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 wanna join the party!
I was diagnosed with a hptoyhyroid about 5 years ago and I have been on meds for it ever since. I can’t imagine having thyroid cancer though! I will pray that everything goes well for your friend!
I am from Lavaltrie, Quebec in Canada – I’m a Law of Attraction Consultant & Guide helping women attract the life they dream of so they can live happily everyday with more money, more vacation, and find love.
Oh my! Isolation IS a dream killer! I’ve been longing for community, for my tribe, a team, support! I’m just coming out of a very lonely challenging time and want to believe it’s not too late to have a life I love! I’m so happy to be here. I’m reading Wishcraft and loving it so so much!
“Isolation is the dream killer” and I don’t know how to go past this problem. I am in San Diego and it seems all my role models are somewhere else.
🙂 Well, I don’t know if I’m one of your role models, but you reached me. Unless your role models don’t use the Internet or telephones (or snail mail, for that matter), you can reach them now better than ever before in history.
I’d like to ask where everyone else on this Idea Party is from, just for my own curiosity. Hi All: where are you writing from?
Sydney Australia!
Oregon!
Boston
Dear Ricky,
It has been my experience that in order to get together with good people, do 2 important things:
1.) Stick to the activities of Barbara Sher like glue, and you’re guaranteed to meet people. Try to see if there are any Success Teams or other local happenings in your area related to this. and
2.) Pick an activity, say for instance, a rock hounding club, or an astronomy club, or something that has gatherings or outings that interests you. You’re in it for the activity, not for meeting people, or it won’t work at all. But when you least expect it, this is when you meet people, or at least someone, who is interesting. I have met best friends and even a husband this way, when I wasn’t even interested in dating or trying to meet people.
Holy Moly….just reading these few intros i feel like “I’ve found my people!”
Since it is 10:38 PM and i am still working on a deadline, but just happened to open Barbara’s email, and then couldn’t resist logging on, and then reading the very cute cartoon thing, then just thought i’d take a quick look at the “Idea Party”…hey, everyone loves ideas, right….i really can’t express all the thoughts i’m having right now, but, I’ll be back :>)
Welcome Mariyann,
we are looking forward to your thoughts.
And whenever you need help, use the magic sentence
“I want to do _______ [fill in the blank with your dream],
but I can’t because of _______ [fill in the blank with your obstacle).”
and see what happens.
Astrind (hanging around somewhere in Hang-Out and in the book clubs)
🙂 Well, I don’t know if I’m one of your role models, but you reached me. Unless your role models don’t use the Internet or telephones (or snail mail, for that matter), you can reach them now better than ever before in history.
I’d like to ask where everyone else on this Idea Party is from, just for my own curiosity. Hi All: where are you writing from?
Hi Maryann
I hear you and I have a big smile on my face right now. Welcome home! We’re all right here!
I’m interested in traveling for a career, but don’t know how to serve humanity by traveling. Any suggestions (other than travel agent)? I get seasick, so can’t work on a ship.
Have you ever been on a long sea voyage Carmela? Most people get seasick just in the first few days and then it wears off. You “get your sea-legs” as the saying goes. I know it did for me when I was on a month long trip by sea a long time ago. And I’m a person who can get not only seasick but also travel sick on land.
I think it would be great to just spread the word of peace, love & everything positive. Since thoughts create our lives, a positive attitude will change the world to a better place. Until then, as others are ‘against’ things, making more of the same negative things happen, be ‘For’ things that will make this world a better place.
I’m sure Doctors Without Borders need non-medical personnel to take medical care to underserved areas.
Universities need administrators in their Junior Year Abroad programs. Spend two years in one location, then move to the next.
The Red Cross needs people to go to disaster areas, and people to set up the local infrastructure to be ready to handle future disasters.
Hospice needs trainers all over the world. Almost every country needs ESL teachers. Businesses need managers to visit all of their overseas manufacturing facilities — some of them to prevent human rights abuses.
A relative designs bedding for a living and must show up every year in NY, Paris, and Milan at the company’s expense. I don’t know if beautiful beds count as serving humanity, but it’s a great job.
And, of course, there’s flight attendant. When my friend had to do her three days of advanced training for hostage and hijacking situations, it made it really clear that serving drinks is only what they do to pass the time between protecting lives and rescuing people.
What about working for hotels that are part of an international chain and doing stints at different branches?
Or writing a travel blog or similar on all your holidays until companies offer you free accommodation to review? (I hope that is a thing, it sounds good!)
