Here's what he said:
Reject the tyranny of being picked: pick yourself
Amanda Hocking is making a million dollars a year publishing her own work to the Kindle. No publisher.
Rebecca Black has reached more than 15,000,000 listeners, like it or not, without a record label.
Are we better off without gatekeepers? Well, it was gatekeepers that brought us the unforgettable lyrics of Terry Jacks in 1974, and it's gatekeepers that are spending a fortune bringing out pop songs and books that don't sell.
I'm not sure that this is even the right question. Whether or not we're better off, the fact is that the gatekeepers--the pickers--are reeling, losing power and fading away. What are you going to do about it?
It's a cultural instinct to wait to get picked. To seek out the permission and authority that comes from a publisher or talk show host or even a blogger saying, "I pick you." Once you reject that impulse and realize that no one is going to select you--that Prince Charming has chosen another house--then you can actually get to work.
If you're hoping that the HR people you sent your resume to are about to pick you, it's going to be a long wait. Once you understand that there are problems just waiting to be solved, once you realize that you have all the tools and all the permission you need, then opportunities to contribute abound.
No one is going to pick you. Pick yourself.
Hear, hear! I couldn't agree with Seth more.
And you don't have to make a million dollars or reach 15,000,000 people. You can do very well on a much smaller scale and pay your rent, gas up your car and never miss a meal. With the gifts we've gotten from the wonderful techies behind the Internet and their zillion programs (which I praise every morning when my computer starts humming) it gets more possible every day.
Seth has walked his talk from the beginning, and I can testify that he is right: Pick Yourself.
(If you want to know exactly how you might do that, I'm about to figure out how to do impromptu free Idea Parties on Facebook and we can find out anything! Don't go away.)
Showing posts with label Barbara Sher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbara Sher. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Hot in Hamburg!
A very nice article about me (in German) by journalist Ina Rometsch (who interviewed me last fall in Hamburg) just came out in a major Hamburg newspaper. With the help of son Matt's university level certificate in German (and, he confessed immediately, Google's translator) I can now read it and share it with you. (If you prefer to read it in German, I've put that below.)
INTERVIEW: INA ROMETSCH
„Überlisten Sie innere Widerstände“
"Overcoming your inner Resistance"
[Counselor’s tip: Get motivation, comfort and help from others.]
A: Barbara, why should I read your books?
Bs: Because they’ll help you figure out what you really and truly want. And then they show you how to get it.
A: But we’re right in the middle of a financial crisis, I could lose my job at any time, and you’re telling me that I should follow my dreams. Are you crazy? **[NICE TALK!]
B: I’m a very practical person. I know you have to pay the rent first before you can go after your dreams. If you’ve got a job that makes ends meet for you, don’t give it up! You can work on your dreams after work. But you have to understand that your dreams are important.
A: Why?
B: When you go after your dreams, you wake up in the morning excited about your life. When you don’t, you’re unsatisfied and feel like life is passing you by.
A: I’d love to write a novel and climb the Matterhorn, but after work I don’t have the energy to do anything but watch TV.
B: You’re experiencing resistance. Putting things off is a form of that. Resistance is when you really want something, but you can’t seem to make yourself do it. Everyone goes through that.
A: Am I just too lazy?
B: No, not at all! Resistance is part of our survival package. I believe it’s there to protect you from doing something dangerous. As soon as you want to do something that makes you the slightest bit nervous—like writing the first line of your novel, for example—Resistance shows up. It’s a primitive defense mechanism, which is why it’s so strong—but it’s hopelessly stupid. It doesn’t understand the difference between the real danger of falling off a cliff and the perceived danger of starting your novel. Resistance is like a big, dumb bodyguard. You can’t outmuscle it, but you can beat it.
A: But how?
B: One way is by starting a Success Team. You meet regularly with a group of friends who all have dreams they want to make happen. Or you can join a team run by a certified team leader. Everyone in the team supports everyone else at the same time. If you have an exam, they help you study. If you do well, they open a bottle of champagne. If you don’t do well, they help you go back to the drawing board and buy you a beer.
A: How do ST’s run exactly?
B: You all help each member develop a strategy for meeting a goal. The other members help you set your goal, with a plan to get there and a definite date for reaching it. Every week your team helps you decide what steps you should take in the coming week. At the next meeting, your team will cheer your successes or help you overcome any obstacles you ran into. The structure of meeting regularly and the support from, and accountability to, your team make a huge difference.
A: But that takes a lot of energy!
B; When you do what you love, it gives you energy. Let’s say you want to paint, so you sign up for a painting class on Wednesday evenings. Now, you’re just as tired after work on that day as the others, but you’ve signed up so you go. When you get to your class you’ll suddenly feel wide awake, full of energy, even playful. But if you just stay home and lie on the sofa, you feel like you have no energy at all. So all you have to do is get yourself in a painting class. The rest takes care of itself.
A: Is it possible to turn my dream into a career?
B: Yes, but it takes time. At the start, almost no dream makes money. You should think of your dream like a baby. It can’t speak, it can’t clean the apartment, it seems totally useless. But if you love it and feed it, it can become a wonderful person. You dream has to be allowed to grow the same way.
A: How should one deal with critics?
B: Never tell your worst critics about your newest dreams, especially not relatives! Once you get started with a project, critics can be useful, but not in the beginning.
A: What happens if I fail?
B: Well, anyone who attempts a goal sometimes fails. If you don’t make it up the Matterhorn, either you didn’t know everything that was involved or your car broke down on the way. Both problems can be solved, and then you can try again. Or you might say, “No thanks. I found what I was looking for." Failure can be very instructional. It’s often a helpful step on the way to a goal.
[Under my photo is says: The American author and career counselor Barbara Sher advocates joining a Success Team.]
Bio:
Barbara Sher (74) is a career counselor and author. She became well-known in the late 70’s with her first book, Wishcraft and has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Her later books have the NYT bestseller list. She got her BA in Anthropology, but has never worked in that field. She got her experience as a social worker and group therapist. Barbara Sher is convinced that the key to success lies within the Success Team. The author lives in New York and the south of France. Although she has long since reached retirement age, she still gives courses and lectures around the world. In Germany around 50 Life Coaches have been certified to use her Success Team method. The next ST begins meeting in Hamburg from January 19 led by Brigitte Heinsberger. Eight meetings: 230 Euro. Info: Tel 040/850 31 43. From Feb 10 Britte Hilse runs Life Coaching class, ten meetings: 350 Euro. Tel. 040/644 07 72
*”Wishcraft – Discovering and achieving life dreams and business goals,” Edition Schwartzer, 209 pages. 18 Euro. www.sher-erfolgsteams.de
HERE'S THE ORIGINAL:
+
Sonnabend/Sonntag,16./17.Januar 2010 63
BERUF ERFOLG
vor zu schützen, etwas Gefährli-
ches zu tun. Sobald Sie etwas tun
wollen, das Ihnen ein kleines
bisschen Angst macht, wie zum
Beispiel die erste Seite Ihres Ro-
mans zu schreiben, taucht der
Widerstand auf. Es ist ein primiti-
ver Abwehrmechanismus, darum
ist er so stark – aber er ist hoff-
nungslos dumm. Er begreift nicht
den Unterschied zwischen der
echten Gefahr, von einer Klippe
zu stürzen und der gefühlten Ge-
fahr, einen Roman zu verfassen.
Widerstand ist wie ein geistig
minderbemittelter Bodyguard.
