Barbara Sher’s Idea Party

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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.

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4,428 thoughts on “Barbara Sher’s Idea Party

  1. Dear Barbara’s clubmembers. My name is Rosa and I would like to be part of the solution with you. I live in The Netherlands. My wish is to have control over my sleep cicle. Because I can not sleep nor wake up on time I can not make any appointments and therefore cannot meet my needs socialy or being able to do volenteerwork. 20 years ago I had an accident in the past with braininjury and crushed joints. Ive lost all ive learned at school and could not finish it after the accident. Since then Im mostly at home and I live alone. I live on wellfare, but was never able to pay for education. I wish I could have an education, I wish I could get checked by an neuroscientist, I wish I could sleep and wakeup on normal hours.. Thank you so much Barbara Sher for this opportunity. Have a good day & night. Greetings Rosa

  2. Hi all, Chris from London uk here!

    Barbara I just wanted to say thanks I’ve watched so many of your videos on YouTube I’ve lost countless hours going from one to the next I just really gravitate towards your messages, feel inspired and motivated by them.

    My problem like so many scanners is just never being able to tell what I really wanted so I’ve drifted from job to job mostly in retail and mostly because I would get to a point where my savings would run out and I had to get a job to pay bills etc.

    The only A grade I got at school was in drama and I’m a very expressive person naturally; when I’m on form I’m the life and soul of the party making connections with people and making them feel good. So I’ve often thought about performing but as the years have rolled by I’ve talked myself out of it time and time again and just stuck with the boring job.

    I also looked at:
    Being a radio DJ
    Voice overs
    Photographer
    Playing the keyboard
    Writing a screenplay

    I’ve always either ran away from opportunity or talked myself out of it believing i wasn’t good enough and then regretting those decisions for years to come. Insecurity on a deeper level has also plagued me constantly.

    I recently did a short course in voice over techniques and was given a voice reel at the end which is professionally recorded. I really enjoyed the energy of being in the studio and hearing the vocal played back. It’s fun and interesting – do you have any ideas on how to make this a career? I think I would need an agent but I worry my lack of professional experience or acting degrees etc would make agents pass me by.

    Many thanks again
    Chris

    • Chris:

      How about starting your own podcast–either commenting on something, doing reviews of books or films or something else that interests you like theater or music, or possibly doing an interview show, since you say that you are so good at making connections with people. I think that would come through on a podcast. You can use it as an example of your work for doing other broadcasting work, and possibly monetize your own work. I have a good friend in his 70s who has not worked at a job in years, but he has done a regular podcast on animals and he is great at it. He is the friend I bring with me to parties because he is so charming and fun, and laughs so easily, that people find him to be very personable and easy to talk to. So he comes across well on his podcast. He has had some radio stations ask him to create a show, and he has had some people ask him to help them manage their radio shows and be a moderator for them (astrologer Jan Spiller had him help her organize her weekly radio show and be the moderator for a few years).

      Good luck! Maybe get an agent, too!

    • Hi Chris,

      I have just started fine tuning my voice acting for some of my own works. In my research, I came across the Gift of Gab on youtube, and she has some simple videos on How to get started, along with many tips on voice acting in general. I personally enjoyed her Behind The Scenes look in the booth while she did a commercial session via speakerphone.

      I’d like to also echo the starting your own podcast from Diane. Many of my friends are doing this and getting decent-sized audiences. Just pick any topic you are most passionate about and run with it.

  3. Hello from Ukraine. My name is Lena. For more than 6 months, I convinced myself and did everything to create a Success Team, because I wanted to help other people. It was very difficult, I felt that it was not what I wanted. Recently, I was honest and said – Lena, you really only want to be a creator. I have more than 10 ideas in the field of helping people, education and art. I want to bring these ideas to life under my leadership, and only as an explanation of the idea and its concept.
    Now I really need your advice. Where I can find people who read the idea and based on my explanations will want to implement?

    • Hi Lena

      Not sure if this is a good idea but why don’t you ask local charities in your area that help people and share your ideas with them?

      That way you could start to build a portfolio of the work you have done and from that maybe even start your own consultancy firm or join one that already exists?

      By showing that you volunteered and made a difference it shows your conviction and skill set and would be impressive to a potential employer.

      By starting with a charity you would have a great say in the planning and implementation of each idea.

      Good luck

      • I think I really should try to contact a charity organization and suggest ideas for the best events. Thanks for the idea of ​​Chris. I can also try to conduct a survey on Facebook and others, and ask people if my idea is interesting and who would like to help with the organization. If someone likes this idea, then we will start working. But for some reason I doubt that someone will want to help.

