There are times in your life that are inflection points. Sometimes you live through them and you don’t realize they were inflection points until reflecting on the past. Sometimes you know when you are in them. You just feel it. I'm in one right now. And I wanted to share about it.

But first, a little backstory.

Four or five years ago, I came upon a book called Wishcraft by Barbara Sher. I am sure Amazon recommended it to me because I have a habit of collecting self-improvement books like my husband collects flashlights. Sad to say, though, that Wishcraft went by the wayside of 99% of the other self-improvement books I have bought over the years: half-read, unread, or donated without even cracking the spine. I did try reading Wishcraft, but for some reason, it just didn't resonate with me at the time. I donated it to Goodwill and didn't think about it again.

“You must go after your wish. As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your life wakes up and everything has meaning.”

— Barbara Sher

That is until YouTube recommended a video to me. It was Barbara giving a Ted-X talk in Prague. In the roughly 17 minute video, Barbara shares about her experiences of being a life coach, how she got Success Teams started back in the 70s, and what she believes about why, and why not, people make their dreams come true. It was much of what she wrote about in Wishcraft.

Well, the video, unlike the book, completely captivated me. Indeed, I guess that says something about the power of video. I immediately went to Barbara's website to learn more about her story, then went on Amazon and reordered Wishcraft and just a few pages in, said to myself, "wait, haven't I read this before?"

This was in 2019, around the time that my dad passed away. So my memory is a little fuzzy on the exact order of events. But what I remember for sure was that I was motivated enough after my second reading of Wishcraft to research if there were any local Success Teams in my area. It turns out there was, here in neighboring Palo Alto. Long story short, that opportunity fell through because there were not enough participants. Lisa, one of the organizers, referred me to one of Barbara's team administrators, "maybe she will be able to help connect you with a group."

Well darn. I was so excited about starting this new adventure when it didn't happen; I was pretty discouraged and deflated. I sat on that referral email for almost a year.

Then COVID happened. A few months into our "new normal" of pandemic life, it dawned on me that with so many people meeting over Zoom, maybe Success Teams were too! No longer challenged by geography, maybe there was a group I could join. Before I emailed the contact Lisa had given me, I checked in on the Barbara Sher website. I was heartbroken to learn Barbara passed away.

Well, this time, DAMN-IT!

But I emailed Patty, the contact Lisa gave me, anyway. I don't know what made this time different. You'd think after learning Barbara had passed, I would have been even more discouraged. And I was sad for sure. I would have loved to meet Barbara someday. But there was more going on with me, too. I don't know if it was coming out of the grieving of my dad or living the collective trauma of the pandemic. But what I was feeling was a combination of "what do I have to lose?" and "this better fucking work!"

To my ecstatic surprise, Patty promptly wrote me back and said yes, indeed, she had a spot open for me to join an international Success Team! She said that it would be a few months delayed because matters were still being settled with Barbara's business affairs, but we would plan on starting in January of 2021. I took the time to re-read Wishcraft again and thought about what I wanted to get out of the 8-week workshop.

At this point, I will explain briefly that a Success Team is the grouping of 6-8 people who come together to help support each other to make each other's dreams come true. You see, Barbara believed that everyone could have their dream(s) come true. And I don't mean by some magical manifestation woo-woo stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that woo-woo stuff, yadda yadda). But Barbara believed that dreams die in isolation. So she created Success Teams as a way of preventing that from happening. Of course, there is much more that she accomplished in her life and career. I encourage you to Google Barbara Sher or go to her website www.barbarasher.com to learn more.

I can't say this about many people, but she and her work have truly changed my life for the better. She gave me the one thing that no other "self-help" guru could: the endorsement and acknowledgment that I need, and want, a support system to help me make my dreams come true. I consume a lot of creative solopreneur and entrepreneurial content. One theme that has always stuck out to me is this idea that success is only achieved as a singular effort. Thousands of people are running coaching programs that promise that "you can do this," "you can accomplish that," or "I did this, so you can…" Blah, blah blah. I've come to realize that at the end of the day, it is all such BS. Everyone who is idolized in this society as being the pinnacle of success has had a wingman or a wing-woman, whether they have given that support credit or not. Yet, the message that is pushed is you "have to do it alone." Fear, self-doubt, insecurity, THE STRUGGLE, are powerful forces enough to keep us on the sidelines, and thinking our dreams are not worthy. It's no wonder when we sit in our rooms of isolation and our dreams never see the light of day.

Barbara said fooey to all of that. And if/when you learn about her personal story, you will understand that she not only talked the talk, but she walked the walk. She was the living testimony of the belief that anyone can make their dream(s) come true with support and hard work.

For an hour every Monday, my Success Team buddies meet to listen, encourage, and keep ourselves and each other accountable to the goals we have set for the week. They are such amazing people from different countries, life experiences, and backstories. I am so blessed to know them and call them my friends. There is a special vulnerability that you have to sign up for when you agree to share your dream(s) with others—especially folks who started out as strangers.

As for my dreams, well, you will learn more about what I am working on in due time. One of my goals is to start writing more consistently. So this blog will certainly be a platform where I share and promote what I'm working on and celebrating accomplished milestones more publicly.

I sometimes wonder what Barbara would think about our Success Team. Would she be proud of us? Are we living out the vision of what she created? For me, it is a sacred honor. Something I try not to overthink but do feel the gravity of. Barbara believed I could make my dreams come true. If she believed it, I have to believe it too. And when I start to doubt, I have my Success Team there to remind me.