Just in case you didn't look in the Comments below, let me copy a couple of answers to the most frequently asked questions up here:
How much will I have to travel for your Master Class?
1) you will not be asked to travel for a face to face as any part of the Master Class. It will all be done on the internet or by telephone or skype video.
2) You can, if you wish, attend a Scanner retreat at half price.
3) You can't sign up for a WriteSpeak program, however, because that requires the same big time and activity commitment as the Master Class.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
MASTER CLASS DESCRIPTION
Got lots of emails and doing lots of things so I'm going to put a quick and dirty description of the Coaching Certification Master Class right here. This is the right blog for it. I'll be teaching everything I know in the Master Class and some of the important work I do is in the area of Resistance. (You're not going to hear many suggestions about doing positive thinking - but you knew that.)
At present the software and web site for the Master's Program is being installed. Tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane. I'll send you the answer to one person's questions and hope it will be enough for a few days (until I get online in France.)
Dear X:
I can tell you this: as a member of the Master Class you'll be part of a private bulletin board forum made up of your fellow students and a handful of very special people (my Brain-Trust) including an author, a radio talk show host, an incredibly gifted and knowledgeable problem solver, and a person who specializes in making people get things done. There might be others. I've got invitations out to some of my favorite Idea Party people.
I've been told to tell you that this is an investment in your career, not a fee. I just hate that language -- too much like marketing lingo. I've also been told by some professionals (fans and experts) that I should charge twice as much. I don't know if that's actually true, but I do know that I won't do that. I want talented, committed people, not necessarily people who can easily spend a lot of money and might not be driven by a need to help people, or make a living doing it. So the entire year-long program will cost $8400.
It's very time-consuming for me to work with payments, so I'm asking must require that the entire tuition be paid before we begin, which means January 15. The program will begin sometime in the last 10 days of January, 2010. However, I'm selecting applicants carefully -- I can't predict if I'll run another program next year -- and I want to make sure I don't leave out someone who I know should be in the program. So talk to me if you think I'd want you in this program. (Please don't ask for swaps or discounts for this program. I'm asking everyone to pay up front so I can forget about promoting anything for a year and get down to work.)
Okay, here's what else we're going to do:
1) Part I - Find the talent and the dreams.
You'll learn how to pinpoint with certainty what you or a client really desires, no matter how difficult that may seem. Before practical issues come up we have to know their gifts and those are only shown to us by determining with care what they love to do. For that I'm planning to use the following materials and techiques:
a) Success Teams materials: your class will work as members of a Success Team for the first 8 sessions so you can be your subjects, and know what they're experiencing on a personal level. (You'll be qualified to become a registered Success Team leader and can own the the full leader's version of the Success Team Kit at a discount later in the class.)
b) The Discover Your Dream workbook/audio kit in addition to special teleclasses dedicated to teaching unusual techniques for finding the real goal in the heart of any client. This will include some new techniques I've developed in the last few years.
2) You'll learn how to make *any* dream, even the most impractical-seeming, into an achievable plan with dates and realistic sub-goals. I'll be using a number of techniques here:
a) A Brain-Trust forum, accessible to members at all times, which includes members and experts who have accepted my invitation to join us.
b) New brain-storming techniques - how to use social media and other internet info gathering and networking methods to get any information you need. How to run your own Idea Parties, in person or on the phone or via live video.
3) Resistance Whispering
Once a plan is in place the real work begins: Resistance is invariably the result of a call to action, especially one that's realistic and has details worked out, contacts, a target date, appointments to make, etc. Reality creates the moment of truth, and that's the point where every dream can founder and die. It's also the area that's least covered by existing techniques that are commonly used. Resistance is where my most important techniques will be taught.
a) Via interactive teleclass lectures
b) Using Skype so you can watch me work with clients and pick up their visual cues as well as the ones you can hear on the phone
c) A CD-set of 3 Resistance Teleclasses will be part of the class, so you can hear the lectures and interactions in which I take people to the source of their resistance and bring them past it. That's what gave me the name of 'Resistance Whisperer,' and that's what I want most to teach you to do.
4) Finally, we'll create a plan for earning money as a coach or career counselor, and as a speaker.
It's very ambitious but I'm only allowing in people whose letters indicate good candidates. All the same, the program is filling up rather quickly.
ADDENDA: Although it wasn't part of my original plan, I've decided to allow all Master Class students to attend (at half tuition price) one Scanner retreat if they choose to. It's not a required part of the program but it will be a way for people to work and watch me work face-to-face on achieving goals with many of the elements above. Since not everyone can find a way to attend a retreat, I'm figuring out how to make a video or transcript available to them. However this material will probably cost the same as attending at 1/2 tuition, about $1100.
We're using new computer technology for much of this, and notes or transcripts or recordings will be available to all members if they miss any scheduled events.
That's the best I can do right now. I'm very eager to begin. I've waited a lot of years to offer this program and it means a lot to me to see my work used to help people even after I stop doing it myself.
Please comment or email questions. I have a hunch I'll find internet connectivity in France. :-)
At present the software and web site for the Master's Program is being installed. Tomorrow I'm leaving on a jet plane. I'll send you the answer to one person's questions and hope it will be enough for a few days (until I get online in France.)