Man kann ihn nicht überwälti-
gen. Aber er lässt sich überlisten.
ABENDBLATT:Wie denn?
SHER: Eine Methode ist, ein Er-
folgsteam zu gründen. Dafür trifft
man sich regelmäßig mit einer
Gruppe Freunde, die alle auch
einen Traum haben. Oder man
macht bei einer Gruppe mit, die
von einem Profi geleitet wird. Alle
Team-Mitglieder unterstützen
sich gegenseitig. Falls Sie eine
Prüfung haben, helfen Ihnen die
anderen bei der Vorbereitung.
Und wenn es gut gelaufen ist,
machen sie den Champagner auf.
Wenn es schlecht gelaufen ist,
verflucht Ihre Gruppe das System
und gibt Ihnen ein Bier aus.
ABENDBLATT: Was genau macht
man, wenn man sich mit seinem
Erfolgsteam trifft?
SHER: Man entwickelt eine Strate-
gie für jedes Team-Mitglied. Die
Mitglieder helfen einander dabei,
sich ein Ziel zu setzen, einen Plan
zu machen und ein Datum für das
Erreichen des Ziels festzulegen.
Jede Woche hilft Ihr Team Ihnen
dabei herauszufinden, welchen
Schritt sie in der kommenden
Woche gehen müssen. Beim
nächsten Meeting wird Ihr Team
Sie für das Erreichte loben oder
dabei helfen, Probleme zu lösen,
falls welche aufgetaucht sind. Die
Struktur des regelmäßigen Tref-
fens und die Unterstützung und
Verantwortlichkeit im Team sind
eine große Hilfe.
ABENDBLATT: Dafür braucht man
aber ganz schön viel Energie!
SHER: Wenn Sie das tun, was Sie
lieben, dann haben Sie auch
ABENDBLATT: Barbara, wieso sollte
ich Ihre Bücher lesen?
BARBARA SHER: Weil sie Ihnen hel-
fen, herauszufinden, was Sie
wirklich und wahrhaftig wollen.
Und dann erklären sie Ihnen, wie
Sie es bekommen.
ABENDBLATT: Aber wir stecken mit-
ten in der Wirtschaftskrise, ich
könnte jederzeit meinen Job ver-
lieren – und Sie behaupten, ich
solle meine Träume verwirkli-
chen. Sind Sie verrückt?
SHER: Ich bin ein sehr praktischer
Mensch, und ich finde, Sie müs-
sen erst mal Ihre Miete bezahlen,
bevor Sie sich an ihre Träume
machen. Wenn Sie einen Job ha-
ben, mit dem sie finanziell über
die Runden kommen, dann geben
Sie den bloß nicht auf! Ihre Träu-
me können Sie immer noch au-
ßerhalb der Arbeitszeit wahr ma-
chen. Aber Sie müssen es wirk-
lich in Angriff nehmen, denn es
ist wichtig!
ABENDBLATT:Wieso?
SHER: Wenn Sie ihre Träume ver-
wirklichen, dann wachen Sie
morgens auf und sind begeistert
von Ihrem Leben. Wenn nicht,
dann werden Sie unzufrieden
sein und das Gefühl haben, dass
das Leben an Ihnen vorüberzieht.
ABENDBLATT: Ich würde gern einen
Roman schreiben und das Mat-
terhorn besteigen. Aber nach der
Arbeit bekomme ich außer Fern-
sehen nichts mehr hin.
SHER: Sie erleben Widerstand.
Dinge aufzuschieben ist eine weit
verbreitete Form davon. Wider-
stand ist, wenn Sie eigentlich et-
was wollen, aber Sie sich einfach
nicht imstande sehen es zu tun.
Alle Menschen erleben das.
ABENDBLATT:Bin ich zu faul?
SHER: Nein, überhaupt nicht!
Widerstand gehört zu unseren
Überlebensmechanismen. Ich
glaube, seine Aufgabe ist, uns da-
Energie. Sagen wir mal Sie malen
gerne, und Sie haben einen Mal-
kurs am Mittwochabend belegt.
Natürlich werden Sie am Mitt-
woch nach der Arbeit genauso
kaputt sein wie jeden Abend.
Aber Sie haben ja für den Kurs
bezahlt, also gehen Sie hin. Und
wenn Sie erst mal da sind, wer-
den Sie plötzlich hellwach, ener-
giegeladen, und sogar fröhlich.
Wer nur zu Hause auf dem Sofa
liegt, hat auch keine Energie. Da-
rum müssen Sie sich zusammen-
reißen und zu Ihrem Malkurs
gehen – der Rest ergibt sich ganz
automatisch.
ABENDBLATT: Kann ich so meinen
Traum zum Beruf machen?
SHER: Ja, aber das dauert seine
Zeit. Am Anfang wirft kaum ein
Traum Geld ab! Sie müssen sich
Ihren Traum so vorstellen, als
wäre er ein Baby. Das kann nicht
sprechen, es kann nicht die Woh-
nung putzen, es scheint völlig
sinnlos. Aber wenn Sie es lieben
und füttern, kann später ein wun-
dervoller Mensch daraus wer-
den. Ihr Traum muss sich auf die-
selbe Weise entwickeln dürfen.
ABENDBLATT: Wie geht man mit
Skeptikern um?
SHER: Erzählen Sie niemals Ihren
schlimmsten Kritikern von Ihrem
neusten Traum, besonders nicht
Ihren Verwandten! Wenn Ihr
Projekt erst einmal vorankommt,
werden Sie Kritik bestimmt gut
gebrauchen können. Aber noch
nicht am Anfang.
ABENDBLATT: Und was passiert,
wenn ich scheitere?
SHER: Nun, wer versucht, etwas zu
erreichen, der wird auch mal
scheitern. Wenn Sie es nicht aufs
Matterhorn schaffen, dann ent-
weder, weil Sie sich nicht klar
darüber waren, was alles dazu
gehört, oder weil Ihr Auto bei
der Anfahrt liegen geblieben ist.
Beide Probleme lassen sich lösen,
und Sie können es aufs Neue ver-
suchen. Oder Sie können sagen:
Nein danke, ich habe jetzt schon
gefunden, was ich gesucht habe.
Scheitern ist lehrreich. Oft ist es
ein hilfreicher Schritt auf unse-
rem Weg zum Ziel.
INTERVIEW: INA ROMETSCH
„Überlisten Sie innere Widerstände“
KLARTEXT BESTSELLERAUTORIN BARBARA SHER VERRÄT, WIE MAN TRÄUME VERWIRKLICHT
Tipp der Beraterin:
Lassen Sie sich von
anderen motivieren,
trösten und helfen.
Die amerikanische Autorin und Karriereberaterin Barbara Sher (74) plädiert
dafür, sich in „Erfolgsteams“ zusammenzuschließen. FOTO: MINDY STRICKE
Barbara Sher(74) ist Karriereberate-
rin und Autorin. Bekannt wurde die
Amerikanerin Ende der 70er-Jahre
durch ihr erstes Buch Wishcraft, das
auf der Bestsellerliste der New York
Times stand und in mehr als zwölf
Sprachen übersetzt wurde. Sher hat
einen Uni-Abschluss in Anthropologie,
hat aber nie in diesem Feld gearbei-
tet. Vor ihrer Tätigkeit als Karriere-
beraterin war sie in New York beim
Sozialamt und als Gruppentherapeutin
in einer psychiatrischen Praxis be-
schäftigt. Barbara Sher ist überzeugt,
dass der Schlüssel zum Erfolgin
der Teamarbeit liegt – im Erfolgsteam.
