| A year ago, my job at IBM was eliminated, along | | | | straightforward statement had on me. As we |
| with a good portion of my personal identity as | | | | took turns brainstorming about our how to reach |
| well. At 60 years old, I was too young and active | | | | our individual goals, my dreams suddenly appeared |
| for the proverbial rocking chair and suddenly | | | | to be attainable. We each created a simple |
| having too much unstructured time on my hands | | | | flowchart followed by a goal calendar. Once I had |
| was a serious concern. Fortunately, I found there | | | | assigned target dates to the major steps in the |
| was an eight-week Barbara Sher Success Team | | | | process, the dates suddenly made the plans real. |
| starting in my area that could help me decide | | | | No longer was this just a pie-in-the-sky pipe |
| what I wanted to do for the next phase of my | | | | dream. |
| life and even more importantly, how to get there. | | | | My goals expanded to become a published author, |
| Much of the program is based on Wishcraft, How | | | | speaker and Personal Historian. Taking several |
| to Get What You Really Want by Barbara Sher. | | | | writing classes at the University of Chicago |
| As I completed each week's reading and | | | | bolstered my confidence as a writer, followed by |
| exercises, I realized that what I really wanted | | | | a week-long Writing Retreat with Barbara Sher |
| was to become a writer. Over the years, I wrote | | | | and by a year-long monthly program (again with |
| scores of technical materials and documentation, | | | | Barbara Sher) to write a book. |
| and I have always written personal journals and | | | | I am thrilled to be making solid progress in my |
| short stories. During my childhood, my family did | | | | new career. My book is coming along quite nicely |
| not consider my writing to be a worthwhile | | | | and will enable children to write their own family |
| pastime, so I developed the habit of secretively | | | | stories. For my own family, I've completed a |
| creating stories strictly for my own enjoyment | | | | book of personal vignettes and favorite recipes, |
| and never showed them to anyone. | | | | and I've written several life stories for other |
| At one of the first Success Team meetings, each | | | | people. |
| member talked about their initial goals and I said I | | | | What a difference a year makes! Moving out of |
| wanted to become a writer. How refreshing -- no | | | | the corporate world, albeit unwillingly, has given |
| one made fun of my ideas. In fact, one of them | | | | me the time and opportunity to spread my |
| asked if I had ever written anything. When I told | | | | creative wings on a whole new career and I am |
| them about my technical experience, journals and | | | | excited about the endless possibilities. On second |
| stories, she simply said, "Well then, you are a | | | | thought, make that credible probabilities. There is |
| writer already." | | | | absolutely no doubt in my mind that I can |
| It was amazing what a powerful impact that | | | | succeed by doing all the things I love. |