Dear X:
I can tell you this: as a member of the Master Class you'll be part of a private bulletin board forum made up of your fellow students and a handful of very special people (my Brain-Trust) including an author, a radio talk show host, an incredibly gifted and knowledgeable problem solver, and a person who specializes in making people get things done. There might be others. I've got invitations out to some of my favorite Idea Party people.
I've been told to tell you that this is an investment in your career, not a fee. I just hate that language -- too much like marketing lingo. I've also been told by some professionals (fans and experts) that I should charge twice as much. I don't know if that's actually true, but I do know that I won't do that. I want talented, committed people, not necessarily people who can easily spend a lot of money and might not be driven by a need to help people, or make a living doing it. So the entire year-long program will cost $8400.
It's very time-consuming for me to work with payments, so I'm asking must require that the entire tuition be paid before we begin, which means January 15. The program will begin sometime in the last 10 days of January, 2010. However, I'm selecting applicants carefully -- I can't predict if I'll run another program next year -- and I want to make sure I don't leave out someone who I know should be in the program. So talk to me if you think I'd want you in this program. (Please don't ask for swaps or discounts for this program. I'm asking everyone to pay up front so I can forget about promoting anything for a year and get down to work.)
Okay, here's what else we're going to do:
1) Part I - Find the talent and the dreams.
You'll learn how to pinpoint with certainty what you or a client really desires, no matter how difficult that may seem. Before practical issues come up we have to know their gifts and those are only shown to us by determining with care what they love to do. For that I'm planning to use the following materials and techiques:
a) Success Teams materials: your class will work as members of a Success Team for the first 8 sessions so you can be your subjects, and know what they're experiencing on a personal level. (You'll be qualified to become a registered Success Team leader and can own the the full leader's version of the Success Team Kit at a discount later in the class.)
b) The Discover Your Dream workbook/audio kit in addition to special teleclasses dedicated to teaching unusual techniques for finding the real goal in the heart of any client. This will include some new techniques I've developed in the last few years.
2) You'll learn how to make *any* dream, even the most impractical-seeming, into an achievable plan with dates and realistic sub-goals. I'll be using a number of techniques here:
a) A Brain-Trust forum, accessible to members at all times, which includes members and experts who have accepted my invitation to join us.
b) New brain-storming techniques - how to use social media and other internet info gathering and networking methods to get any information you need. How to run your own Idea Parties, in person or on the phone or via live video.
3) Resistance Whispering
Once a plan is in place the real work begins: Resistance is invariably the result of a call to action, especially one that's realistic and has details worked out, contacts, a target date, appointments to make, etc. Reality creates the moment of truth, and that's the point where every dream can founder and die. It's also the area that's least covered by existing techniques that are commonly used. Resistance is where my most important techniques will be taught.
a) Via interactive teleclass lectures
b) Using Skype so you can watch me work with clients and pick up their visual cues as well as the ones you can hear on the phone
c) A CD-set of 3 Resistance Teleclasses will be part of the class, so you can hear the lectures and interactions in which I take people to the source of their resistance and bring them past it. That's what gave me the name of 'Resistance Whisperer,' and that's what I want most to teach you to do.
4) Finally, we'll create a plan for earning money as a coach or career counselor, and as a speaker.
It's very ambitious but I'm only allowing in people whose letters indicate good candidates. All the same, the program is filling up rather quickly.
ADDENDA: Although it wasn't part of my original plan, I've decided to allow all Master Class students to attend (at half tuition price) one Scanner retreat if they choose to. It's not a required part of the program but it will be a way for people to work and watch me work face-to-face on achieving goals with many of the elements above. Since not everyone can find a way to attend a retreat, I'm figuring out how to make a video or transcript available to them. However this material will probably cost the same as attending at 1/2 tuition, about $1100.
We're using new computer technology for much of this, and notes or transcripts or recordings will be available to all members if they miss any scheduled events.
That's the best I can do right now. I'm very eager to begin. I've waited a lot of years to offer this program and it means a lot to me to see my work used to help people even after I stop doing it myself.
Please comment or email questions. I have a hunch I'll find internet connectivity in France. :-)
Friday, December 11, 2009
PUTTING BIG ANNOUNCEMENT UP HERE, TOO
Spent many hours on this announcement and just sent it off to my heroic techie. Hopefully it will be sent out to my whole mailing list. I hope so because this is new and I need some reactions -- I even like those 'Out of Office' responses because they react so quickly! (Don't be shy about leaving comments if you have a moment -- even if it's to point out a typo. It's nice to know someone's there.)
Hi All
I believe this is a launch. Never used that word for anything in the past, though I'm sure I've launched things before. But there's something unusual behind this launch and I want to say it out loud to you. I'm doing this particular launch because, plain and simple - I don't want to market anymore.
I don't want to market anymore. I want to do the work I love doing but I don't want to sell it anymore.
Now, I know a lot of people don't want to market anymore, and I know that you have to do it anyway. Most of the time. But I've been doing my work and marketing it for a very long time and now I want to stop. Before I announce to you the change I'm beginning as of right now, I first would like to do some more complaining.
I don't want to send out lots of newsletters and emails saying 'Come to my party,' I simply want to announce it. I'll be happy to tell you when I'm running Resistance classes or IdeaParties on conference calls and give you the dates & locations for the spring and fall Scanner and the WriteSpeak program -- and then stop right there. After that I want to write newsletters about other things, marvelous things that I discover and want to tell you about.