Die Autorin lebt in New York und
Südfrankreich. Obwohl sie längst das
Rentenalter erreicht hat, gibt sie
weiterhin weltweit Kurse und hält
Vorträge. In Deutschland sind knapp
50 „Life Coaches“ zertifiziert, um nach
ihrer Methode Erfolgsteams anzulei-
ten. Die nächsten Termine in
Hamburg: ab 19. Januarbei Brigitte
Heinsberger, Ichwerk, acht Treffen,
230 Euro. Info: Tel. 040/8503143.
Ab 10. Februar bei Britta Hilse
Orientierungscoaching, zehn Treffen,
350 Euro. Tel. 040/6440772. (iro)
■„Wishcraft – Lebensträume und
Berufsziele entdecken und ver-
wirklichen“, Edition Schwarzer,
209 Seiten, 18 Euro.
www.sher-erfolgsteams.de
INTERVIEW: INA ROMETSCH
„Überlisten Sie innere Widerstände“
"Overcoming your inner Resistance"
[Counselor’s tip: Get motivation, comfort and help from others.]
A: Barbara, why should I read your books?
Bs: Because they’ll help you figure out what you really and truly want. And then they show you how to get it.
A: But we’re right in the middle of a financial crisis, I could lose my job at any time, and you’re telling me that I should follow my dreams. Are you crazy? **[NICE TALK!]
B: I’m a very practical person. I know you have to pay the rent first before you can go after your dreams. If you’ve got a job that makes ends meet for you, don’t give it up! You can work on your dreams after work. But you have to understand that your dreams are important.
A: Why?
B: When you go after your dreams, you wake up in the morning excited about your life. When you don’t, you’re unsatisfied and feel like life is passing you by.
A: I’d love to write a novel and climb the Matterhorn, but after work I don’t have the energy to do anything but watch TV.
B: You’re experiencing resistance. Putting things off is a form of that. Resistance is when you really want something, but you can’t seem to make yourself do it. Everyone goes through that.
A: Am I just too lazy?
B: No, not at all! Resistance is part of our survival package. I believe it’s there to protect you from doing something dangerous. As soon as you want to do something that makes you the slightest bit nervous—like writing the first line of your novel, for example—Resistance shows up. It’s a primitive defense mechanism, which is why it’s so strong—but it’s hopelessly stupid. It doesn’t understand the difference between the real danger of falling off a cliff and the perceived danger of starting your novel. Resistance is like a big, dumb bodyguard. You can’t outmuscle it, but you can beat it.
A: But how?
B: One way is by starting a Success Team. You meet regularly with a group of friends who all have dreams they want to make happen. Or you can join a team run by a certified team leader. Everyone in the team supports everyone else at the same time. If you have an exam, they help you study. If you do well, they open a bottle of champagne. If you don’t do well, they help you go back to the drawing board and buy you a beer.
A: How do ST’s run exactly?
B: You all help each member develop a strategy for meeting a goal. The other members help you set your goal, with a plan to get there and a definite date for reaching it. Every week your team helps you decide what steps you should take in the coming week. At the next meeting, your team will cheer your successes or help you overcome any obstacles you ran into. The structure of meeting regularly and the support from, and accountability to, your team make a huge difference.
A: But that takes a lot of energy!
B; When you do what you love, it gives you energy. Let’s say you want to paint, so you sign up for a painting class on Wednesday evenings. Now, you’re just as tired after work on that day as the others, but you’ve signed up so you go. When you get to your class you’ll suddenly feel wide awake, full of energy, even playful. But if you just stay home and lie on the sofa, you feel like you have no energy at all. So all you have to do is get yourself in a painting class. The rest takes care of itself.
A: Is it possible to turn my dream into a career?
B: Yes, but it takes time. At the start, almost no dream makes money. You should think of your dream like a baby. It can’t speak, it can’t clean the apartment, it seems totally useless. But if you love it and feed it, it can become a wonderful person. You dream has to be allowed to grow the same way.
A: How should one deal with critics?
B: Never tell your worst critics about your newest dreams, especially not relatives! Once you get started with a project, critics can be useful, but not in the beginning.
A: What happens if I fail?
B: Well, anyone who attempts a goal sometimes fails. If you don’t make it up the Matterhorn, either you didn’t know everything that was involved or your car broke down on the way. Both problems can be solved, and then you can try again. Or you might say, “No thanks. I found what I was looking for." Failure can be very instructional. It’s often a helpful step on the way to a goal.
[Under my photo is says: The American author and career counselor Barbara Sher advocates joining a Success Team.]
Bio:
Barbara Sher (74) is a career counselor and author. She became well-known in the late 70’s with her first book, Wishcraft and has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Her later books have the NYT bestseller list. She got her BA in Anthropology, but has never worked in that field. She got her experience as a social worker and group therapist. Barbara Sher is convinced that the key to success lies within the Success Team. The author lives in New York and the south of France. Although she has long since reached retirement age, she still gives courses and lectures around the world. In Germany around 50 Life Coaches have been certified to use her Success Team method. The next ST begins meeting in Hamburg from January 19 led by Brigitte Heinsberger. Eight meetings: 230 Euro. Info: Tel 040/850 31 43. From Feb 10 Britte Hilse runs Life Coaching class, ten meetings: 350 Euro. Tel. 040/644 07 72
*”Wishcraft – Discovering and achieving life dreams and business goals,” Edition Schwartzer, 209 pages. 18 Euro. www.sher-erfolgsteams.de
HERE'S THE ORIGINAL:
+
Sonnabend/Sonntag,16./17.Januar 2010 63
BERUF ERFOLG
vor zu schützen, etwas Gefährli-
ches zu tun. Sobald Sie etwas tun
wollen, das Ihnen ein kleines
bisschen Angst macht, wie zum
Beispiel die erste Seite Ihres Ro-
mans zu schreiben, taucht der
Widerstand auf. Es ist ein primiti-
ver Abwehrmechanismus, darum
ist er so stark – aber er ist hoff-
nungslos dumm. Er begreift nicht
den Unterschied zwischen der
echten Gefahr, von einer Klippe
zu stürzen und der gefühlten Ge-
fahr, einen Roman zu verfassen.
Widerstand ist wie ein geistig
minderbemittelter Bodyguard.
Man kann ihn nicht überwälti-
gen. Aber er lässt sich überlisten.
ABENDBLATT:Wie denn?
SHER: Eine Methode ist, ein Er-
folgsteam zu gründen. Dafür trifft
man sich regelmäßig mit einer
Gruppe Freunde, die alle auch
einen Traum haben. Oder man
macht bei einer Gruppe mit, die
von einem Profi geleitet wird. Alle
Team-Mitglieder unterstützen
sich gegenseitig. Falls Sie eine
Prüfung haben, helfen Ihnen die
anderen bei der Vorbereitung.
Und wenn es gut gelaufen ist,
machen sie den Champagner auf.
Wenn es schlecht gelaufen ist,
verflucht Ihre Gruppe das System
und gibt Ihnen ein Bier aus.
ABENDBLATT: Was genau macht
man, wenn man sich mit seinem
Erfolgsteam trifft?
SHER: Man entwickelt eine Strate-
gie für jedes Team-Mitglied. Die
Mitglieder helfen einander dabei,
sich ein Ziel zu setzen, einen Plan
zu machen und ein Datum für das
Erreichen des Ziels festzulegen.