Or doing some volunteer work where your food and board is provided in exchange for doing good work – for example International Volunteers for Peace or WWOOFing.
Good luck!
I’m sorry I haven’t been around for a while. I guess like many of us, I was also looking for my life purpose. Much has developed & have become a Law of Attraction Consultant & Guide. I’ve never been happier, never thought I would ever do something I love, that it was impossible for me. You can read part of my story at http://www.crystals-angels.com. Or you can contact me here, I’m very happy to help in any way I can.
Help! Any scanners who make things out there?
I need a refresh/ reminder of how to manage my many projects.
For example the sewing projects/ resin project/ collage project/ mixed media canvas project/ letter writing project/ envelope making project/ stamp making project/ sketchbook project..
I leave all my art stuff out in little satellites around my study / house so I can see them and don’t forget them, but it doesn’t seem to help me actually DO them. I don’t want to pack them away because then I am scared I will forget about them, and I don’t want that because I want to do them. Looking at them store a sense of longing in me because I can imagine all the next steps to do them. Usually I work fairly regularly on and off through the weeks on about 3, but the others are still in my mind and I want to progress them / finish them too. I know I have thought about and read good ideas on this in the past, but I need a reminder.
So what is my issue? The main issue is things (materials, half done works) get buried under others, and I feel overwhelmed and haunted by all these undone things, and it makes keeping my house tidy hard and makes finding a clear surface to work on hard too! 🙂
Ideas for your beautiful Scanner projects.
Having them in shelfs nearby, cleaning the text after working with each projects as an invitation to do the next thing. Trying to come a little closer to the ideal Scanner studio.
Doing some things more (they probably are too many to do everything on every day?), but some others at least 5 minutes so they won’t feel abandoned.
Taking photographs of each set and printing them as cards or pages for a little catalogue you can thumb through or vary which page/card lies on top.
Making a mindmap of all the projects – and perhaps the next steps – have it visible and smile at the possibilities! Like a menu you choose from.
Write down / make visible in some way what you already *have* finished in the past so you feel proud and can imagine that you’ll finish even more things.
Have fun! 🙂 Johanna
Thanks Johanna I love the card idea I might try that.
I also think the discipline of cleaning off my desk so it is a ‘blank slate’ for there next day / project is a great idea and one I might try to cultivate…
Hi Jade:
While reading I also thought of making photographs or maybe a drawings symbolizing each project. You could have them on a pin wall, or hang them with pegs on a string so that you see them all the time or as Johanna says, put them in a book that you can put away. Another possibility is a simple project list. We often tend to use objects as reminders of to-do-s and that creates chaos, desks that look like flea markets, and impossible-to-clean-places.
Thanks Maria, Great idea to draw them! I would love that. And hanging them from a piece of string would mean I could see them anytime I’m in my studio, but not have them scattered all over the house. Then I could maybe also order them in different ways to remind me of which one is ‘next’ for me to work on… I would like to try this
Oh this made me laugh. It sounds exactly like me. I’ll be watching this for solutions too.
Hi, I am currently 22 and finding a job. I am confident that I am a scanner due to my constant changing of aspirations. I think I seem to get all whipped up in a passionate motivated state where I can accomplish anything, I learn heaps or I research the career possibilities etc and on many occasions, I even apply for jobs and get interviews. Then all of a sudden I loose all interest.
I have so many passions and interests that I fantasies about but because I have so many and am now so lost with this ‘quest to find a career’ I just don’t feel mentally motivated to pursue any of them. Everything takes way too much time and I don’t want to stick to any. (OR MORE SO, I feel like I WONT stick to them and loose interest) I just want to hop between them!!!!
Some passions include:
Landscape Photography/Arctic/Hiking/Nature Watching/Documentaries/ Backpacking/ Humanitarian Relief/Writing/Languages
Space research /Environmental Science/
Psychology/Counselling/SociologyWriting/Sociology/ Study of Religion
Justin, Scanners don’t make good scientists, but science writer would be a great umbrella career for your interests. Jonathan Weiner is one of my favorites. I loved his Beak of the Finch especially (and so did the Pulitzer Prize folks). But when you see how he got to hop over to other interests for Time, Love, Memory, you’ll see why I think his career could satisfy you, too. And before either of them, he wrote Planet Earth, to accompany the PBS series by that name. Before that, he was a staff writer for the magazine The Sciences. Twenty years after his first book, he joined the Columbia Journalism faculty: http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/profile/75-jonathan-weiner/10
I absolutely love writing! I actually recently started a blog as a hobby!