I don't want to promote any of the books or audios or kits I sell on geniuspress either (and you might have noticed that I never have done so).
What pops into my head is what John Cusack says in the wonderful 1989 movie, 'Say Anything,'
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed -- or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.
That makes me laugh every time I read it. But here's my point.
To my great surprise, I'm becoming an old lady. Now, please don't write to tell me I'm not really old and all that stuff. I know, I know. Like all old people who were born learners and observers to start with, I know I'm getting smarter every year, and like all old people who are paying attention, I understand clearly what 'time limits,' means. As a result, I have a very clear picture of what I want to do in the coming few years while I'm still sturdy and bossy, and that is to tell you everything I know.
This is not a pitch. This is what I've been thinking, and it won't let go of me. So consider it the first of my announcements and you're welcome to ignore it if you like. You'll know if it's right for you or not.
Now, since I've never tried very hard to accumulate Wealth and build Empires, I'll still need income. But I'd like to be paid for what I teach, not for my marketing skills.
So, I want to announce some subscription/membership programs that will give you such huge discounts you'll come on your own and I won't have to do all the difficult, time-consuming stuff that I really can't delegate.
I'm also going to teach a year-long Master Class. This is big. This is about me trying to make sure that the best of my work will continue to be out in the world even if I'm abducted by aliens. It's designed mostly for coaches (you'll be certified when you complete the course) but I really hope to see teachers, parents and talk show hosts in it, anyone who helps people and wants to learn how to do what I do.
How to do what I do. I used to think it wasn't exactly teachable, that all I could do was let you watch me do it. But now, happily enough, I know how to teach it. Now people can learn it and use it to help other people. That's what feels really right at this time in my life.
If that looks right for you too, maybe you should be at this Master Class. I'm going to teach the most important of all the techniques I've developed, as well as showing you how to get a little bit famous, like I am. :-)
Everything starts in January of 2010. (If you've already signed up for any of my programs in 2010, you can still subscribe and get your huge & massive discount on those programs.)
Okay, here's what it is and here's the fee for each choice. (No, I don't do up-sells and I won't make you read 20 pages and click 10 links to find out what everything costs.)
(Toe In The Water) Level I Club - $600
If you want to learn as much as you can about knocking down the walls of your resistance as well as getting dozens of great brains to help you come up with ideas and info but you'd like a little anonymity and time to decide if you want to go further, this is probably the right choice for you. At Level I you'll be able to attend (or get the recordings of) all my Resistance and IdeaParty teleclasses in 2010 for free. I'm planning to do at least 10 of them.
You'll also be able to head over to www.geniuspress.com and look at all the books, audios and kits and pick any or all of them (electronic or hard copy) for 50% of the price. (Incidentally, the prices haven't changed in years and I won't be slipping in there and raising them in advance, either.)
And if you'd like to halve the tariff for my new BigCheapWeekendWorkshop in NY in June (it's going to be terrific and I'm smiling as I think of it) you'll be able to do that, too.
Now, my math's not great but I figure you'll get at least $2000 dollars worth of goodies right there (and I expect to add more stuff -- like a CD of all my audio tips, for instance -- during the year). It's good stuff.
You'll get the most benefit (and make my life easier) if you sign up via Paypal before January 15. Ask everyone to give you cash for Xmas and you can probably make it work.
(Ready to Splash Around Big Time) Level II Club - $2400
If you'd like all the above but you really want to work with me face-to-face in a 5-day retreat in 2010, this is for you. At the same huge 50% discount you'll be able to attend one of the year's Scanner retreats (in some gorgeous locale). If you want to, you can sign up for the whole WriteSpeak program, too (which includes its own 5-day retreat). If you've ever wanted to be part of a really special community/support team, a retreat is where you'll find it. What happens after the retreats is as important as what happens during them. (Check out the testimonials on www.geniuspress.com for Scanner Retreats and the WriteSpeak program and you'll see what I mean.)
For the Ready to Splash Around Big Time Level II Club you really do have to get in before January 15 because the next WriteSpeak Pt I Teleworkshop is January 16 and it's the prerequisite for the rest of the program). Now, my math, if this makes any difference, says that you will not only save the $2000 value of the Toe in The Water Club, but in addition, up to $3500 if you take advantage of everything above. (I'll send you either audios or transcripts for anything you can't attend.)
If you've already signed up for the April Scanner Retreat in France, or the Jan, Feb WriteSpeak program in New York and you want to subscribe at this level, that's fine. I'll be happy to get someone to figure out the math and make it come out right.
(Taking the Veil) Coaching Certification Master Class - $8400
Well, I don't really know much about taking the veil except from the movies. It looked all gallant and romantic with Audrey Hepburn, and wonderfully evil and powerful in The Blues Brothers so I'm pretty convinced of my own total ignorance here and I guess that's not really what I mean.
What I do mean is this: if you're ready to make a serious commitment to becoming the best counselor/teacher/helper/coach you possibly can be, by accessing and developing your innate talents and learning how to do pretty much everything I do, if you want to be part of a tightly-knit, supportive and brilliant community, and if you'd also like to make a better-than-decent living at it, then this is the right choice for you.