Jede Woche hilft Ihr Team Ihnen
dabei herauszufinden, welchen
Schritt sie in der kommenden
Woche gehen müssen. Beim
nächsten Meeting wird Ihr Team
Sie für das Erreichte loben oder
dabei helfen, Probleme zu lösen,
falls welche aufgetaucht sind. Die
Struktur des regelmäßigen Tref-
fens und die Unterstützung und
Verantwortlichkeit im Team sind
eine große Hilfe.
ABENDBLATT: Dafür braucht man
aber ganz schön viel Energie!
SHER: Wenn Sie das tun, was Sie
lieben, dann haben Sie auch
ABENDBLATT: Barbara, wieso sollte
ich Ihre Bücher lesen?
BARBARA SHER: Weil sie Ihnen hel-
fen, herauszufinden, was Sie
wirklich und wahrhaftig wollen.
Und dann erklären sie Ihnen, wie
Sie es bekommen.
ABENDBLATT: Aber wir stecken mit-
ten in der Wirtschaftskrise, ich
könnte jederzeit meinen Job ver-
lieren – und Sie behaupten, ich
solle meine Träume verwirkli-
chen. Sind Sie verrückt?
SHER: Ich bin ein sehr praktischer
Mensch, und ich finde, Sie müs-
sen erst mal Ihre Miete bezahlen,
bevor Sie sich an ihre Träume
machen. Wenn Sie einen Job ha-
ben, mit dem sie finanziell über
die Runden kommen, dann geben
Sie den bloß nicht auf! Ihre Träu-
me können Sie immer noch au-
ßerhalb der Arbeitszeit wahr ma-
chen. Aber Sie müssen es wirk-
lich in Angriff nehmen, denn es
ist wichtig!
ABENDBLATT:Wieso?
SHER: Wenn Sie ihre Träume ver-
wirklichen, dann wachen Sie
morgens auf und sind begeistert
von Ihrem Leben. Wenn nicht,
dann werden Sie unzufrieden
sein und das Gefühl haben, dass
das Leben an Ihnen vorüberzieht.
ABENDBLATT: Ich würde gern einen
Roman schreiben und das Mat-
terhorn besteigen. Aber nach der
Arbeit bekomme ich außer Fern-
sehen nichts mehr hin.
SHER: Sie erleben Widerstand.
Dinge aufzuschieben ist eine weit
verbreitete Form davon. Wider-
stand ist, wenn Sie eigentlich et-
was wollen, aber Sie sich einfach
nicht imstande sehen es zu tun.
Alle Menschen erleben das.
ABENDBLATT:Bin ich zu faul?
SHER: Nein, überhaupt nicht!
Widerstand gehört zu unseren
Überlebensmechanismen. Ich
glaube, seine Aufgabe ist, uns da-
Energie. Sagen wir mal Sie malen
gerne, und Sie haben einen Mal-
kurs am Mittwochabend belegt.
Natürlich werden Sie am Mitt-
woch nach der Arbeit genauso
kaputt sein wie jeden Abend.
Aber Sie haben ja für den Kurs
bezahlt, also gehen Sie hin. Und
wenn Sie erst mal da sind, wer-
den Sie plötzlich hellwach, ener-
giegeladen, und sogar fröhlich.
Wer nur zu Hause auf dem Sofa
liegt, hat auch keine Energie. Da-
rum müssen Sie sich zusammen-
reißen und zu Ihrem Malkurs
gehen – der Rest ergibt sich ganz
automatisch.
ABENDBLATT: Kann ich so meinen
Traum zum Beruf machen?
SHER: Ja, aber das dauert seine
Zeit. Am Anfang wirft kaum ein
Traum Geld ab! Sie müssen sich
Ihren Traum so vorstellen, als
wäre er ein Baby. Das kann nicht
sprechen, es kann nicht die Woh-
nung putzen, es scheint völlig
sinnlos. Aber wenn Sie es lieben
und füttern, kann später ein wun-
dervoller Mensch daraus wer-
den. Ihr Traum muss sich auf die-
selbe Weise entwickeln dürfen.
ABENDBLATT: Wie geht man mit
Skeptikern um?
SHER: Erzählen Sie niemals Ihren
schlimmsten Kritikern von Ihrem
neusten Traum, besonders nicht
Ihren Verwandten! Wenn Ihr
Projekt erst einmal vorankommt,
werden Sie Kritik bestimmt gut
gebrauchen können. Aber noch
nicht am Anfang.
ABENDBLATT: Und was passiert,
wenn ich scheitere?
SHER: Nun, wer versucht, etwas zu
erreichen, der wird auch mal
scheitern. Wenn Sie es nicht aufs
Matterhorn schaffen, dann ent-
weder, weil Sie sich nicht klar
darüber waren, was alles dazu
gehört, oder weil Ihr Auto bei
der Anfahrt liegen geblieben ist.
Beide Probleme lassen sich lösen,
und Sie können es aufs Neue ver-
suchen. Oder Sie können sagen:
Nein danke, ich habe jetzt schon
gefunden, was ich gesucht habe.
Scheitern ist lehrreich. Oft ist es
ein hilfreicher Schritt auf unse-
rem Weg zum Ziel.
INTERVIEW: INA ROMETSCH
„Überlisten Sie innere Widerstände“
KLARTEXT BESTSELLERAUTORIN BARBARA SHER VERRÄT, WIE MAN TRÄUME VERWIRKLICHT
Tipp der Beraterin:
Lassen Sie sich von
anderen motivieren,
trösten und helfen.
Die amerikanische Autorin und Karriereberaterin Barbara Sher (74) plädiert
dafür, sich in „Erfolgsteams“ zusammenzuschließen. FOTO: MINDY STRICKE
Barbara Sher(74) ist Karriereberate-
rin und Autorin. Bekannt wurde die
Amerikanerin Ende der 70er-Jahre
durch ihr erstes Buch Wishcraft, das
auf der Bestsellerliste der New York
Times stand und in mehr als zwölf
Sprachen übersetzt wurde. Sher hat
einen Uni-Abschluss in Anthropologie,
hat aber nie in diesem Feld gearbei-
tet. Vor ihrer Tätigkeit als Karriere-
beraterin war sie in New York beim
Sozialamt und als Gruppentherapeutin
in einer psychiatrischen Praxis be-
schäftigt. Barbara Sher ist überzeugt,
dass der Schlüssel zum Erfolgin
der Teamarbeit liegt – im Erfolgsteam.
Die Autorin lebt in New York und
Südfrankreich. Obwohl sie längst das
Rentenalter erreicht hat, gibt sie
weiterhin weltweit Kurse und hält
Vorträge. In Deutschland sind knapp
50 „Life Coaches“ zertifiziert, um nach
ihrer Methode Erfolgsteams anzulei-
ten. Die nächsten Termine in
Hamburg: ab 19. Januarbei Brigitte
Heinsberger, Ichwerk, acht Treffen,
230 Euro. Info: Tel. 040/8503143.
Ab 10. Februar bei Britta Hilse
Orientierungscoaching, zehn Treffen,
350 Euro. Tel. 040/6440772. (iro)
■„Wishcraft – Lebensträume und
Berufsziele entdecken und ver-
wirklichen“, Edition Schwarzer,
209 Seiten, 18 Euro.
www.sher-erfolgsteams.de
Thursday, December 3, 2009
In case you're not on my mailing list..