        • People will want to help, talk to everyone you see about it! The success team can be the butcher, baker, or candlestick maker,
          Or your kids coach, or your favorite cashier, tell everyone you see.
          Also look for groups or clubs to meet people, join a new church, or go to the pta, take a class, anything to meet new people.
          You seem like a great person, keep going and good luck. Teresa

        • Hi, Lena.

          People may be more likely to help if you let them know what kinds of help you’re looking for. You could list the aspects of the idea that you have the skills & experience to handle, and then list the aspects for which you need help, and the skills and experience that are needed for those.

          Good luck!

  4. I would like to go to Dubai. Hoe can i go there and have a little job that provides me with the costs of travel but also leaves me the time to explore Dubai?

    • I’ve heard that courier companies pay people to fly to places with documents, etc. I don’t think that would cover any expenses beyond the travel, but they probably wouldn’t care how long you stayed in Dubai before you returned — and you wouldn’t have to get a work authorization from Dubai’s government.

      How long do you hope to stay in Dubai?

      Perhaps you could be an au pair/nanny or an English teacher and negotiate time off for exploring.

  5. Hi, so here goes…I am 41, with degrees from Northwestern, Duke, and Harvard. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, Fulbright Scholar, and I had a nice fellowship with the UN in Geneva. I spent much of my 30’s building a real estate portfolio without knowing what a mortgage was. I married late and am pregnant with my first child. Outwardly,people would be “impressed” with me. Inwardly, I feel like I’ve wasted my life because I didn’t have the courage to do what I really want to do since I was in college. The fact that I knew what I wanted to do and had amazing resources at my fingertips only makes me feel worse about myself. The dream is to start a school that ‘educates’. That is, a school that teaches what really matters in a meaningful life: perseverance, financial intelligence, creative problem solving, responsibility, negotiations, getting along with people, clear communication. I have a vision for a school that turns on its head the industrialization model upon which our current system is largely based. I envision a school that is experientially/project oriented, designed around the students’ respective natural interests and talents and multilingual. And, a school that treats teachers like honored professionals in the same way we treat (and pay) doctors. My obstacles: the biggest one (and the hardest, according to Barbara’s “How to Get What You Really Want”. As outrageous as it seems, I’m having trouble building a “success team.” I’ve emailed professors, friends, posted on boards. I’ve stopped short of posting on craigslist and only because I wouldn’t think anyone into education reform would ever look there. Those who do respond, gives me 15 minutes and holds their cards (contacts) very close to them for whatever reason. Each contact seems to fall flat or doesn’t go farther than one more contact. I know I can make things happen as long as I have partners who also share in this vision. I just can’t seem to find anyone who isn’t already overbooked and who understands my vision. I’m finally going after what I want to do because I want to encourage my own child(ren) to do the same and I’d feel like a hypocrite if I were not first a model.

    • Are you thinking high school or younger? The education system needs all the help it can get. Put together a group of anyone who wants to meet weekly, so you can have each other’s back, they can be a baker, teacher, cop, professional dancer. Just people who will have each other’s back. Also, try calling some of these people back and ask where they go for professional meetings, clubs, coffee
      Houses. Also, people are very flattered if you interview them, how did they get started, where did they go to school? Who were there mentors, favorite authors? Ask to meet for coffee.
      Also look for organizations in your area and attend meetings. I joined toastmasters years ago, fun and great people, check on websites cause each club can have a different focus. Try putting together a short talk on education reform and give it free at some local schools. I live in California where we have magnet schools that specialize, I know a high that specialize in the arts. Do you have friends with school age kids? Maybe go to the PTA with them, one of them might want to be in your success team. Look at the local school districts for schools you can visit. Might find a teacher who is sick of the district and wants to join your team or has leads. Also the small business association has classes on how to start a business, and very smart people who take those classes, but also business mentors who had successful business and lots of information and energy. For that matter, try adult education classes, or develop
      A class to teach for them, many do not require a formal degree.
      I briefly worked as a teachers aide when I first graduated from college. Students and teachers are wonderful, administrators not so much. In the forty plus years since then I have seen very little improvement. I hated working for others so started a number of my own businesses, and loved it. I even joined a professional organization that had a group medical insurance plan for reasonable money.
      Also as I am thinking my dad worked for years for an organization that helped people with grants and small start ups to use their money wisely and provided them with business insurance. So check with your city or county to see if there is something like that there. Also, check out a grant writers organization, even if you don’t want to learn to write a grant, they may be able to direct you to someone who dose or you might meet another team member.
      And continue to flesh out your dream, and tell people about it in the Market. Best of luck. Teresa