Some of you have watched (or heard) me guide someone through a 'self correcting scenario,' for instance, or take someone back to the source of their resistance (and often the source of their parents' as well) and you've seen the light bulb go on as they finally understood the true picture of who they are and why they do what they do, and how to change it in a profound way.
If so, you might be one of the people who wanted to know what was happening: 'How did you do that?' 'Why did you say this at this time?' 'How did you know that was the wrong path, how did you see the right path?'
If that kind of thing matters to you, the Master Class is for you.
Showing dedicated, talented people how to help others by fully using their gifts and showing them how to do everything I've learned to do and showing them how to make a better-than-decent living so they'll want to keep doing it for years and years -- that's how I want to spend my remaining time on this planet.
So as of today I pronounce that I insofar as I am able, I shall no longer market anything and all my newsletters and blogs will be about wonderful stuff I love to write about.
REGARDING ALL THE MANY DETAILS I'VE LEFT OUT:
I'm going to put up some pages on Genius Press to spell out all the many details of this big new thing, like how to be interviewed for the Master Class and nice lists of what you'll get such as the Master Class will get free admission to the BigCheapWeekendWorkshop in June and you'll all get advance notice of any events I schedule. That sort of thing. I'll also explain that I won't be doing swaps or payments because they're too hard to keep track of, and how there's room for everyone in the Level I Club, but room for not so many people in the Level II Club and room for very few in the Master Class.
(Which is why I'm going to close admission as soon as I've hit the right numbers so I wouldn't stall about this too long.)
And there's got to be a whole lot more I need to explain.
But it's been a long day figuring this out all this and I'll never in this world get the extra information up on the website for at least few more days.
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW:
* You can say 'I know all I need to know, Count me in,' and go into Paypal and send a payment to my email address (if you don't have it, just hit reply to this announcement and me ask for it. I'll enjoy getting that kind of request.)
or
* You can hit reply and ask me questions, which I'd actually welcome because I know for sure I haven't worked out every detail and your bewilderment will make me aware of what's needed. As anyone in my WriteSpeak class will tell you, questions are very fine things.
I want you to use your talents and fulfill your dreams. I want that a lot. I think that's a good thing that I can do for you and for the world.
Okay, that's what I wanted to tell you.
Barbara
To help you plan, here are the dates I know about so far:
The WriteSpeak Part I Teleworkshop: January 16, 2010, from 11 am to 5 pm (or so).
(I may schedule a second Teleworkshop before the retreat. Watch this space.)
The WriteSpeak Part II Retreat: February 12 - 17, 2010 in New York City.
The Scanner Retreat: April 6 - 11, 2010 in a medieval village in France
Another Scanner Retreat in Europe in the fall, when the weather cools down.
The Big Cheap Weekend Workshop, probably June 25-27, 2010 in New York City.
Okay, now you know everything I know.
Hi All
I believe this is a launch. Never used that word for anything in the past, though I'm sure I've launched things before. But there's something unusual behind this launch and I want to say it out loud to you. I'm doing this particular launch because, plain and simple - I don't want to market anymore.
I don't want to market anymore. I want to do the work I love doing but I don't want to sell it anymore.
Now, I know a lot of people don't want to market anymore, and I know that you have to do it anyway. Most of the time. But I've been doing my work and marketing it for a very long time and now I want to stop. Before I announce to you the change I'm beginning as of right now, I first would like to do some more complaining.
I don't want to send out lots of newsletters and emails saying 'Come to my party,' I simply want to announce it. I'll be happy to tell you when I'm running Resistance classes or IdeaParties on conference calls and give you the dates & locations for the spring and fall Scanner and the WriteSpeak program -- and then stop right there. After that I want to write newsletters about other things, marvelous things that I discover and want to tell you about.
I don't want to promote any of the books or audios or kits I sell on geniuspress either (and you might have noticed that I never have done so).
What pops into my head is what John Cusack says in the wonderful 1989 movie, 'Say Anything,'
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed -- or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.
That makes me laugh every time I read it. But here's my point.
To my great surprise, I'm becoming an old lady. Now, please don't write to tell me I'm not really old and all that stuff. I know, I know. Like all old people who were born learners and observers to start with, I know I'm getting smarter every year, and like all old people who are paying attention, I understand clearly what 'time limits,' means. As a result, I have a very clear picture of what I want to do in the coming few years while I'm still sturdy and bossy, and that is to tell you everything I know.
This is not a pitch. This is what I've been thinking, and it won't let go of me. So consider it the first of my announcements and you're welcome to ignore it if you like. You'll know if it's right for you or not.
Now, since I've never tried very hard to accumulate Wealth and build Empires, I'll still need income. But I'd like to be paid for what I teach, not for my marketing skills.
So, I want to announce some subscription/membership programs that will give you such huge discounts you'll come on your own and I won't have to do all the difficult, time-consuming stuff that I really can't delegate.
I'm also going to teach a year-long Master Class. This is big. This is about me trying to make sure that the best of my work will continue to be out in the world even if I'm abducted by aliens. It's designed mostly for coaches (you'll be certified when you complete the course) but I really hope to see teachers, parents and talk show hosts in it, anyone who helps people and wants to learn how to do what I do.