Barbara Sher's Newsletter
Hi All!
The first part of this newsletter is about going places. The second is about coming home. Not about me coming home. Maybe about you coming home.
GOING PLACES
I'm getting ready to head out for the French Pyrenees, to meet my son and his family for Christmas and New Year's. While still jetlagged, I fully expect to be dodging my very dangerous 6 year-old, snowball-shooting grandson's missiles. (You'd think my son would protect me since it's his kid and all, but he just keeps laughing and taking movies.)
When I finally haul my carcass off the battlefield I'll grab a nap and then pick up my ongoing project of shifting a whole lot of my work to Europe. I'm setting up even more speaking gigs for myself -- I'm thinking Sweden, maybe Estonia, you know?
You can see the ones I'm already doing. I'm doing that partly for my 'half-the-year in the E.U.' plan for 2010, and partly, as always, to stay one step ahead of my WriteSpeak students (more about that in COMING HOME, below).
What started as a good excuse to spend more time with my overseas family has turned into something much bigger.
TWITTER GLOBAL NEW YEAR'S IDEA PARTY
The more I see my mission as saving as many geniuses as I can in my lifetime and making the world a better place by freeing up all that genius, the more I realize that none of it would be possible without the internet.
The Twitter Idea Party
So, when I get to my hotel and dust off the snow, as New Year's Eve approaches, I'm going to do another round of the Global Idea Party, like we did last March. I don't know who'll be joining me, but I'll be there (and I'll need you to join me, at least part of the time) and together we'll be heading through every time zone to ring in the new year by helping people make their dreams come true.
It won't combine with conference calling this time, because I won't have the crew working with me as I did last time. (They kind of threatened my life if I made them stay up all night again.) You can see the story at the Wishcraft 30th birthday celebration site. (Remind me to put a clip up on YouTube from my 'Idea Party Pledge Special' before December 31st, just to get you warmed up.)
SINCE I'LL BE IN FRANCE ANYWAY...
Whilst in France, we're also visiting the site for my next Scanner Retreat in April. It's an immaculate inn set in a medieval stone village that overlooks the Languedoc countryside. We found the place quite by accident, (here's that jolly story:) but we knew this was the right place as soon as we saw it. It can't be very well known yet because we've gotten a great group rate in fabulous rooms with breakfasts and gourmet dinners. It's kind of like a wonderful dream. And you'll be surrounded by Scanners, possibly the first time you'll be among people who understand who you are (read: who don't think you're flaky).
So, here's to the world. See as much of it as you can, because you never know which dreams you'll uncover. And make sure you get all the help you need to make them come true. I'll be here, so join the party, come to a Scanner Retreat and find your tribe! When you win, it's good for all of us!
And now...
COMING HOME
When I get back to New York I won't be lounging about either. January 16 will be the next (and only, for a long while) Part I Telephone Workshop for the WriteSpeak program. That's where you find out what your message is - or you begin to. Read on and you'll see what I'm talking about.
The teleworkshop is the prerequisite for WriteSpeak Part II, which is the Retreat on Feb 12-17, so if you haven't already taken it, you'd best sign up. If you want to come to the WriteSpeak retreat in New York in February, that is.
I know I ran a WriteSpeak retreat less than a month ago. I didn't plan to have another for a year or so. But there's a story here, too.
A few days before last November's retreat began, three of the nicest, smartest attendees had to drop out. They were very unhappy about that, but one had pneumonia (she was going to come anyway, but I swore I'd do everything in my power to hold a February retreat for her, so she stayed in bed. She is now fully recovered and holding me to my promise!). Two others were told subtly by their bosses that if they missed that particular Monday or Tuesday (whatever), they might not need to come back to work at all, ever. Choke. Naturally, I promised them I'd have a retreat in February, too.
So don't make a liar out of me. Help me find some wonderful people who know they should be writing and speaking but didn't know they could. Just show them the letters I got tonight from the grads of November's retreat. I can hardly read them without beaming and getting a tear in my eye, and that's not a figure of speech. I guess I'll just let them write the rest of this newsletter.
Barbara Sher's WriteSpeak Retreat was incredible. I'm not a coach, or a writer, and I thought I would be out of place. But this was just the place for me, because I want to be a speaker. I've always known that someday, some way, I would be a speaker - but I had no idea where or how to start. Barbara's retreat gave me exactly what I needed to get started. In addition to Barbara's help and inspiration, the support and camaraderie of all the wonderful people who participated is an amazing and powerful thing. Whatever you have to do to get there, do it! It is the best thing you can do for yourself.
And another:
Attending Barbara Sher's WriteSpeak retreat was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was completely unclear about what my message was before attending - and completely clear and energized about it afterwards. It was fun, casual (I wore my pajamas) and extremely informative. I made new friends - and after 5 years of procrastinating, I finally started blogging. This was unlike any other workshop I've ever attended. Nothing held back, all questions answered and no upsells. It's chatting with Barbara in a living room. We drank coffee, we ate home-made biscuits and we laughed like crazy. If you're thinking about attending, don't hesitate. Sign up now. You'll love it.
and her man, Joe (I love the way that sounds) said:
It's OK for boys to come, too.
They're both hot as pistols and oh-so-ready for me to begin Part III. Take a look at their wonderful blogs and you'll see what I mean:
Patty's blog
Joe's blog
Here's the only other 'testimonial' I'll ask you to read. It's not short, but I don't want to cut a word of it. You'll see why:
Barbara, and the retreat she made, handed me my life's work. I seriously do not know how to thank her.
Coming to the WS retreat had no less a result than leading me nose-first right to my Thing. The Thing I have been looking for practically my entire adult life. My Thing, my Mission From God, you get the idea. And now that I've figured out the Thing, it answers so many questions I've always had about my whole reason for being.
I think it was two things that clinched it: first, the exercise of speaking to my Orphan. This pointed me right at what I would say to someone who reminded me of me. And me saying to Barbara after the exercise that there was something I was avoiding telling my orphan, because I didn't want to freak her out. And Barbara saying "That thing you didn't want to tell her? That was your message." At the time I didn't get it, but over the course of the retreat I came to see how exactly right this was.
The other was Barbara saying that there's something that every one of us has already spent the 'Malcolm Gladwell Required 10,000 hours' becoming an expert on. I understood, in the intellect, that my mission was somehow about helping my orphan, in all her guises. But I didn't really get this until lying in bed one night at the retreat, trying to stay awake and do my homework, and realizing: THIS is what I'm an expert on. This stuff is what I think about, what I write about, what I'm obsessed with. This is the mission. What I never got before was that my obsession with constructing my self would be the basis of my vocation. That my mission could be the result and the healing of this formative wound, made manifest. And that healing myself would be a natural by-product of helping others who remind me of me.
To sum up: the retreat helped me discover my Mission, which I knew was somewhere, but which I had struggled long and hard to find. I didn't know this would happen. I thought I was coming to learn about writing and speaking as a career, and that I would figure out what sort of thing I might be writing and speaking about later. I did not expect that I would leave the retreat having found my life's purpose. What I ended up with is the biggest, most valuable gift I have ever gotten from any kind of education in my whole life.
All this "mission" business aside - I would go anywhere to sit at Barbara's feet and soak up her smartness and laugh at her jokes. Because she is so funny and so real and so perceptive about what people need that just being in her presence is an education. I love her, and kind of want to marry her (Barbara, you should know that I make the best, most protein-y breakfasts in the world). But since she is unlikely to agree to this, I am happy to have her as the chairperson of my High Council of Jedi Knights, and unreservedly, strongly recommend that anyone who has a chance to study with her do it!
