Episode Notes

I participated in an online Celebration of Life for Barbara J. Winter on May 20^th, 2023. Barbara crossed over to the other side on October 28, 2022, at age 80, after suffering from a long illness. Our paths had overlapped many times since our first luncheon in 1994. This is my tribute to my cherished mentor, Barbara Winter. 

Barbara will forever be known as the pioneering self-employment advocate, writer, and teacher who spent decades pondering the question, “Why aren’t we all self-employed?” Her optimism and ferocious curiosity will live on in millions who read her books and newsletters and attended her seminars. Her legacy will be carried on through her daughter Jennie Hinrichs and her three grandchildren: Zoe, Zach, and Noah. “I want my grandchildren to know that Grandma’s house is always a safe place to share their ideas,” she said in our Portfolios of Ideas podcast conversation. Tears are spilling down my cheeks as I listen and think of how much her grandchildren miss her. Her spirit will always be with them. Barbara is one of those people I wish had defied death.

In 1994, I noticed Barbara lived in Minneapolis after reading the book she authored in 1993, Making A Living Without A Job: Winning Ways For Creating Work That You Love. The book was revised and reprinted in 2009 and is still relevant today. She agreed to have lunch at one of her favorite spots, and now mine, the Good Earth restaurant at the Galleria in Edina, Minnesota. She would bring ten books in a brown paper bag each month and share stories with advice tucked in. We did this lunch and book routine until she followed her daughter to Valencia, California, where she lived until her death. I would buy her books and give them to clients. When I taught at two private Universities for 13 years in entrepreneurship, her book was mandatory reading.

Barbara named a seminar after her book, Making A Living Without A Job. It became her most popular seminar. She never envisioned teaching this seminar worldwide and holding annual joyfully jobless jamborees for decades, but she did. She said she would wake up on each seminar day and think that someone’s life is going to change today. Her enthusiasm was her litmus test to keep going. She added other newsletters and seminars to her repertoire: Winning Ways monthly newsletter, Joyfully Jobless, Establish Yourself As An Expert, and I wouldn’t say I like Marketing.

The celebration of life event fit Barbara’s desire to educate. She was a massive fan of creating tip lists. Barbara always taught the nine lessons below. Her colleagues and friends, Terri Belford and Marianne Cantwell shared them with us, and in turn, I would like to share them with you.

9 Lessons for Leading and Living by Barbara Winter

1. Be Playful. Barbara was a big proponent of approaching work as play and having a sense of humor, especially around absurd situations and or being playful at your work. She was a great role model. “An acid test for if you are in the right place,” Barbara would say, “is when the work becomes more interesting the longer you do it.”

2. Treat what you do with a sense of adventure and lightness. She made everything an adventure wonder. She shared her passion for the artist Chu Huly with everyone. She had a lifetime of missions that took her all over the world with friends and colleagues.

3. Let yourself be an apprentice. Have a beginner’s mindset and learn from those who have gone before you. We learn by doing.

4. Do the thing that others wouldn’t do. Roll up your sleeves and get to work realizing your dreams. Barbara always said that entrepreneurship is not a spectator’s sport.

5. Small is beautiful. She helped me see the beauty in everything and every small business, including mine. Barbara believed in the quality of small-group learning and small business. She didn’t want a huge audience or to do a TED Talk. She liked teaching in classrooms with 30 students at a time all over the world. Traveling to her students was part of the adventure to empower individuals to become self-employed. Find beauty in all small things.

6. Be kind and gracious. People remember your kindness and generosity. Stories of Barbara’s kindness and graciousness were shared, especially in delivering lessons. When a budding entrepreneur would use an obstacle as an excuse for not realizing their dream, for example, Barbara would say, “Here’s the deal. You can have your obstacle or your dream, but you cannot have both.” She would sign correspondences with, “Your Fan, Barbara.” She was gracious, clever, and always present.

7. Power of the tribe. Circle yourself with a tribe that supports your dreams and can give you constructive feedback when needed. Whom do you have in your tribe?

8. See the potential in people and the possibilities in ideas. Research caught up to Barbara’s intuitive hunch. Entrepreneurship is the best self-development course you will ever take. If you want to know yourself, start a business. Learn to lead by seeing the potential in others and exploring the possibilities of innovative ideas.

9. Don’t be afraid of life. She believed in going right to the joy. Dare to find wonder. Dare to explore your passions. Dare to expand ideas. Dare to share. Dare to learn and do something new every day.

I am grateful I have Barbara’s five podcast conversations to share with you. You can hear the enthusiasm and wisdom in Barbara’s voice as we discuss an employee versus an entrepreneurial mindset. We explored her concept of developing Multiple Profit Centers (MPCs) and portfolios of inspiration. Our final two podcast conversations were about six ways of becoming an idea detective. Her youngest sister said at the Facebook LIVE Celebration of Barbara’s Life that Barbara’s zest for life was with her until her passing.

Here are our five podcast conversations—three in 2020 and the other two in 2021. I will always cherish them. I hope you do too. I also included a pdf of 8 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started a Business by Barbara. Rest in peace, my cherished mentor, Barbara J. Winter.

My Five Podcast Conversations with Barbara

Episode 241: Employee Mindset vs. Entrepreneurial Mindset | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Episode 242: It Is Time To Explore Multiple Profit Centers | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Episode 243: Portfolios of Inspiration | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Episode 290: 3 Steps to Becoming An Idea Detective with Barbara Winter | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Episode 291: 3 More Steps to Becoming An Idea Detective with Barbara Winter | WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

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RIP Barbara Winter – Joyfully Jobless with Barbara Winter