How to do what I do. I used to think it wasn't exactly teachable, that all I could do was let you watch me do it. But now, happily enough, I know how to teach it. Now people can learn it and use it to help other people. That's what feels really right at this time in my life.
If that looks right for you too, maybe you should be at this Master Class. I'm going to teach the most important of all the techniques I've developed, as well as showing you how to get a little bit famous, like I am. :-)
Everything starts in January of 2010. (If you've already signed up for any of my programs in 2010, you can still subscribe and get your huge & massive discount on those programs.)
Okay, here's what it is and here's the fee for each choice. (No, I don't do up-sells and I won't make you read 20 pages and click 10 links to find out what everything costs.)
(Toe In The Water) Level I Club - $600
If you want to learn as much as you can about knocking down the walls of your resistance as well as getting dozens of great brains to help you come up with ideas and info but you'd like a little anonymity and time to decide if you want to go further, this is probably the right choice for you. At Level I you'll be able to attend (or get the recordings of) all my Resistance and IdeaParty teleclasses in 2010 for free. I'm planning to do at least 10 of them.
You'll also be able to head over to www.geniuspress.com and look at all the books, audios and kits and pick any or all of them (electronic or hard copy) for 50% of the price. (Incidentally, the prices haven't changed in years and I won't be slipping in there and raising them in advance, either.)
And if you'd like to halve the tariff for my new BigCheapWeekendWorkshop in NY in June (it's going to be terrific and I'm smiling as I think of it) you'll be able to do that, too.
Now, my math's not great but I figure you'll get at least $2000 dollars worth of goodies right there (and I expect to add more stuff -- like a CD of all my audio tips, for instance -- during the year). It's good stuff.
You'll get the most benefit (and make my life easier) if you sign up via Paypal before January 15. Ask everyone to give you cash for Xmas and you can probably make it work.
(Ready to Splash Around Big Time) Level II Club - $2400
If you'd like all the above but you really want to work with me face-to-face in a 5-day retreat in 2010, this is for you. At the same huge 50% discount you'll be able to attend one of the year's Scanner retreats (in some gorgeous locale). If you want to, you can sign up for the whole WriteSpeak program, too (which includes its own 5-day retreat). If you've ever wanted to be part of a really special community/support team, a retreat is where you'll find it. What happens after the retreats is as important as what happens during them. (Check out the testimonials on www.geniuspress.com for Scanner Retreats and the WriteSpeak program and you'll see what I mean.)
For the Ready to Splash Around Big Time Level II Club you really do have to get in before January 15 because the next WriteSpeak Pt I Teleworkshop is January 16 and it's the prerequisite for the rest of the program). Now, my math, if this makes any difference, says that you will not only save the $2000 value of the Toe in The Water Club, but in addition, up to $3500 if you take advantage of everything above. (I'll send you either audios or transcripts for anything you can't attend.)
If you've already signed up for the April Scanner Retreat in France, or the Jan, Feb WriteSpeak program in New York and you want to subscribe at this level, that's fine. I'll be happy to get someone to figure out the math and make it come out right.
(Taking the Veil) Coaching Certification Master Class - $8400
Well, I don't really know much about taking the veil except from the movies. It looked all gallant and romantic with Audrey Hepburn, and wonderfully evil and powerful in The Blues Brothers so I'm pretty convinced of my own total ignorance here and I guess that's not really what I mean.
What I do mean is this: if you're ready to make a serious commitment to becoming the best counselor/teacher/helper/coach you possibly can be, by accessing and developing your innate talents and learning how to do pretty much everything I do, if you want to be part of a tightly-knit, supportive and brilliant community, and if you'd also like to make a better-than-decent living at it, then this is the right choice for you.
Some of you have watched (or heard) me guide someone through a 'self correcting scenario,' for instance, or take someone back to the source of their resistance (and often the source of their parents' as well) and you've seen the light bulb go on as they finally understood the true picture of who they are and why they do what they do, and how to change it in a profound way.
If so, you might be one of the people who wanted to know what was happening: 'How did you do that?' 'Why did you say this at this time?' 'How did you know that was the wrong path, how did you see the right path?'
If that kind of thing matters to you, the Master Class is for you.
Showing dedicated, talented people how to help others by fully using their gifts and showing them how to do everything I've learned to do and showing them how to make a better-than-decent living so they'll want to keep doing it for years and years -- that's how I want to spend my remaining time on this planet.
So as of today I pronounce that I insofar as I am able, I shall no longer market anything and all my newsletters and blogs will be about wonderful stuff I love to write about.
REGARDING ALL THE MANY DETAILS I'VE LEFT OUT:
I'm going to put up some pages on Genius Press
(Which is why I'm going to close admission as soon as I've hit the right numbers so I wouldn't stall about this too long.)
And there's got to be a whole lot more I need to explain.
But it's been a long day figuring this out all this and I'll never in this world get the extra information up on the website for at least few more days.
HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW:
* You can say 'I know all I need to know, Count me in,' and go into Paypal and send a payment to my email address (if you don't have it, just hit reply to this announcement and me ask for it. I'll enjoy getting that kind of request.)
or
* You can hit reply and ask me questions, which I'd actually welcome because I know for sure I haven't worked out every detail and your bewilderment will make me aware of what's needed. As anyone in my WriteSpeak class will tell you, questions are very fine things.