THAT'S WHAT I MEANT BY 'COMING HOME.' I DIDN'T MEAN ME, I MEANT YOU.
Nothing more to say. That's all you need to know to make up your mind to be there, or to uncork the mission of some stuck genius you value, who ought to be telling the world what he worked so hard to learn in life. That's an obligation you/they have. It's my most welcome obligation to show you how to do it.
With warmest, highest regard,
Barbara Sher
PS: here's your audio tip.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
WRITESPEAK PART I - TELEWORKSHOP JANUARY 16, 2010
WRITESPEAK PART II - 6-DAY RETREAT IN NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 12 - 17
SCANNER 6-DAY RETREAT IN FRANCE, APRIL 6 - 11, 2010
Hi All!
The first part of this newsletter is about going places. The second is about coming home. Not about me coming home. Maybe about you coming home.
GOING PLACES
I'm getting ready to head out for the French Pyrenees, to meet my son and his family for Christmas and New Year's. While still jetlagged, I fully expect to be dodging my very dangerous 6 year-old, snowball-shooting grandson's missiles. (You'd think my son would protect me since it's his kid and all, but he just keeps laughing and taking movies.)
When I finally haul my carcass off the battlefield I'll grab a nap and then pick up my ongoing project of shifting a whole lot of my work to Europe. I'm setting up even more speaking gigs for myself -- I'm thinking Sweden, maybe Estonia, you know?
You can see the ones I'm already doing. I'm doing that partly for my 'half-the-year in the E.U.' plan for 2010, and partly, as always, to stay one step ahead of my WriteSpeak students (more about that in COMING HOME, below).
What started as a good excuse to spend more time with my overseas family has turned into something much bigger.
TWITTER GLOBAL NEW YEAR'S IDEA PARTY
The more I see my mission as saving as many geniuses as I can in my lifetime and making the world a better place by freeing up all that genius, the more I realize that none of it would be possible without the internet.
The Twitter Idea Party
So, when I get to my hotel and dust off the snow, as New Year's Eve approaches, I'm going to do another round of the Global Idea Party, like we did last March. I don't know who'll be joining me, but I'll be there (and I'll need you to join me, at least part of the time) and together we'll be heading through every time zone to ring in the new year by helping people make their dreams come true.
It won't combine with conference calling this time, because I won't have the crew working with me as I did last time. (They kind of threatened my life if I made them stay up all night again.) You can see the story at the Wishcraft 30th birthday celebration site. (Remind me to put a clip up on YouTube from my 'Idea Party Pledge Special' before December 31st, just to get you warmed up.)
SINCE I'LL BE IN FRANCE ANYWAY...
Whilst in France, we're also visiting the site for my next Scanner Retreat in April. It's an immaculate inn set in a medieval stone village that overlooks the Languedoc countryside. We found the place quite by accident, (here's that jolly story:
So, here's to the world. See as much of it as you can, because you never know which dreams you'll uncover. And make sure you get all the help you need to make them come true. I'll be here, so join the party, come to a Scanner Retreat and find your tribe! When you win, it's good for all of us!
And now...
COMING HOME
When I get back to New York I won't be lounging about either. January 16 will be the next (and only, for a long while) Part I Telephone Workshop for the WriteSpeak program. That's where you find out what your message is - or you begin to. Read on and you'll see what I'm talking about.
The teleworkshop is the prerequisite for WriteSpeak Part II, which is the Retreat on Feb 12-17, so if you haven't already taken it, you'd best sign up. If you want to come to the WriteSpeak retreat in New York in February, that is.
I know I ran a WriteSpeak retreat less than a month ago. I didn't plan to have another for a year or so. But there's a story here, too.
A few days before last November's retreat began, three of the nicest, smartest attendees had to drop out. They were very unhappy about that, but one had pneumonia (she was going to come anyway, but I swore I'd do everything in my power to hold a February retreat for her, so she stayed in bed. She is now fully recovered and holding me to my promise!). Two others were told subtly by their bosses that if they missed that particular Monday or Tuesday (whatever), they might not need to come back to work at all, ever. Choke. Naturally, I promised them I'd have a retreat in February, too.
So don't make a liar out of me. Help me find some wonderful people who know they should be writing and speaking but didn't know they could. Just show them the letters I got tonight from the grads of November's retreat. I can hardly read them without beaming and getting a tear in my eye, and that's not a figure of speech. I guess I'll just let them write the rest of this newsletter.
Barbara Sher's WriteSpeak Retreat was incredible. I'm not a coach, or a writer, and I thought I would be out of place. But this was just the place for me, because I want to be a speaker. I've always known that someday, some way, I would be a speaker - but I had no idea where or how to start. Barbara's retreat gave me exactly what I needed to get started. In addition to Barbara's help and inspiration, the support and camaraderie of all the wonderful people who participated is an amazing and powerful thing. Whatever you have to do to get there, do it! It is the best thing you can do for yourself.
And another:
Attending Barbara Sher's WriteSpeak retreat was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was completely unclear about what my message was before attending - and completely clear and energized about it afterwards. It was fun, casual (I wore my pajamas) and extremely informative. I made new friends - and after 5 years of procrastinating, I finally started blogging. This was unlike any other workshop I've ever attended. Nothing held back, all questions answered and no upsells. It's chatting with Barbara in a living room. We drank coffee, we ate home-made biscuits and we laughed like crazy. If you're thinking about attending, don't hesitate. Sign up now. You'll love it.
and her man, Joe (I love the way that sounds) said:
It's OK for boys to come, too.
They're both hot as pistols and oh-so-ready for me to begin Part III. Take a look at their wonderful blogs and you'll see what I mean:
Patty's blog
Joe's blog
Here's the only other 'testimonial' I'll ask you to read. It's not short, but I don't want to cut a word of it. You'll see why:
Barbara, and the retreat she made, handed me my life's work. I seriously do not know how to thank her.
Coming to the WS retreat had no less a result than leading me nose-first right to my Thing. The Thing I have been looking for practically my entire adult life. My Thing, my Mission From God, you get the idea. And now that I've figured out the Thing, it answers so many questions I've always had about my whole reason for being.
I think it was two things that clinched it: first, the exercise of speaking to my Orphan. This pointed me right at what I would say to someone who reminded me of me. And me saying to Barbara after the exercise that there was something I was avoiding telling my orphan, because I didn't want to freak her out. And Barbara saying "That thing you didn't want to tell her? That was your message." At the time I didn't get it, but over the course of the retreat I came to see how exactly right this was.
The other was Barbara saying that there's something that every one of us has already spent the 'Malcolm Gladwell Required 10,000 hours' becoming an expert on. I understood, in the intellect, that my mission was somehow about helping my orphan, in all her guises. But I didn't really get this until lying in bed one night at the retreat, trying to stay awake and do my homework, and realizing: THIS is what I'm an expert on. This stuff is what I think about, what I write about, what I'm obsessed with. This is the mission. What I never got before was that my obsession with constructing my self would be the basis of my vocation. That my mission could be the result and the healing of this formative wound, made manifest. And that healing myself would be a natural by-product of helping others who remind me of me.
