I'm trying to get a few more people into the New York WriteSpeak Retreat next week, because one of the most important results of a retreat is the amazing support team that's created. Bigger is better, and the limit is 15 anyway, so there's no way to get too big. So I'm writing grads of the Part I all-day teleclass who haven't been to a retreat to come to this one.
But whenever people ask me what we do at the retreat, I draw a blank. I mention a few of the processes I remember - like the last full day (and sometimes through the night) being entirely devoted to 'Message, Medium, Motivation, Money. So I asked some recent grads to send testimonials.
They sent great ones. But, like me, nobody said specifically what happened. ( I'm looking for a letter from a grad of the first retreat, who has come to two more retreats because she likes them so much and knows the benefit of being part of a group of people who will become movers and shakers in a year or two) in which she explained to someone who wanted an agenda, why nobody can describe it -- I'll add it when I find it.
And then last night I got one more testimonial in my inbox and it made me feel like a million bucks. It might stand as the best description of what actually comes of being at a retreat to date. You tell me:
(If you want to get into Saturday's teleworkshop or read more about the program, head over to http://WriteYourOwnSuccessStory.com or www.geniuspress.com and take a look.)
A few friends who know I went through Barbara Sher's WriteSpeak program
last year asked me if I learned anything, and if it was worth it.
Looking back at what I've learned astounds me. Here's just a few things
that come to mind quickly:
Technology / Social Media
Barbara is on the cutting edge of technology and how it's used today
in business. In all honesty, I had no idea half this stuff existed before
she insisted that we learn it.
Prior to her class, I had never:
Written a Blog
I wasn't even sure what a Blog *was*. Now I have three.
Created a Web Site
For 15 years, I begged every techie in the family to help
me get a decent web site up for my small business. In
one weekend in WS, I learned how to create my own -
easily, and for FREE. Now I have 10 websites (no joke!)
and switch out old and new ones whenever I feel like it.
Used Twitter
Again, I hadn't even heard of it. Now I have over 1,000
followers and new friends from around the world. They
answer questions to stuff I want to know, inspire me,
teach me, amuse & enlighten me. I love it.
Published an eBook
Another thing I was vaguely aware of - but hadn't a
clue where to begin. Now I can churn them out.
Uploaded a Video to YouTube
Silly, but this never would have entered my mind before.
Now I upload, download, embed and reuse videos. Wow.
Self Published on Amazon and Elsewhere
This is still on my to-do list, but now I know how to
actually DO IT, and I'm no longer afraid of the process.
I'm sure there are 30-40 other things I take for granted
now and do on a daily basis that I learned in WS.
Personal Growth
On a personal basis, there has been tremendous growth as well.
Everyone knows that Barbara Sher is all about wanting you to
follow your dream, but how many of us even believe that's possible?
Before going to WriteSpeak, I was a lonely, scared, easily-intimidated,
insecure, overworked wreck. And that was on my good days.
Going to WriteSpeak was the first step in a journey to reclaiming myself
that continues to this day. Barbara and the wonderful friends I made at
WS II became my personal cheerleaders. They saw value I had overlooked
or forgotten. I made friends there who are now a permanent and important
part of my life.
They reached inside my tired, ragged heart and brought out a light I had
forgotten existed.
They told me I can write well. (I always wondered about that.)
They said I'm a artist. (I always hoped so.)
They respected me. (Whoa - who'd a thunk?)
They supported me when I struggled, kicked me when I procrastinated,
laughed at me when I was silly, and just *totally* accepted me - as I am,
flaws and all. What an enormous relief!
How can you begin to sum up a year like we've had? Every person in
the group has grown. We are not the same strangers who met a year
ago, hoping to learn a few tips and tricks about the writing and speaking
trades. We are a team now - a family who love and support each other
(even the weird ones). We rejoice in each other's triumphs and reach
out a hand when there are bad times.
And nowadays, I'm thinner, healthier, calmer, more at peace with myself,
more creative, aware of and accepting of my limits, and far, far, happier
than I was when we started this journey.
So was it worth it? My God, yes.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
Would I suggest that *YOU* go? You'd be a fool not to.
You're going to get a lot more out of this than you can
even imagine. Trust me. I've been there.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
