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 find a career path that fills me full of happiness and delight. I know that with my life experience, books and coaching can be a stand out as a coach for women around the age of 50 who are retrenched from their jobs. They leave with financial assets but feel worthless and would love to be able to show them how to leverage all their expertise in smart creative ways.I have done this for all my life, performing arts, business world. I would like to be able to make a difference to these people’s lives as I feel that my expertise is not being used to help this group of people soar high, me too. Would feel that my life’s purpose and careers was coming together to show others how to not stay stagnant when their first career finishes.
I just described my job from Heaven and found out it’s a real job. I want to be a film production researcher and move into producing and screen writing. My (perceived) obstacle is a lack of experience or the “right connections” in the industry. Who needs an organized, hard-working, entrepreneurial girl with a dream to work on their next media production?
Small production companies in NYC and LA, the sort that make what are called “industrial” videos: commercials, training videos for employees, videos to show at corporate annual meetings, etc. You’ll not only get something relevant on your resume, you’ll also meet people with connections to the folks with the much rarer jobs for feature-length film production companies, freelancers who work on industrials when they don’t have a film project.
Hi, I’m Chassidy and I would like to be financially independent. I’ve starting a Parking Lot Business but my obstacle is that I need help getting started, learning to paint a parking lit, and getting business. I figure once I start making money I’ll be able to hire people to run the business and become the overseer. Once that’s done I’ll be able to focus on building a tiny home community. Can anyone help?
I don’t know how to do that, but I think it’s such a fantastic idea! I think if you’ve got the asphalt lot, then just start by repeatedly using enamel spraypaint or regular paint and a brush, until you find someone who’s got one of those machines that spray lines. Like a private paving company.
Thank you
Chassidy – What an interesting project! Google < paint a parking lot > for prices on paint, striping machines, striping tape, a video on how to lay out your parking lot, how large to make your spaces, and estimated costs for the different methods.
Hi 🙂 I’m 18 and live in Asia, and I want to apply to universities in US and get admitted by the most prestigious ones. This is my wish. My friends think I ‘m crazy, I’m still a long way.
I want to write like a straight A student, however my greatest obstacle is that I can not fluently and logically write in English, I lack training. And I don’t have a mentor who would give me feedby etc.
I am clueless on how to prepare for the essay composing part. What’s much more important, a lot of writing is required when composing the essay for the application, which requires us to answer big questions in eloquent English.
Please give me any ideas on how to improve writing effectively or whom I should contact with to do so.
You can practice speaking another language for free on italki.com. Native speakers volunteer to help folks learn. They will also edit your writing and make suggestions on how to make it sound more natural.
It’s nice to volunteer some of your time to help another person practice learning your language in return.
Hi Yan, I work as a Coach and have helped many, many young people transition effectively from high school to college. I also have a background in English As A Second Language instruction (I worked at English Language Services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a time) and have tutored lots of students in the writing of their college application essays. If you take a look at my website–amycoachesu.com–you’ll get a better idea of who I am and how I might be able to help you. In the meantime, try not to listen to the naysayers around you. Of course, you can make your dreams come true!! And if you have any doubts about that, just go to THIS website: http://www.beyond-mountains.com/–and buy Barbara’s book of tips. It’s SO inexpensive and you can read something from it EVERY day to keep your hopes alive! I’m so glad you posted here:) Thank you!
I’ve started a new business that I’m committed to make successful. However, it’s not my true passion. I’m the mean time, I put up a zillion roadblocks to follow my passions because I rationalize that this takes time away from building my business. How can I get over this mind block?
With a calendar. Your passions and your source of income are not either/or choices. You can have both. If you need to work on the business this month, block it off on the calendar. But before you do, schedule several days next month (or next quarter or six months from now) for each of your passions, so you know they are not gone.
O.K. Here it goes..my wish is that I can travel-#1 to Italy/Europe.
Obstacle-I have 7 kids! Technically 2 are older-19 and 24. I am a single Mom so very to little money and currently no j.o.b.-hence trying to find my calling! Another obstacle is FEAR! I have ideas but no follow through. I really need encouragement! And oh yes, I am one of those ‘scanners’!
Maybe you can look into what jobs would involve traveling or simply revolve around travel, such as a travel agency. Then you can have your ear to the ground for the best travel possibilities, and you know the experts who can help you make the best plan for traveling (with or without) when you have kids.
I live in Italy,i am italina, once you find the ticket and stay money, you can come to
verona, a lovely place in the north, if you want you can stay at my house for a while so my kids will learn the language from yours!