To sum up: the retreat helped me discover my Mission, which I knew was somewhere, but which I had struggled long and hard to find. I didn't know this would happen. I thought I was coming to learn about writing and speaking as a career, and that I would figure out what sort of thing I might be writing and speaking about later. I did not expect that I would leave the retreat having found my life's purpose. What I ended up with is the biggest, most valuable gift I have ever gotten from any kind of education in my whole life.
All this "mission" business aside - I would go anywhere to sit at Barbara's feet and soak up her smartness and laugh at her jokes. Because she is so funny and so real and so perceptive about what people need that just being in her presence is an education. I love her, and kind of want to marry her (Barbara, you should know that I make the best, most protein-y breakfasts in the world). But since she is unlikely to agree to this, I am happy to have her as the chairperson of my High Council of Jedi Knights, and unreservedly, strongly recommend that anyone who has a chance to study with her do it!
THAT'S WHAT I MEANT BY 'COMING HOME.' I DIDN'T MEAN ME, I MEANT YOU.
Nothing more to say. That's all you need to know to make up your mind to be there, or to uncork the mission of some stuck genius you value, who ought to be telling the world what he worked so hard to learn in life. That's an obligation you/they have. It's my most welcome obligation to show you how to do it.
With warmest, highest regard,
Barbara Sher
PS: here's your audio tip.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
WRITESPEAK PART I - TELEWORKSHOP JANUARY 16, 2010
WRITESPEAK PART II - 6-DAY RETREAT IN NEW YORK CITY, FEBRUARY 12 - 17
SCANNER 6-DAY RETREAT IN FRANCE, APRIL 6 - 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
WISHCRAFT'S 30th BIRTHDAY BASH - THE GLOBAL TWIP
We put up a special website for it at http://www.barbarasherwishcraft.com/ and you'll find many letters there and entries on (yet another of my) blogs at that site.
There's even a cute pdf eBook that will show you some of the wonderful things that happened and give you a sense of the excitement. I've updated it slightly so you can visit it again without me being embarrassed. I've included that with a bit more detail here:
***********************************************************
The 24-hour Global Twitter Idea Party happened last March and was exhilarating and exhausting. We launched one dream after another as we systematically moved through every time zone on the planet, engaging the services of superb hard-working volunteers including Success Team leaders with multi-language skills.
(There's a terrific free PDF eBook about the whole thing on the home page at www.barbarasherwishcaft.com that includes a nice example of a dream launch. (You'd better copy and paste that URL. It's got an illogical spelling hidden in there. I did it on purpose, for reasons not interesting enough to explain here, but if you're dying of curiosity, you know where to find me: @BarbaraSher on Twitter)
Where was I?
I really want to do another TWIP in 2010, I'm thinking New Year's Eve and into the next day, 24 hours like before, but my assistant (who organized the whole thing) has threatened to quit and the many wonderful people who pitched in to make it happen aren't answering my calls, so, you know, it's not definite.
It was a production, I admit. It included teleconferencing for the whole 24 hours to accommodate people who didn't have computers, as well as tweeting like lunatics for people who only had computers, which meant we were darting between messages so everyone knew what everyone else was saying at all times. Someone would call in to ask for help getting a new job in Kansas, their message would be heard by all teleconferencers including the TWIP person in charge of Twitter online -- but to make sure she heard it, the helper in charge of telephones would shout it out to her on a private line -- and he or she would frantically type it in and wait for responses (and oh boy did we get responses).
Then the Twitterer would shout out the responses to the teleconferencer -- or did we tweet it so the telephone person read it -- who can remember these things?
Anyway, it should have been a disaster. Instead, it was a triumph.
Everybody was having a ball. It was the best party ever, I'm sure of it, so it seems very sensible to do it on New Year's Eve.
But apparently people do other stuff that night. I've never understood that.
For now, you can be part of the ongoing TWIP by searching Twitter for#ideaparty. Tell us your wishes and obstacles and we'll try to make your dreams come true. We're not bad at it, and it's free. The big problem is that everyone wants to solve problems but not enough people are asking for help, so be a mensch and go ask for something. Why would you not do that?
***********************************************************
Go take a look at www.barbarasherwishcraft.com if you're of a mind. I tell some pretty good true stories of my beginnings as a writer/speaker in the blog there and my heroes (aka my readers) have told their stories, way more interesting, under 'Love Letters.'
If you've ever wanted my job, and I hope lots of you have because I'm happy to help you get it, their stories will show you how right you are.
There's even a cute pdf eBook that will show you some of the wonderful things that happened and give you a sense of the excitement. I've updated it slightly so you can visit it again without me being embarrassed. I've included that with a bit more detail here:
***********************************************************
The 24-hour Global Twitter Idea Party happened last March and was exhilarating and exhausting. We launched one dream after another as we systematically moved through every time zone on the planet, engaging the services of superb hard-working volunteers including Success Team leaders with multi-language skills.
(There's a terrific free PDF eBook about the whole thing on the home page at www.barbarasherwishcaft.com that includes a nice example of a dream launch. (You'd better copy and paste that URL. It's got an illogical spelling hidden in there. I did it on purpose, for reasons not interesting enough to explain here, but if you're dying of curiosity, you know where to find me: @BarbaraSher on Twitter)
Where was I?
I really want to do another TWIP in 2010, I'm thinking New Year's Eve and into the next day, 24 hours like before, but my assistant (who organized the whole thing) has threatened to quit and the many wonderful people who pitched in to make it happen aren't answering my calls, so, you know, it's not definite.
It was a production, I admit. It included teleconferencing for the whole 24 hours to accommodate people who didn't have computers, as well as tweeting like lunatics for people who only had computers, which meant we were darting between messages so everyone knew what everyone else was saying at all times. Someone would call in to ask for help getting a new job in Kansas, their message would be heard by all teleconferencers including the TWIP person in charge of Twitter online -- but to make sure she heard it, the helper in charge of telephones would shout it out to her on a private line -- and he or she would frantically type it in and wait for responses (and oh boy did we get responses).
Then the Twitterer would shout out the responses to the teleconferencer -- or did we tweet it so the telephone person read it -- who can remember these things?
Anyway, it should have been a disaster. Instead, it was a triumph.
Everybody was having a ball. It was the best party ever, I'm sure of it, so it seems very sensible to do it on New Year's Eve.
But apparently people do other stuff that night. I've never understood that.
For now, you can be part of the ongoing TWIP by searching Twitter for#ideaparty. Tell us your wishes and obstacles and we'll try to make your dreams come true. We're not bad at it, and it's free. The big problem is that everyone wants to solve problems but not enough people are asking for help, so be a mensch and go ask for something. Why would you not do that?
***********************************************************
Go take a look at www.barbarasherwishcraft.com if you're of a mind. I tell some pretty good true stories of my beginnings as a writer/speaker in the blog there and my heroes (aka my readers) have told their stories, way more interesting, under 'Love Letters.'
If you've ever wanted my job, and I hope lots of you have because I'm happy to help you get it, their stories will show you how right you are.
Friday, October 30, 2009
HOW I GOT STARTED
I'm moving some earlier posts from another of (my many) sites (www.barbarasherwishcraft.com) to this blog
1) because beginnings are relevant when one speaks of the life of a WriterSpeaker, and
2) the other site is about the Global Twitter Idea Party we did last March and it needs updating and... um .. it's on my list. Definitely.
so here it is with few changes:
"There are no self-made people"
02/05/2009
10 Comments
Tonight I’m continuing to assemble all the various Wishcraft papers I’ve been gathering in preparation for 2009 and just came across I had forgotten: the original Success Teams workbook that goes with the original 12-hour workshop, the workshop that turned into Wishcraft.