    • Hi there,
      As I read your dream, it exactly matched mine and for which I am in the same position where you are also at some level. I am 46 now. I achieved extraordinary academic success but, inwardly I was dying and felt completely unfulfilled and at the age of 26, I left a promising (by way of socially accepted success milestones) career to dive into education by joining an alternative school theschoolkfi.org as a teacher, being inspired by Jiddu Krishnamurti’s writings on education and learning. I dropped out of Masters in Engineering course completely feeling dedicated to education and having no inspiration for an engineering corporate job which would only further an industrial model of living that is bringing misery to the planet. My dream was kept alive through my years of teaching, but as I was not trained to be a teacher, and mostly trained academically with no social skills, but desperate to learn the skills required for a teacher, I struggled as a teacher. I depended on my colleagues as well as my inner resources to help me, but there was no time for me to be able to learn, as every day demanded me to be a good teacher, and so I struggled for eight years, and then painfully decided to leave the profession as I was doing the opposite of what I really wanted to be as a teacher, because of inadequate teacher skills. Yet, my dream of a school which is opposite to that of the industrialization model, a school where students are able to explore inwards as well as outwards, learn naturally and beautifully as is learning, as well as find their place in this world with their own hidden talents in this world and able to listen and observe sensitively is still alive in me. After leaving school, I joined an elearning company, but all my thoughts and dreams are of this school which I would like to be part of. If not in person, I would like to deeply help someone who is passionate about it. While I left the engineering career, I had nothing else to do in life except transform education, and I am still looking to do that. The last years, I tried writing about my views of learning in a blog, observing the world of education and finding an opportunity to contribute to education. I would definitely like to be part of your team and can dedicate completely to the dream school. Let’s talk! I came upon Barbara Sher’s Ted X talk, which really spoke the truth about isolation, and then I landed here. Glad to meet you!

    • Hi, CJ.

      I don’t know whether this would lead to Success Team members or just folks who might be up for a more productive informational interview…

      It occurs to me that you could talk with people who have themselves founded schools from scratch. If their schools wouldn’t be in competition with yours — either because they’re geographically distant or because their philosophy is different — then they might be generous with their time, experience, and contacts.

      One place to look for such folks would be https://www.nais.org/

      Best of luck!

  6. Hi LIza,
    I live in Bristol, VA. I once saw Barbara while I was living in Florida. Ever since then, I have been following her. I think she is amazing. She wants to show us that no matter how old we are, we can still make a difference and do some great things.

    Hugs,
    Susan

  7. I am an actor in New York on an Artist Visa that expires June 2020, and I want to work on TV & Film here in America, but talent agents will not sign me because I have a Visa, and they want me to get a Green Card, which I can’t get as of right now because I need to have at least five years of work in America to even begin my case, and so far I’ve got four.

    • Hi Yarin, I am an artist and I am looking for an artist visa, do you have a lawyer you can recommend me? What kind of acting do you do? Do you have a portfolio?

    • Hi, Yarin.

      Would working as a freelancer/consultant get around the visa issue?

      Could you afford an unpaid internship?

      Could you look at the coming year as a year of investment and preparation, and spend it doing whatever kinds of work are open to you on this visa, getting the paperwork for your green card ready to submit, and doing informational interviews and other networking so that you’re prepared to get a job once you’re eligible for a green card?

      Good luck!

      • thanks very much. yes I’ve gone to one. I think I’ve developed late onset social phobia……probably from unplanned isolation. working on it. thanks again

    • Join helping organizations, Susie. I hear the nicest people belong to organizations that help people. Join and work by their sides and you should find your life filling up nicely.

    • Susie:

      I am 62 and have similar issues. I do work and have a lot of hobbies, but I live far from family and friends and feel lonely at times doing everything alone. I do go to meet-up groups, but sometimes still feel disconnected because I don’t really know the people well. I started going to a meeting where writers read their work on stage, and I got brave enough to do that on a weekly basis. Sharing our writing allows us to get to know each other more intimately, and now people know me and about me, and I know them pretty well, at least enough to have meaningful conversations and look forward to seeing them regularly. I also find that if I am feeling lonely, I take a walk and stop to talk to people along the way. I also like to travel, but normally go alone. I always disliked “tour group” situations, but decided that I was tired of wandering alone and planning trips alone. So I relax and let people who are paid to do it plan things out and do the hard work, while I get to meet people and chat with them over meals or on tours and buses, etc. Occasionally, I have become friendly enough to keep in touch on social media. I also find Facebook has been a saving grace at times. I lived abroad for a year, and it was the best way of keeping in touch with friends in the US and of having people to talk to in fluent English. I now have many friends from abroad, and I keep in touch with them on Facebook, as well, and feel as if we are not apart between visits.

      Hope this helps in some way.

    • Hi Susie, do you have Facebook? Where do you live? What are you passionate about? Hobbies?
      I am Liza and I am 35, I love the ocean, art, design and scuba diving

  8. I live in New Jersey & would like to find a native from Detroit who can teach me about real-estate investing in Detroit

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