I want you to use your talents and fulfill your dreams. I want that a lot. I think that's a good thing that I can do for you and for the world.
Okay, that's what I wanted to tell you.
Barbara
To help you plan, here are the dates I know about so far:
The WriteSpeak Part I Teleworkshop: January 16, 2010, from 11 am to 5 pm (or so).
(I may schedule a second Teleworkshop before the retreat. Watch this space.)
The WriteSpeak Part II Retreat: February 12 - 17, 2010 in New York City.
The Scanner Retreat: April 6 - 11, 2010 in a medieval village in France
Another Scanner Retreat in Europe in the fall, when the weather cools down.
The Big Cheap Weekend Workshop, probably June 25-27, 2010 in New York City.
Okay, now you know everything I know.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Action instead of Aggravation
That's what I used to say to my kids when they were worried about something that might happen in the near future:"Let's do something about it instead of worrying ourselves to death," I'd say. "Action Instead of Aggravation!"
I see I haven't changed much in the last 40 years. Here's an exchange I had recently with someone who wrote me an email. (The letters she sent were much longer than the excerpts I've copied here.)
(I put the letters in chronological order)
(1)
Country: Canada
Permission: OK to publish
Question: Dear Barbara.......I am so glad I found you at this time in my life! I stumbled on your book "Live The Life You Love" at the library. I have never been in such a "dark" place in all my life. [She goes on to describe a very difficult childhood and the resulting anxiety she has always experienced] It has prevented me from doing much. I recently moved back home (sadly my mom has passed on so her warmth is not here) and my dad is still verbally abusive... My sister is mentally ill and has been taking her wrath out on me and my brother since we were small.
My grown kids are always angry with me. Even my best friend says she is tired of my "pity parties." I'm seeing a counselor who listens very well but cannot really help me other than listen.
My courage is at an all time low - I need a job. There's more, and it's just as bad. Anyway, any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
GL
(2)
Hi GL:
I have a suggestion. I'm hardly the first person to advise this, and you're not going to want to do it but you should really give it a try. It almost always works:
Go to some place where people need something you’re skilled at (like speaking English, for instance) and help them. That is, volunteer.
Don't volunteer to lick stamps or do any kind of solo work. Go where there you can help humans who need you. Teaching English to people who want to learn it is one thing you can do. No matter how low your self-esteem might be, you must admit you speak pretty good English.
Everyone who teaches English to immigrants or reading to illiterate adults invariably loves it. They tell me they meet wonderful, courageous people who are really worth helping. They get a lot of respect from their students, too, and getting respect right now would be better than vitamins for you.
You’re clearly depressed, so I'm glad you're getting professional help. But your letter shows that you're too much in the habit of thinking and talking about yourself. That's not wise. Isolation exaggerates dark feelings. Get into action and focus on something important enough to make you forget yourself for a few hours every day. Sign up for a steady schedule, and volunteer to teach conversational English to foreigners in classrooms. It will open up a new world for you.
Try it and see.
Barbara
(3)
Thank you so much Barbara. I feel honored that you would take the time to offer some advice to little old me. I just started the chapter in your book( Lesson 6 on resistance.) I am only able to read at night in bed (easier to concentrate) so will read on tonight. I just feel so insignificant and transparent and so very sad. I might be depressed but everything in my life is conducive to that so it's a "normal" depression I think. I am actually a very strong person but lately it's all getting too much. I might try and move to Cold Springs Island where I can live surrounded by wildlife. GL
(4)
Uh, uh, GL. Bad idea. I don’t think you heard me. First, I strongly advise against moving anywhere that will make you more isolated than you are right now. You need to have your thoughts interrupted by appointments, human voices and faces. Everyone who's down in the dumps always wants to be more alone but isolation will make everything worse.
Second, let me spell out what I told you in my previous note: I said to go — on a regular basis, like every Tuesday and Thursday morning of every week for at least 3 months — to a location where you can help someone else. Teaching English to foreigners is one way to do that, but not the only way.
Third, I didn’t say to read Lesson 6 on Resistance. It won’t help you. It’s not right for where you are. The only thing that’s right for you at this point in time is to pick yourself up, hose yourself down, put on some clothes that won't attract attention and find a volunteer job helping other people. You are in no position to be thinking about yourself right now. You must be able to think about others, people you feel responsible for, at least 6 hours a week. Otherwise you'll never get out of that damp, dark basement.
Fourth: Your circumstances are certainly bad, but it doesn’t matter why you’re depressed, you are depressed. If you weren't, you'd change your circumstances for the better without writing me. But that's hard to do when you're feeling negative. You're not in any mood to create opportunities or invent something great for yourself. Taking initiative isn't a symptom of unhappiness. But there are projects that already exist and you can go to them. Your lack of energy can't be reversed unless you have to be somewhere at a certain regular time doing something with other humans; something that makes a difference.
If you can't find a way in the door to teach English to adults, go to a women’s shelter, find out what they need and see if you can find a way to get it for them. Sometimes it means no more than cleaning out your closet and giving them some nice clothes, or children's books to read to their kids. Well, for starters. Then you have to start bothering other people to donate their clothes and children's books. :-)
Helping animals can be good too, but I think you need a different kind of feedback, more challenging to your long thoughts, so it's humans for you, at least for a while. Help them. Make their lives easier. That's a sunny occupation and will get rid of the mold in your thinking.