I've been planning to do a special workshop for Wishcraft’s 30th year in print, and had in mind a 3-day virtual program, which I figured I'd design one of these days...maybe go through the book and pull out some highlights, I wasn't quite sure.
But looking through this workbook that I'd typed on 3-hole sheets of paper on my used red (gorgeous) IBM Selectric 33 years ago made me realize that I didn't have to pull anything out of Wishcraft because the book came directly from the workshop. All the words had been recorded on audio cassettes, all the charts were on blackboards, everything had moved straight from that workshop into the book, with very few changes. Not only don't I have to design anything new, this is the right workshop to celebrate Wishcraft's 30th year in print.
This last remaining copy, about 40 sheets of paper, is in a paper folder with a transparent front. As I turned the pages, it brought back so many memories. I remembered the year I developed the workshop so carefully, using storyboards and stick figures to choreograph what would happen -- when I’d speak, and when people would work in groups, and when they’d raise their hands for questions and when they’d stand up and walk up to each other in the high-speed brainstorming game.
That reminded me that even before the storyboard I had run a pilot Success Team at someone's home (who was that?) to see if Success Teams really worked, and to figure out how to get everyone to find a goal they cared about, and suss out a plan and the right timing for taking steps, and then to try out what to do when resistance raised its head and panic set in (like finding the elements and the right words to make everyone feel safe and brave enough to actually go after a dream).
Nothing could do all that but actually running a real team. And we did. I'll see if I described what happened and move it here one of these days. It's a bag of stories all on its own. (I can feel a faint smile on my face as I write these words.) But it will have to wait. Remind me.
(And before that, there was the therapy group with 'Ronnie.' That's really where the idea of Success Teams started. I promise to tell that story on this blog very soon.) (Honest.)
I also remember how I sat on the floor of my living room, pounding away on my red Selectric typewriter while my kids and the dogs were playing Let’s Be Boys and leaping over me, the phone was ringing, the dishes were waiting in the sink.
In the middle of that chaos, writing up the workbook I planned to hand out (if I could get anyone to attend the workshop) four wonderful little thoughts popped into my mind, and I wrote them down on their own blank pages, each one to introduce a different section of the workbook.
Here they are. They weren’t used in Wishcraft (I never imagined there would ever be a book) so I almost forgot them. But I remember writing them now. They’re a little awkward but I haven’t changed my mind about what they say:
1. INTRODUCTION (pg 1)
If your life isn’t all you wanted
you can blame yourself,
blame circumstance,
or get all the help you need and change it.
2. SELF-IMAGE AND RESOURCE SEARCH (pg 4)
Genius is that combination of unique gifts,
that universe inside each of us which, when it
is respected and nurtured by our environment
and trusted by ourselves, gives rise to a life
that is a work of art.
3. TIME MANAGEMENT (pg 21)
Energy: The only path that will truly absorb you is
your own path. It will generate all the creative energy
you will ever need. If you lack that energy
you have not found your purpose. It is your duty
to yourself – to your one life – that you find your
path and follow it.
4. THE USE OF OTHERS IN YOUR LIFE
Support: There are no self-made people. Behind each
person who has realized her or his potential, you find
a string of crucially placed individuals who believed
in the person, encouraged and aided her or him and
helped smooth the way. Assuming that you should have
made it on your own by now with no support is de-
bilitating and unrealistic.
....................
I'll write more tomorrow as I continue to sort through all these archives sitting on my shelves.
1) because beginnings are relevant when one speaks of the life of a WriterSpeaker, and
2) the other site is about the Global Twitter Idea Party we did last March and it needs updating and... um .. it's on my list. Definitely.
so here it is with few changes:
"There are no self-made people"
02/05/2009
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Tonight I’m continuing to assemble all the various Wishcraft papers I’ve been gathering in preparation for 2009 and just came across I had forgotten: the original Success Teams workbook that goes with the original 12-hour workshop, the workshop that turned into Wishcraft.
I've been planning to do a special workshop for Wishcraft’s 30th year in print, and had in mind a 3-day virtual program, which I figured I'd design one of these days...maybe go through the book and pull out some highlights, I wasn't quite sure.
But looking through this workbook that I'd typed on 3-hole sheets of paper on my used red (gorgeous) IBM Selectric 33 years ago made me realize that I didn't have to pull anything out of Wishcraft because the book came directly from the workshop. All the words had been recorded on audio cassettes, all the charts were on blackboards, everything had moved straight from that workshop into the book, with very few changes. Not only don't I have to design anything new, this is the right workshop to celebrate Wishcraft's 30th year in print.
This last remaining copy, about 40 sheets of paper, is in a paper folder with a transparent front. As I turned the pages, it brought back so many memories. I remembered the year I developed the workshop so carefully, using storyboards and stick figures to choreograph what would happen -- when I’d speak, and when people would work in groups, and when they’d raise their hands for questions and when they’d stand up and walk up to each other in the high-speed brainstorming game.
That reminded me that even before the storyboard I had run a pilot Success Team at someone's home (who was that?) to see if Success Teams really worked, and to figure out how to get everyone to find a goal they cared about, and suss out a plan and the right timing for taking steps, and then to try out what to do when resistance raised its head and panic set in (like finding the elements and the right words to make everyone feel safe and brave enough to actually go after a dream).
Nothing could do all that but actually running a real team. And we did. I'll see if I described what happened and move it here one of these days. It's a bag of stories all on its own. (I can feel a faint smile on my face as I write these words.) But it will have to wait. Remind me.
(And before that, there was the therapy group with 'Ronnie.' That's really where the idea of Success Teams started. I promise to tell that story on this blog very soon.) (Honest.)
I also remember how I sat on the floor of my living room, pounding away on my red Selectric typewriter while my kids and the dogs were playing Let’s Be Boys and leaping over me, the phone was ringing, the dishes were waiting in the sink.
In the middle of that chaos, writing up the workbook I planned to hand out (if I could get anyone to attend the workshop) four wonderful little thoughts popped into my mind, and I wrote them down on their own blank pages, each one to introduce a different section of the workbook.
Here they are. They weren’t used in Wishcraft (I never imagined there would ever be a book) so I almost forgot them. But I remember writing them now. They’re a little awkward but I haven’t changed my mind about what they say:
1. INTRODUCTION (pg 1)
If your life isn’t all you wanted
you can blame yourself,
blame circumstance,
or get all the help you need and change it.
2. SELF-IMAGE AND RESOURCE SEARCH (pg 4)
Genius is that combination of unique gifts,
that universe inside each of us which, when it
is respected and nurtured by our environment
and trusted by ourselves, gives rise to a life
that is a work of art.
3. TIME MANAGEMENT (pg 21)
Energy: The only path that will truly absorb you is
your own path. It will generate all the creative energy
you will ever need. If you lack that energy
you have not found your purpose. It is your duty
to yourself – to your one life – that you find your
path and follow it.
4. THE USE OF OTHERS IN YOUR LIFE
Support: There are no self-made people. Behind each
person who has realized her or his potential, you find
a string of crucially placed individuals who believed
in the person, encouraged and aided her or him and
helped smooth the way. Assuming that you should have
made it on your own by now with no support is de-
bilitating and unrealistic.
....................
I'll write more tomorrow as I continue to sort through all these archives sitting on my shelves.
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