(shameful plug! http://www.inky-n-thebrain.com).
I love writing about psychology and personal development, but maybe in the long run I can start writing about Science. It seriously fascinates me.
I will check out Jonathan! Thank you very much.
Hi Justin, I empathise!
Some ideas in no particular order:
How about writing about your various passions while you are passionate about them – e.g. for travel magazines/ blogs?
Also, do you think it would help to take the pressure off yourself to choose ‘A career’ (it seems like a lot of pressure to choose just one) and think about designing a rich and varied life which accommodates your various interests instead? E.g. a part time photography assistant job to make some money while also writing travel articles and helping organise a local documentary film festival? Or part time sales job in a camping/an adventure sports store to pay the bills while you also save money for your next backpacking holiday and take photos on your holiday to exhibit at a cafe when you get back? that kind of thing. Who knows what will come of any one of those things.
Maybe follow your interests and trust that they will lead you somewhere, rather than feeling you have to know in advance what the answer is? (huh, that’s advice I could follow myself!!)
best wishes
Things have finally fell into place!
I got a full time job as a purchasing and stock coordinator at a wholesaler close to me. Because it is a low maintenance steady job, it gives me needed structure plus it allows me to come home and keep my downtime free for my hobbies.
As I said above, i’ve HAVE started a new blog about personal development and motivation. Check it out of you want http://www.inky-n-thebrain.com
Im hoping one day to get into online marketing, which can fund my travels and hobby dabbling!
Thank you!
Let me know if you need any help yourself Jade 🙂
I got one of Barbara’s books the week before last (I could do Anything) with my son in mind, who is currently between jobs and hasn’t any ‘one’ passion. In there was a clue – and I think it was about success teams – and it made me want to learn more. When I found ‘Refuse to Choose’ (God bless Amazon for telling me what other books readers who bought the one I did also were interested in) I found out I’m a scanner and several kinds at once although for years I’ve called myself a generalist – and then one two three woops and I’m out of a job in four weeks.
One of the things I sincerely loathe is writing selection criteria and massaging my CV until it looks like the job (and often feels that it doesn’t look like me at all) and then not even get called in for an interview. All that time and that life wasted! Because of the types of scanner I am I had made heaps and heaps of notes for some seminars I wanted to run… kind of like Everything 101. I’m so scared though. I’m a single parent and although my four kids are over 18, my two youngest are living with me – one at uni and one out of a job (as I will be soon) and I need to make sure the bills are paid.
I can see that working backwards I need to have a good enough job (which I had, as a temp on a 2 week contract to a Hospital, and the contract has now run for 13 months but now they need a permanent) but again to get a *sufficiently good enough job I have to work out what my bills are and what I need to bring in to cover them, so that I can get free of a sense of impending doom if the seminars aren’t an immediate financial success – and I’m guessing it will take a while for them to bring in the kind of income I need (and even longer to start with the kind of income I would like to have to make my future secure – I turn 60 this year). My current agency says ‘It’s really quiet at the moment’ which translates as they haven’t got a thing which might suit me. I don’t quite know where to put my fairly limited free time (my uni semester finishes in a few weeks and I’m doing great at typography but only just scraping through in art and I’m several sets of homework behind and would like to quit but don’t like being a quitter)
Ohhh how longwinded am I. Writing for half of forever is one of my talents. As are concatenated parentheses, sorry about that. I could go and edit – but then I’d be late for a meeting and I dislike being late intensely although I seem to do it most of the time.
Could really use some help. I don’t say that often – usually I’m the one doing the helping. Almost always. So I’m hopeful, and I’m happy to give back however I can.
Hi Berry!
What specifically would you like help with – figuring out how to get a good enough job so you can focus on developing your seminars? Can you apply for the permanent role at the hospital you like? Can you try with another agency?
As for your seminars – sounds fascinating! I think taking the pressure off the seminars to have to earn money right away might free you up to work on them a bit more? Other ideas are: write some guest blog posts about your seminar topics as a way to advertise them, contact a local ‘community college’ or adult education college (not sure what they’re called in the US) to see if you could teach a one day class with them (that way they do the advertising, get the venue etc and all you have to focus on is preparing the content), see if there is a community run conference coming up on your topic, and whether you could run a workshop there (you might not get paid, but could be a good practice run for your seminar material without having to get people there and a venue organised yourself).
best wishes and good luck!
HI Berry,
You might try teleseminars or webinars – you could do those right away without much time/financial investment.
Best wishes,
Sandra