You won’t want to do this, I know. Clearly you feel bitter, a victim of injustice, and you don’t want to help anyone. You might think you have nothing to give. Or that you have to straighten out your life before you can help other people. But trust me, that thinking, justified or not, will keep you weak. Quit looking at the darkness around your shoulders. Look out the window instead.
Now, quit reading my book and fantasizing about getting a job. Just drag your butt out there and do what I'm telling you.
Barbara
(6)
Hi Barbara
I don't know if I will have the time to volunteer as I have to get a job before my savings are all depleted. This means I have to summon up strength that I don't know if I have and put all my time and efforts into earning a living.(even if I have to take anything for now) With the economic times the way they are there are many unemployed and me being 53 years old I don't exactly have youth on my side either. I do so appreciate you taking the time to reply Barbara.
(7)
Not.
If you get dressed and make some calls and volunteer tomorrow, you might have the energy to look for a job the next day or the next week. You'll also have the air of someone who's doing something on this planet that matters. You'll make a better impression in an interview than you can today.
If you stick around your volunteer position for a month or so and give it everything you've got, and you put your heart into never short-changing the people who need your help, you'll probably get hired by the organization, or, at the very least, be given a great letter of recommendation. Showing up and caring about what you do will make you stand out from the crowd. You'll be noticed.
If you don’t do what I'm telling you to do, and pretty quick, you might just stay where you are until all your savings are gone.
You know I'm right. Why didn't you go looking for a job yesterday? You felt lousy, that's why. It's the same reason you won't go looking for a job tomorrow.
Quit writing me letters and start searching the internet for a volunteer opportunity, right now.
Barbara
(7)
Okay, Barbara - I will try my best! You're tough. Thanks.
...................
Well, dear reader, that's the whole exchange. I haven't heard from her, and I have no more muscle to make her do something than you see above. I know that chances are at least 50/50 that she won't act soon enough to avoid being pulled further down into the soup.
So why do I answer letters like this one? Well, I've had enough practice and experience to know that I'm probably right in what I told her. And I get lots of letters that show that sometimes I do make a difference.
For the rest, I just remember what Tracy Kidder said in one of my favorite books, Mountains Beyond Mountains:
"If you do the right thing well, you avoid futility."
He's talking about a true hero, Doctor Paul Farmer. There aren't enough people on this planet like him. He has set himself an almost impossible task - originally to stamp out tuberculosis in Haiti, and he's made amazing progress not only against the disease but against the world-wide organizations and people who block real solutions. But that's not the most almost-impossible task he's set himself. He's throwing everything he has in him at trying to stamp out poverty because he knows it's the true cause of disease.
I'm not a hero, just one of those people who knows a couple of things and isn't afraid to boss people around and tell them what to do. There aren't enough of us, either.
But I'm trying to do something about that, too. I'm helping some wonderful students use their personal experience to help others, so I have reason to expect that soon there will be more bossy people who know what they're talking about walking up to people they recognize as being like themselves, and bossing them around too.
I'm hoping for a groundswell.
:-)
:
I see I haven't changed much in the last 40 years. Here's an exchange I had recently with someone who wrote me an email. (The letters she sent were much longer than the excerpts I've copied here.)
(I put the letters in chronological order)
(1)
Country: Canada
Permission: OK to publish
Question: Dear Barbara.......I am so glad I found you at this time in my life! I stumbled on your book "Live The Life You Love" at the library. I have never been in such a "dark" place in all my life. [She goes on to describe a very difficult childhood and the resulting anxiety she has always experienced] It has prevented me from doing much. I recently moved back home (sadly my mom has passed on so her warmth is not here) and my dad is still verbally abusive... My sister is mentally ill and has been taking her wrath out on me and my brother since we were small.
My grown kids are always angry with me. Even my best friend says she is tired of my "pity parties." I'm seeing a counselor who listens very well but cannot really help me other than listen.
My courage is at an all time low - I need a job. There's more, and it's just as bad. Anyway, any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
GL
(2)
Hi GL:
I have a suggestion. I'm hardly the first person to advise this, and you're not going to want to do it but you should really give it a try. It almost always works:
Go to some place where people need something you’re skilled at (like speaking English, for instance) and help them. That is, volunteer.
Don't volunteer to lick stamps or do any kind of solo work. Go where there you can help humans who need you. Teaching English to people who want to learn it is one thing you can do. No matter how low your self-esteem might be, you must admit you speak pretty good English.
Everyone who teaches English to immigrants or reading to illiterate adults invariably loves it. They tell me they meet wonderful, courageous people who are really worth helping. They get a lot of respect from their students, too, and getting respect right now would be better than vitamins for you.
You’re clearly depressed, so I'm glad you're getting professional help. But your letter shows that you're too much in the habit of thinking and talking about yourself. That's not wise. Isolation exaggerates dark feelings. Get into action and focus on something important enough to make you forget yourself for a few hours every day. Sign up for a steady schedule, and volunteer to teach conversational English to foreigners in classrooms. It will open up a new world for you.
Try it and see.
