Quotes from Barbara Sher

Real obstacles don't take you in circles. They can be overcome. Invented ones are like a maze.

You can learn new things at any time in your life if you're willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you.

You don't have to get it right the first time.

The two most important rules for any dream are: Start small. Start now. For Scanners, add two more:   Start everything and   Don't bother to finish any of it. (Just save it in your Daybook!)

Parents have their own dreams—and it's those dreams they're pushing, not yours. In their heads, they have images of successful sons and beautiful wealthy daughters, children who are impressive—and secure. Very few parents have the luxury, the calmness of spirit, to realize that the most practical thing any child can do is to find its own vision—and follow it.

I imagine there are orderly, well-organized Scanners in the world, but there can't be very many of them. It's far more common to hear a Scanner mumbling, "Now, where did I put that lizard?

Did you know that on one of the islands of Orkney, in the North of Scotland, there are some runes that when translated turned out to be Viking graffiti? Eight feet up a wall it says "A tall Viking wrote this." You gotta love that.

Resistance is clear evidence of high self-esteem. It shows that on the deepest level, you intend to survive. And trust me, successful people know all about resistance, they've just developed ways to get around it (like hiring trainers and managers and secretaries and having deadlines to keep them moving).

We weigh ourselves down with so many obstacles we can't even buy a goldfish bowl.

When you know chances are good that you will not be working on a project again, you simply gather together all the parts, wrap them up in a parcel of brown paper, and tie it with a string. Then attach a large label explaining what the project is, what the goal was, at what stage the project has been put away, and, should it ever be continued, what the next steps should be.

about things you merely like? Would you rather learn how to plant a garden, work with friends to paint a house, or just have a great day with

Although it may not seem finished to anyone else, it's finished to you. It's your project. You did it by choice. You have the right to decide when you're done.

And you're probably spending too much time in a job that doesn't mean anything to you. A person who can't make a choice often works far below her capabilities to avoid making a commitment and to send out the message that her present job is only temporary.

No, being too busy isn't your reason for keeping clutter in your life. Uncomfortable though it may be to have so much unfinished work surrounding you, you keep those magazines and broken antiques because all that potential feels nice. Now take one more step in your thinking and what you'll find is a tiny but powerful fear of commitment.

In your fantasies you imagine that you'd love to have all the clutter gone so you could relax, but in fact, nobody really wants to relax. Not for very long, anyway. Everybody needs something to do.

Frustration is supposed to create action, not make you give up.

Let's end the notion that ideas have no value unless they turn into a business or have some other practical use.

If you feel defined by any job, your self-image isn't solid enough.

I think there's a special saint who protects unfinished projects. Unfinished projects are just as valuable to us as the projects we finish.

Parents have their own dreams—and it's those dreams they're pushing, not yours.

Remember, whenever too many people fail a requirement, there's nothing wrong with them, there's something wrong with the requirement.

Remember: "Doing your own thing" is a generous act. Being gifted creates obligations, which means that you owe the world your best effort at the work you love. You too are a natural resource.

Boredom is the mind's way of rejecting anything that lacks nutrients.

If you're unhappy, something important is going on. When your body hurts, it needs attention. When your heart hurts, it needs just as much attention. Your mind knows what you've been taught, but your heart knows who you really are.