January 2, 2013
 
 
Barbara Winter's Joyfully Jobless News
   
 
Dear Barbara,
When you are in the deep end of the pool surrounded by others full of energy and ideas and examples, you learn to swim a lot better.
~ Danny Gregory
 
In This Issue
This Year Can be Different
Connecting in Dallas, Houston, and Phoenix
Got Obstacles? Get Bold
No Regrets
Barbara Online
Buon Viaggio Blog
 
The theme this month is
Build a Better Business
 
 
THIS YEAR CAN BE DIFFERENT
 
For the past week, there's been a lot of talk about the new year, fresh starts, resolutions. It happens every year, of course, but for too many of us noble intentions don't translate into noticable change.

If you'd like to rescue your abandoned ideas, get busy building the life of your dreams, share your unique gifts and perspectives with others, there's one big commitment you can make now (no matter how far away your dreams seem) that will get things moving in the right direction.

Quite simply, commit yourself to connecting wherever and however you can. In fact, go a step farther and make Connecting your theme for 2013.
 

It may be easier than you realize.

Last week, I got a message on Facebook from book and career coach Bev Ryan in Brisbane, Australia that included the photograph you see here.

She wrote, "Talk about a conversation starter - this morning I took time out to read this lovely book (Making a Living Without a Job) by Barbara Winter in The Nook Caffe Restaurant, my local cafe in Brisbane. A gentleman spotted the title and we got chatting. Turns out he's writing a book and coaches retirees in designing a life .. such synchronicity. We will meet up again."

Bev's story also reminded me that glorious opportunities seldom show up
when we're sitting on the sofa fretting.

As the writer C.S. Lewis pointed out, "Good things as well as bad are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm, you must stand near the fire; if you want to get wet, you must get into the water. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you; if you are not, you will remain dry."

Manicurist Ruth Fordham left a messy marriage and her native Germany and relocated to London where she decided to set up shop. By her own admission she was very green, but says, "Every year it got easier because every year I learned a little bit more and I just made sure I went on every course that was available. If there was something to learn, I learned it."

If you don't want to go into 2013 simply repeating the patterns of 2012, refuse to spend another day being an armchair entrepreneur. Broaden your horizons with fresh perspectives, better business building tools. Start connecting in new ways with ideas, people, dreambuilders. Refuse to spend another day being an armchair entrepreneur.

Or, as the Persian poet Rumi advised, "Be with those who help your being."
 
CONNECTING IN DALLAS, HOUSTON, AND PHOENIX
 

If creative self-employment is a high priority for you, I'm eager to support your vision.   In fact, I've been busily creating opportunities for you to connect with more Joyfully Jobless folks. The first of these are coming up soon with two terrific opportunities to particpate in January-and more are on the way in other locations.

 

It's been enormous fun connecting with the folks who accepted my invitation to join The Collaboratory. Working together, we'll be rolling out Joyfully Jobless Weekends all over the place. If you want to learn a lot for not a lot of money, I promise this is a great way to connect with ideas, information and others who are doing the same.

 

We kick off the series, which includes Establish Yourself as an Expert, Making a Living Without a Job and How to Support Your Wanderlust in Dallas, TX on January 18 & 19. Thanks to collaborator Susan Hamm, there's even a website with all the details. Check it out here.

 

In February, the Weekend travels to Houston on February 15 & 16 and Phoenix on February 22 & 23. Yes, these locations were carefully chosen for their proximity to warmer weather.

 

You can register for one event or take advantage of the special pricing and sign up for the series. Details at http://joyfullyjoblessweekend.com.

GOT OBSTACLES? GET BOLD!
 

Last year when Terri Belford invited me to join her in the Obstacle-Buster Mastermind, I had no idea how powerful it would be. After all, the concept is wonderfully simple: bring a small group together in a place full of entrepreneurial spirit and help them identify-and deal with-what's keeping them stuck. Don't let them go home, until they're clear about what needs to happen next to get them moving forward. Then do monthly check-ins via conference calls for a year.

 

I knew it would be a terrific experience, but I didn't realize that every time one of the participants shared an email or progress report on Facebook or gave an update on the monthly phone call, that it was positively contagious. We all got bolder.

 

Yesterday, Terri took away another obstacle for some folks when she posted this on Facebook: Because some of you have said you really want to work with Barbara Winter and me face-to-face in Las Vegas but are a bit short on cash after the holidays, I just put up an option to register with 3 monthly payments.

 

We've only got two spots left so if you'd like to occupy one of them, it's time to claim your place, book your flight and get ready to join us for this get going experience on January 25-27.  

NO REGRETS
 

A couple of years ago, I was teaching Making a Living Without a Job at UNLV.

After I had finished the first part of the program, I asked if there were any questions or comments.

 

I noticed a man named Rich on the other side of the room suddenly sitting up straighter. As soon as I'd handled the first question, his hand went up.

 

"I've been listening to what you've had to say," he said and paused. I thought a disagreement was coming.

 

I was wrong. "And I'm happy to learn than I'm doing a lot of things right, " he said.

 

Read the rest of this short story here

 

Buon Viaggio,

 

Barbara Winter

Barbara Winter 

 

P.S. On occasion, I may receive a commission or compensation when you participate or purchase a product or service I recommend. That being said, I strive to always offer useful content and resources in each issue of Joyfully Jobless News.
 
 
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