Barbara
(3)
Thank you so much Barbara. I feel honored that you would take the time to offer some advice to little old me. I just started the chapter in your book( Lesson 6 on resistance.) I am only able to read at night in bed (easier to concentrate) so will read on tonight. I just feel so insignificant and transparent and so very sad. I might be depressed but everything in my life is conducive to that so it's a "normal" depression I think. I am actually a very strong person but lately it's all getting too much. I might try and move to Cold Springs Island where I can live surrounded by wildlife. GL
(4)
Uh, uh, GL. Bad idea. I don’t think you heard me. First, I strongly advise against moving anywhere that will make you more isolated than you are right now. You need to have your thoughts interrupted by appointments, human voices and faces. Everyone who's down in the dumps always wants to be more alone but isolation will make everything worse.
Second, let me spell out what I told you in my previous note: I said to go — on a regular basis, like every Tuesday and Thursday morning of every week for at least 3 months — to a location where you can help someone else. Teaching English to foreigners is one way to do that, but not the only way.
Third, I didn’t say to read Lesson 6 on Resistance. It won’t help you. It’s not right for where you are. The only thing that’s right for you at this point in time is to pick yourself up, hose yourself down, put on some clothes that won't attract attention and find a volunteer job helping other people. You are in no position to be thinking about yourself right now. You must be able to think about others, people you feel responsible for, at least 6 hours a week. Otherwise you'll never get out of that damp, dark basement.
Fourth: Your circumstances are certainly bad, but it doesn’t matter why you’re depressed, you are depressed. If you weren't, you'd change your circumstances for the better without writing me. But that's hard to do when you're feeling negative. You're not in any mood to create opportunities or invent something great for yourself. Taking initiative isn't a symptom of unhappiness. But there are projects that already exist and you can go to them. Your lack of energy can't be reversed unless you have to be somewhere at a certain regular time doing something with other humans; something that makes a difference.
If you can't find a way in the door to teach English to adults, go to a women’s shelter, find out what they need and see if you can find a way to get it for them. Sometimes it means no more than cleaning out your closet and giving them some nice clothes, or children's books to read to their kids. Well, for starters. Then you have to start bothering other people to donate their clothes and children's books. :-)
Helping animals can be good too, but I think you need a different kind of feedback, more challenging to your long thoughts, so it's humans for you, at least for a while. Help them. Make their lives easier. That's a sunny occupation and will get rid of the mold in your thinking.
You won’t want to do this, I know. Clearly you feel bitter, a victim of injustice, and you don’t want to help anyone. You might think you have nothing to give. Or that you have to straighten out your life before you can help other people. But trust me, that thinking, justified or not, will keep you weak. Quit looking at the darkness around your shoulders. Look out the window instead.
Now, quit reading my book and fantasizing about getting a job. Just drag your butt out there and do what I'm telling you.
Barbara
(6)
Hi Barbara
I don't know if I will have the time to volunteer as I have to get a job before my savings are all depleted. This means I have to summon up strength that I don't know if I have and put all my time and efforts into earning a living.(even if I have to take anything for now) With the economic times the way they are there are many unemployed and me being 53 years old I don't exactly have youth on my side either. I do so appreciate you taking the time to reply Barbara.
(7)
Not.
If you get dressed and make some calls and volunteer tomorrow, you might have the energy to look for a job the next day or the next week. You'll also have the air of someone who's doing something on this planet that matters. You'll make a better impression in an interview than you can today.
If you stick around your volunteer position for a month or so and give it everything you've got, and you put your heart into never short-changing the people who need your help, you'll probably get hired by the organization, or, at the very least, be given a great letter of recommendation. Showing up and caring about what you do will make you stand out from the crowd. You'll be noticed.
If you don’t do what I'm telling you to do, and pretty quick, you might just stay where you are until all your savings are gone.
You know I'm right. Why didn't you go looking for a job yesterday? You felt lousy, that's why. It's the same reason you won't go looking for a job tomorrow.
Quit writing me letters and start searching the internet for a volunteer opportunity, right now.
Barbara
(7)
Okay, Barbara - I will try my best! You're tough. Thanks.
...................
Well, dear reader, that's the whole exchange. I haven't heard from her, and I have no more muscle to make her do something than you see above. I know that chances are at least 50/50 that she won't act soon enough to avoid being pulled further down into the soup.
So why do I answer letters like this one? Well, I've had enough practice and experience to know that I'm probably right in what I told her. And I get lots of letters that show that sometimes I do make a difference.
For the rest, I just remember what Tracy Kidder said in one of my favorite books, Mountains Beyond Mountains:
"If you do the right thing well, you avoid futility."
He's talking about a true hero, Doctor Paul Farmer. There aren't enough people on this planet like him. He has set himself an almost impossible task - originally to stamp out tuberculosis in Haiti, and he's made amazing progress not only against the disease but against the world-wide organizations and people who block real solutions. But that's not the most almost-impossible task he's set himself. He's throwing everything he has in him at trying to stamp out poverty because he knows it's the true cause of disease.
I'm not a hero, just one of those people who knows a couple of things and isn't afraid to boss people around and tell them what to do. There aren't enough of us, either.
But I'm trying to do something about that, too. I'm helping some wonderful students use their personal experience to help others, so I have reason to expect that soon there will be more bossy people who know what they're talking about walking up to people they recognize as being like themselves, and bossing them around too.
I'm hoping for a groundswell.
:-)
:
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