Barbara Sher's Newsletter
March 9, 2011
Hi Friends,
If you haven't seen this video of mine on YouTube, I'd like you look at it now:
[Naw, they won't let me.]
[I'm not sure it's working. I'm getting alarming warnings. So head over to YouTube, search for Barbara Sher, and watch "What you love is what you are gifted at"
(Here's the rest of the newsletter:)
Barbara Sher: What You Love is What You Are Gifted At
The video is a little dark and not very fancy, but you can hear every word, it's under 2 minutes, and I'm not selling anything.
Today I was looking through some of the audios and videos I've saved from past workshops and retreats, looking for anything related to this subject because finding what you love, and finding a way to do it is the subject of the first month of a membership site I'm putting together, hopefully to launch a month or two down the road. (Maybe three.)
While I was checking the sound quality, I started listening to the words and realized that you should look at it, too. I know you've heard me say "You must do what you love," before, and I don't like to be repetitive, but I know too well that we all forget.
I won't rewrite the words on the video. Just go there. You won't hear one word about how you should treat yourself well, make yourself happy, put yourself first. It's not about that. It's about a debt you owe to the rest of us. Figuring out what you love is about the only way you're ever going to discover what you were born to do. When you enjoy doing something, that's nature trying to tell you who you are and what you're supposed to be doing.
And don't give me a hard time because you love doing too many things. You know where I stand on that one. If you don't, read Refuse to Choose aka: What Do I Do When I Want To Do Everything. Or head over to Genius Press and listen to the podcast. Or give yourself a treat and sign up while a few spaces are still open for what is probably my last Scanner Retreat. It's in France from April 23-28, 2011.
That's all I wanted to say. I know what I'm doing here: I'm here to get you to remember what you love, and to find practical ways for you to do it. How do I know what I'm doing here? Well, I've figured out what drive really is, and where it comes from, and how unique it is to each one of us. And I've seen over and over how it always answers that age-old question: What am I supposed to be doing on this planet? What will really satisfy and continue to interest me?
But that's for face-to-face and in-person as the grads of my retreats and workshops will tell you. I need to see you so I can ask questions and find out who you are. That's way too important for a quotable sentence or a newsletter sound bite.
But I'll tell you this much: drive isn't what they tell you. It's not something you decide to have if you've got enough character. You can't choose to have drive, and you don't have to. It's there. You just need to learn how to find it. Not so easy to do on your own. But this much you should know: it uses your gifts, the things you love and dream about. That's where you start and that's why going after your dream isn't an option, it's a responsibility. But gifts are only the vehicle. Drive itself is the fuel, and once you find that, you never ever run out of it.
That's why you must start by going after your dream. But, you've heard that before, right? What if you have too many obstacles? I happen to believe obstacles are mostly real, but I also know how to get around them. Let me tell you a story about one of my favorite ways (See Idea Party below). I have a hundred of these stories, but I'll just tell one today.
In Memphis, Tennessee, a few years ago, I was running a workshop for public TV and, as I always do in the second half of those workshops, I asked for people to raise their hands and tell me some impossible dreams. A young woman in the front row raised her hand and said she had always wanted to run an animal refuge.
"What's your obstacle?" I asked. (That's what I always ask because it's a great way to stimulate good ideas.)
"I have no money, no land, no licenses or training or connections and I have no idea where to start," she said.
You'd think that might give me pause, but I've done so many Idea Parties I was pretty sure of what would happen next. And I have never done anything to get prepared in advance for any wish in any Idea Party ever, on Twitter, the telephone, at people's homes or in front of 1000 people at a workshop. It's never necessary. If you have ten or more people in the room, there's always a solution.
"Does anyone have any ideas?" I asked, and a woman two seats away waved her hand urgently, stood up and said, "My friend's mother has an animal refuge, she was recently injured and can't take care of it, she's desperate for someone to take it over, it won't cost you anything! She'll train you! She has the licenses, and the donors and everything!"
That's a true story.
But that wish seems a little uncharacteristic, doesn't it? Well, it's not. I've had similar things happen -- just regarding that one wish -- at least a dozen times. And don't get me started on the really hard wishes. That's another newsletter in itself.
Okay, that's my message. Once you figure out what you want, the rest is easy. I mean that. And I say that as someone who wasn't born rich. I was born good-looking.
So repeat after me: "I must do what I love. I do know what it is." (Or we can help you figure it out in 5 minutes). And yes, it is possible even if you aren't a positive thinker, can't create your own reality and frequently wake up grumpy. (My kind of people!)
I plan to nag you about this in future. I know I'll have to tell you again. That's okay with me.
Here are your audio tips.
I hope I get to meet you (or see you again**) this year.
Warmest Regards,
Barbara Sher
EVENTS
Idea Party Fundraiser
Saturday, March 12, 2011, 1:00-2:30pm ET Teleconference
Cost: $22.00
All proceeds benefit Himalayan Cultural Conservation, an organization near & dear to my heart.
I Could Do Anything, If I Only Knew What It Was
Friday, April 15 , 2011| Frankfurt, Germany
Live the Life You Love weekend workshop
Saturday & Sunday, April 16-17, 2011 | Frankfurt, Germany
Scanner Retreat in my favorite medieval village in France
April 23-28, 2011 | Tarn region of France
(Only 4 spaces left!)
Coaching Training Program with Frankfurter Ring
June 2011 - April 2012
**Ask me about special discounts if you've been to my retreats or workshops before.
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Barbara Sher | Box 20052, Park West Station | New York | NY | 10025
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