Hi Paola,
If the other Amy doesn’t take you up on your offer, I will! I’ll even tell your kids some stories while I’m there 🙂 (amycoachesu.com)
You can practice speaking another language for free on italki.com. Native speakers volunteer to help folks learn. They will also edit your writing and make suggestions on how to make it sound more natural.
It’s nice to volunteer some of your time to help another person practice learning your language in return.
My wish: to finish my writing projects and have them published/produced.
Obstacle- that I am working very hard to flip into “Opportunity”- I am a writer/editor and attend seminary at one of 7 schools in a large group. I was living in the dorm of another of the seminaries to save money and was suddenly told I needed to move out so that students from that school could take occupancy. I was shocked since I have another year to go, and I wasn’t working because I was injured. I used my savings for living expenses and now I have my belongings in storage and I am homeless. So far, I have been pet sitting in order to have a roof. This has worked for three weeks. While doing this I am also taking skills classes to enhance job seeking and also networking for more work. However, I need some more pet/house sitting gigs or soon won’t have a roof. I am in the Bay Area of California. Can anyone help? I am calculating that, if I can manage to keep sitting, I can actually earn a bit while also saving money by not having to pay rent for a time. Thanks so much!
Sounds like you’ve got a strategy, Michele, with the house-sitting. If you google “house sitting gigs” you’ll find lots of resources for hooking up with the people who need your services.
You may also find that advertising your services through local churches of your denomination and mentioning you’re a seminary student will help you find more gigs.
And since you can write, how about publishing a book of pet-sitting and house-sitting tips? It might make enough to pay for a hostel or motel between gigs, and it will surely make you the top candidate for the gigs you apply for.
Wish: I want to start a performing dance group comprised of people over 40 with no dance training. We would do fun, upbeat routines, hip hop, and dance moves popular throughout the 20th century through today.
Obstacle: I don’t know anyone who could choreograph and teach, and have absolutely no idea how to get started with this.
A good start might be just googling dance groups and choreographers. Then see if you can talk to any of them. You can find great connections and resources just by doing an engine search.
Hello Debbie, this is very close to one of my wishes. How could we help each other to get started. I have a family member who is choreographer, so I wil take the advice to talk with him. But it starts with one person who wants to take our class. Maybe we should describe the one and start there. if you want to connect I am on Facebook, shirley kambel in Zwolle
I love this idea. I’m over 40 and just started the dance training I always wanted. Having a group to perform with would be amazing. I bet if you putt the idea out to your local community you’ll find participants with the skills you need.
My Wish is to give talks, workshops, or theatrical presentations to inspire people to find wholeness, healing, and peace through my expertise in theatre and yoga.
My Obstacle is not having a specific topic and audience.
There must be many, many people who could benefit from what you want to give.
How about finding wholeness, healing, and peace after losing a child, for parents of kids who were murdered, died from illness or an accident, or were stillborn?
Or recovering from sexual assault, for those who have been assaulted?
Or recovering from loss of a limb or eye while serving in the Armed Forces, for those who did?
Or dealing with the loss of a spouse, for parents of young children and, separately, for those over age 60?
Or finding wholeness, healing, and peace with a spouse who enjoys porn, for women who love men who love porn?
Or recovering from your spouse’s infidelity and rebuilding your marriage and, separately, for those who choose to divorce?
Hello Lynn
Maybe you could start at your local Toastmasters Club.
They provide a positive learning environement for public speakers. All kinds of people meet there, so you would have an open mided audience to get started.
Wish you all the best!
Hello! 🙂 I love your book! I got it from my church’s book table… I’m supposed to give it back but it’s too good 😀 I may have to get another one 🙂
Anywho. there are so many things I want to do.
OK.
Goal 1. Make a drawing a week in my art studio. And do it again next week. And the next week….
Obstacle 1. Feeling like other things are more important or that I will get around it to it later.
Goal 2. Have a concert of my original songs at a local venue I’m thinking of.
Obstacle 2. What if people think my songs are too religious and get offended? Or not as good as theirs and laugh?
Goal 3: Do physio exercises for 15 min every day.
Obstacle 3: I can’t always find my elastic band, the instructions, and the time, all at once!
That’ll do for now! 3 goals.
thanks, Peace, Rachel.
Obstacle 1 is addressed very nicely in Chapter 6 of Barbara’s Live the Life You Love. That chapter will also help with finding the time in Obstacle 3, so put the elastic band and instructions in a pretty cloth shopping bag and hang it from a hook on the wall next to the TV. For obstacle 2, invite some friends to be your cheering squad, because there will ALWAYS be someone who finds your creative work too [whatever] or not as good as they think theirs is, and a few of them are rude idiots. Ask you friends to cheer extra loudly if one of these jerks shows up in your audience.
Or take your exercise band and thwap them!