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Wealth
is not a matter of intelligence;
it's a matter of inspiration. ~ Jim Rohn
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| Buon Viaggio Blog |
The theme this month is Making It Better.
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EVERY DAY ENCOUNTERS WITH THE MUSE
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 One morning last week, I woke up to several
messages from folks reporting close encounters with dreambashers. I know it
happens to all of us, but it still makes me sad. Even sadder was the message
from a woman who was, in fact, her own dreambasher listing all the reasons why
she couldn't possibly do the thing she loves most.
Things began looking up when I headed out for my
morning drive to the post office. I had my usual companion, Nevada public
radio, turned on. Lately, the morning program has been devoted to interviews
with local political candidates. Boring.
On Friday, however, the conversation I tuned into
was with an artist named John Bell who was exhibiting at our First Friday
event. He talked about his one and only job which he quit after a year and a half. Then he headed to Colorado
and became a snowboarder.
"How did you support yourself?" the interviewer asked. Bell
laughed and said he had mastered bartering. He also began putting his artwork
on t-shirts and selling them. As he talked about art and inspiration, I began
feeling my own spirits lifting. I couldn't wait to see his YouTube video, which
is quite wonderful.
When I returned home, I did a quick e-mail check
and found this message on Facebook from Michael Temple. He wrote, "Every few years or so I have to test whether I am
still permanently unemployable. A board member I work with sent around an
announcement for an open position at a national company heading up the
eCommerce division. I had the skills to do this job. Unfortunately I started to
get physically ill at the thought of
working for another company ever again. Test results positive, I must remain
self-employed."
My Friday
morning ups and downs remind me again that inspiration is a renewable resource
that responds to our invitation. Both dreambuilders and dreambashers played a
part in that , of course. If John Bell and Michael Temple had not come along,
I'd have looked for other folks who were living the joyfully jobless life.
This experience also reminded me of the CS Lewis quote
which I regularly consult. He said, "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 want joy, peace eternal
life, you must get close to, or even into the thing that has them....They are a
great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of
reality. If you are close to it, the
spray will wet you ; if you are not, you will remain dry."
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FIVE PLACES WHERE YOU MIGHT MEET YOUR MUSE
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As you probably know, summertime is stunningly
hot here in Las Vegas. I consider that a perfect time to catch up on reading
and to plan new projects. Here are five reads that are perfect for this time of
year...or whenever you need a creative jumpstart.
La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales is
the account of the author's long love affair with the Italian language. My
Facebook friends heard me raving about it as I was reading it over Memorial Day
weekend. This isn't just a story about Hales' language studies, however, but
how studying Italian led her to explore Italian culture including music, art,
literature, movies, food and, even, profanity. It also triggered a summer project of my own.
How to Think Like
Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael Gelb is a book I go back to nearly every summer. Gelb
writes, "Although we all started life with a Da Vinci-like insatiable
curiosity, most of us learned, once we got to school, that answers were more
important than questions." This book is a primer in creative problem-solving.
Brainstorm by Eric and Ann
Maisel is subtitled "Harnessing the Power of Productive Obsessions." Maisel has
written numerous books on creativity and in this latest he shows how to get the most from your brain.
Delivering
Happiness by Tony Hsieh will probably be the talked-about nonfiction book of the summer. As one
reviewer said, "Zappos isn't a business. It's a movement." If you don't know
what all the fuss is about, track this one down. (You can also find my review
of it at Buon Viaggio blog. It's called They Just Happen to Sell
Shoes.)
The Read-Aloud
Handbook by
Jim Trelease. If you're a parent who wants to make sure imagination remains
alive and well in your children, is loaded with suggestions.
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THE MUSE IN YOUR MAILBOX
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 Today I had a message from Michelle Hill that said, "Your latest newsletter is another smashing hit. My heart leaps when I see your newsletter in my mailbox because I know it's going to fuel my soul and my brain."
Of course, that made me smile because that's exactly why I've been publishing Winning Ways for 24 years. Loaded with resources, business ideas, and stories from our readers about how they turned their joyfully jobless dreams into reality, this bi-monthly publication is a resource you can consult again and again.
The theme of the current issue is Live in a Bigger World and I share my own journey from frustration to fulfillment. I'd love to have you along. Subscribe before June 15, and I'll send you the current issue as a bonus. In addition, in June I'm donating 10% of all subscription sales to KIVA to help spread even more entrepreneurial spirit.
Winning Ways
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LIVE IN PORTLAND? LUCKY YOU!
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Even on a short visit to Portland, OR it's
obvious that it's home to a whole lot of creativity. Where else would you find
Voodoo Donuts or CD Baby or Rejuvenation Hardware?
If you're a resident of this lively place,
there's a new treasure that you may have not yet discovered. MindGlo was
recently launched by Ken Lynch, a self-proclaimed passionate lifelong learner.
Ken's vision is to bring all sorts of enrichment programs to the area.
Pay a visit to their website and you'll find
classes on a wide range of useful and inspiring subjects. There's Reinventing
Retirement, Secrets of the Frugal Fashionista and Paper
Management at Home, to name just three.
Oh, and there are three more coming up on June 18
& 19 when I'll be teaching Establish Yourself as an Expert, Making a Living Without a Job and How To Support Your Wanderlust.
If you're in the area, I'd love to have you join
me. And if you've got an idea for a class you'd like to teach, Ken would love
to hear from you.
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IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN WONDERING
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 Contrary to rumors, I have neither retired nor
died. I have, however, for the first time ever, failed to send out a single
mailing in over a month. What happened?
A jam-packed spring, that's what. It all started
with Inspired Livelihood in Sedona in April. Since this was a new program, there was an
enormous amount of prep work that kept me busy right up to the moment when I
got in my car for the drive to northern Arizona.
I was barely home from there and it was off to
Denver for the spectacular (if I do say so myself) event known as The
Un-Job Fair, which attracted over 140 people. It was a glorious day, but I didn't
have much time to bask in the glow since a few days later it was off to Austin
to celebrate Zoe's sixth birthday.
Once home, I had a looming deadline to meet for
the May/June issue of Winning Ways. I got that sent off
to the printer just before making an unscheduled drive to California where my
brother was having back surgery.
That trip was followed by another to visit First
Class in Washington, DC where I met some terrific students, including some old
friends. There was no time to be a tourist on that trip, but I did have 14
hours of travel time which made it possible to finish reading The
Lonely Polygamist, a genuine page turner.
When I finally got back to World Headquarters, it
was obvious that my travels had caused total neglect of my home. My office is
happily undergoing a total transformation and nesting has been a high priority.
However, Sandy Dempsey, Alice Barry and the Posse
are all busily working on the exciting Joyfully Jobless
Jamboree coming up in Austin, TX on October 15 & 16. It seems a long way
off, but it's not too soon to start making plans to join us.
Although it's still a work in progress, you can get a
glimpse of what we're planning by visiting http://jjjamboree.com. Do keep
coming back to the site. We'll be adding all sorts of things in the next few
weeks.
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Buona fortuna,
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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