.
It would provide you with other good things too. An inside look at lots of different farms and projects which would give you great material for your research and writing. Living as part of your host’s family in many cases, and building up some strong friendships. Finding out what kind of farming you like best. Gaining a lot of knowledge about managing land and plants and animals and equipment, and how to pick a good piece of land and keep it productive.
And if you still feel that you want your own farm, you’ll have your ear to the ground about cheap pieces of land, or people with land they don’t use themselves that you could rent, or who want other people to join their sustainable community, which would save you having to get all that money together yourself.
Skanie, such great ideas! And here comes my contribution:
In case that the University part is important I wonder if you need to be a professor to teach at University. At least here in Germany you can have a contract for a single course (for example a two-hour lesson a week for a semester) without being a prof. Maybe you can check that possibility out?
I love all the ideas so far! My addition is the idea of leasing a farm before you buy one – it builds on the volunteering idea and gives you the chance to try making the farming decisions, and perhaps you could then save any profit and invest it in a piece of land later. This might also give you a chance to meet other farmers and see what kind of property would suit you best. This article has some links and tips.
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/09/want-farmer/
If you don’t already you could go to farmers markets to buy your groceries sometimes, and meet growers, and perhaps write stories about them or their approach to farming for publication. That would build your reputation as an agricultural writer and you might find out what kind of farming interests you from the people you talk to:
http://www.farm-connect.com/home.php
Oh also, you may have an ‘incubator’ program for new farmers nearby like this one from Australia… worth looking out forhttp://farmerincubator.org
Jon Katz has a blog you can pay to get or not…and it comes every day. He celebrates the small farm, and is a wonderful writer and photographer. Check it out!
I love events and entertaining groups, it is costly and requires a team and money.
Not sure how to get people involved and get up and running
Hi Charla. Do you mean you love organising events and entertainment for groups? What kind of events and entertainment and groups? Do you want to do it for fun or make a living from it?
One way is to get a job as an events organiser. Then it wouldn’t cost you anything, but you’d be paid to do it instead. Look around for organisations that organise the kind of events you like and ask for work. Or maybe start by volunteering.
If you want to do it independently it doesn’t need to be costly if you start small. You can use facebook groups or meetup or old-fashioned flyers in shop windows to get people involved. Find a room in a pub or community centre you can use. Probably for free if your people will buy food and drinks. Get some local entertainers to perform. Maybe start it off as an open mic night or a talent contest. Perhaps a small cover charge. Or it could be done outdoors in a park or town square. Or as a small event at someone else’s festival.
Hi Skannie
Thanks, the info was a great help. My passion is to do my own Family Friendly events and make a living.
The task at hand is to find the right place.
OK, I guess family friendly rules out pubs and bars. But hotels could be good as they often have rooms for hire for various events. Or there are school halls after school hours, church halls, community centres, scout halls, university and college facilities, dance halls, sports clubs, arts centres, night clubs outside their busy weekend nights etc. etc.
How to find them – 3 methods
1) Research possible venues by googling, using phone directories and local papers, walking around and looking, checking posters and event notices to see where other people hold events, asking at your library etc. Then call or go to possible venues and make enquiries.
2) Use Barbara Sher’s wish and obstacle method, which involves creating a sentence something like this: I want to run a family friendly musical event once a week/month BUT I don’t know a good place to run it. Keep it quite short and specific. Then you say that to everyone you meet – family, friends, work colleagues, people in shops, delivery people, people you email, facebook friends etc. Write down all the answers and investigate them.
3) Start building your community of interested people first. Maybe with a facebook page or group, or a blog, or a few people meeting in a cafe, and ask your people to suggest suitable places.
There is not much to add to Skannies’ suggestions! I just thought that you can also check some non profit organisations in the internet and see where they hold their events. They are usually good at finding cheap places.
Have been stuck for decade, but finally having bandwidth to focus on me. I’m excited about prospects for 2015. Though I still need to create master plan to execute, be accountable, and track success/slip ups….
Hi Committed. How are you getting on with all that? What do you need to create a master plan for? Can we try to help you with anything?
Still have a bit of blockage, not sure what’s holding me back exactly. I have my to do list, just can’t seem to do what needs to get done.
I’ve changed my Alias from Committed to Change to “Committed??” as I don’t know how to overcome this endless blockage to getting things done that I know need to get done. It’s as if I’m afraid of actually getting somewhere with my life. There is a pattern of not following up, taking things to the next level…. staying in doldrums. The past excuse was not having time, being distracted by other urgent problems, but now I can clearly see – BLOCKAGE! Help!
That’s a very common problem, Committed?. I’ve learned from Barbara Sher that there are many different reasons for people feeling blocked and not making progress on their goals. And they all need different methods for getting unblocked.
So it will be easier to help if you can tell us some more about your situation. What are the main kinds of changes that you want to make in your life? What are the items on your to-do list that you’re getting stuck on?
Are you talking about things you need to do but hate, like house-cleaning or writing resumés, or things you love and dream of doing, like playing the Celtic harp or taking a trip to Zimbabwe?
I`ve read some of the ‘hardened’ replies to your suggestions and I just want to say that I am grateful for all of your suggestions, some more intriguing than other’s and appreciate any and all help I can get in making my dream of moving back to Canada and being able to find meaningful work at my age, and a community of like minded people to live with (I’ve got an old list of Intentional Communities). All I really want is to be able to walk to work too as I do now (well bicycle most of the time but in a colder climate I’d be just as happy to walk :-). Cheers and thanks for much for allowing me to participate in this forum.