A bonding day

Dear All,

Four times a year we have a get-together of Life Clubs Hosts from all around the country. Today was no exception to the all around the country rule - everyone was showing off how far they'd travelled and how early they'd got up. Mark from Edinburgh won the farthest traveller hands down, but he'd stayed the night in London. Probably the 5 'o clockers were the earliest risers (Jayne from Somerset and Bev from Ossett).

These Sponge Days are good days. We all learn from each other about what works best in the clubs, about how to really help clubbers get clear about their thoughts and about how to get the most out of the materials. We laugh a lot, have many good conversations and all feel very inspired at the end. It's really a Life Club for Hosts.

What was the best thing that happened to me? Feeling collaborative about our press packs - having everyone's input and knowing the content was improving. Second best thing - that everyone liked our new tag line 'A clearer way of thinking' and the photo of me.

See you soon,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs / Westminster Life Club

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What are you up to this week?

Dear Readers,

What are you up to this week? is a typical question - the kind you ask friends every now and again when you'd like to see them (or when you're feeling nosy).

What could make your week more memorable? is the kind of question we're going to ask you at Life Clubs.

This week is an 'ask me anything you want but make it interesting' week at all Life Clubs around the country. You'll find out how to ask yourself (or someone else) the sort of question that will make you sit up and think.

I always call it 'opening a door in your mind you never even knew existed' but it could be a 'lightbulb moment' or an 'ah-ha moment' or anything else you want to call it. Basically it's exciting and feels good.

Now who'd deny their mind the chance of a good workout?

See you there,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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I've beaten my record...

Dear All,

I don't know about you, but I'm obsessed with google analytics.

It's a very clever something or other that's attached to my website and blog and can tell me how many people have looked at the website and where they live in the world and how long they look at each page on my website for and all sorts of other brilliant things that make me feel I'm a scientist, or at least a statistician.

Well, in my mind I'd set a goal. For weeks you've been coming to my blog and looking at it for around 58 or 59 seconds, and I decided that I'd like the average length of stay to be at least a minute. Not a very Life Clubs goal because I couldn't really determine the outcome, but I could work hard to change the status quo.

Today, I've succeeded. The average length of time you now stay on the blog is up to 1 minute and 16 seconds. I don't know what I've done differently, but I'm delighted.

The next statistic I feel determined to change is how many of you return.

At present, 24% of you are returning visitors. I know one of you is my son who gets his regular Life Clubs fix via this blog, but I think it would be good to be able to up the returning visitors to at least 50%.

So, if any of you would like to do your good deed for the day right now, please subscribe to this blog and make me very happy.

See you soon,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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Happy Birthday to me

Yes, it was my birthday yesterday and 50 people at an Alternatives meeting sang 'Happy Birthday' to me. That was a lovely end to a lovely day.

Today feels like it's a long wait 'til my next birthday. No matter how old I get birthdays are still exciting.

But what's stopping me from celebrating my birthday every day? Or maybe yours.

Absolutely nothing.

Happy Birthday to you,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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Highs and lows

Dear All,

Yesterday was a good day. So many good things happened that I was almost on overwhelm. One of them was that I went to give a motivational talk to a group of high-powered Notting Hill Gate women. 30-40 were expected and there were over 60 there. Usually I feel like the dad in Little Miss Sunshine expending all my energy on three bored children in a classroom, but yesterday I knew I'd arrived. It was great.

Today, of course, I was shattered. My energy was spent and I wandered around wondering what day of the week it was. I achieved what I wanted, but in a slightly desultory way. And yet, if I think of what good happened to me today, there was something really good. I had a little bit of a l'ightbulb moment', which may well affect my future more than any of yesterday's events. I realised I need to move my desk and work in another room so I can be by myself. Now, that's big stuff.

It's so helpful to keep a look-out for the good things that happen every day. I could have dismissed today and focused on yesterday, but actually today was good in a big (but less flashy) way.

And there were 18 at my Life Club yesterday - keep on coming, the more the merrier.

Looking forward,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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Reach for the stars

Dear All,

Quite often I say I'm going to do something and think that counts as a goal (I'm going to lose weight, invite some friends round a few times this year, get in touch with my mother-in-law and so on). But they're not really goals, they're fancies or dreams or whatever you want to call them. Maybe they'll get done - and maybe they won't. And, if they won't, somewhere in my mind I'm beating myself up about not doing them.

The week of Monday 14th January is a goal-setting week at every Life Club. We call it a 'Wham!' week because that's how effective you're going to feel after our workshop. We're going to find out how to set goals that we'll achieve and set them.

I for one will be going along - I definitely want to lose some weight after Christmas.

All best,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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Being ahead of the times...

Dear All of you who read this,

I went today to something very grandly entitled World Entrepreneurs Summit (WES), because in particular I wanted to go to a seminar all about 'oldpreneurs' (which is me). I was looking forward to a roomful of 'Snow Whites' or, as they call in America, 'Grey Panthers' and chatting about what was difficult or easy for us in that role.

Of course it wasn't like that at all. There were three speakers, three attendees (all in their thirties - if that) and me. When I asked the thirty year olds what interested them about the subject, they both turned out to be entrepreneur bloggers (Alex Bellinger, creator of www.smallbizpod.co.uk and Dan Martin, mastermind behind www.businesszone.co.uk) who said that us 'oldpreneurs' were the next big thing. Sadly, not because we've necessarily all got companies inside us dying to come out, but because working for ourselves is all that's left as we're too old to get a job.

In Europe an 'oldpreneur' as someone in their fifties or above, but the American speaker said that in America an 'oldpreneur' was someone post 65. Now, that made me feel young.

So, from a very youthful-feeling fifty year old, good night.
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Club

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Nothing like a compliment

I was phoned up today by someone who charmed me into doing something for her. She gave me two particularly nice compliments which made me feel so good and so wanted, that I vowed to give a few compliments of my own today.

I know you're a special person because you're reading this.

That was my first....

All best,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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Getting into a routine

Dear Clubbers and Potential Clubbers,

It was suggested today by the lovely Gen that I work with, that I write a post a day. I know I'll be following in a tradition of lots of great diarists, but I can see that it will require a little bit of mental adjustment.

Yes, I can think of the best thing that happened to me today (no traffic on the way to and from taking my daughter to school - a start and end of term treat for us both as we can have an undisturbed chat). Yes, I can also think of my achievement for the day (working through what might make a good website). But I just cannot get my head around what would make interesting reading for a diary. I can see it will be a new way of thinking which I'm already enjoying thinking about.

One thing I saw today stands out in my mind. As we were looking at websites we came across the home page of the Obama website. It's simple, bold, confident - middle America at its best. OK, so only the kids look relaxed, but it's the website of a man who knows he doesn't have to say very much to gain respect.

Can't wait for my politics studying son to explain to me how the whole thing works.

Catch up tomorrow,

Nina

Founder Life Clubs/Westminster Life Club

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Enjoy all of your life

Spot the t-shirt.

Our t-shirts are being seen in the grooviest of places and on the grooviest of people. If you want one, give us a shout (nina@lifeclubs.co.uk).

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Happy New Year

I wish everyone who has either stumbled on or aimed for this blog a very Happy New Year from all of us at Life Clubs.

There's something great about New Year. It could be that my birthday falls soon after it, so I get to feel really like I'm starting again, or it could just be that we all need to be able to have another go at something, to try life from a different perspective, to be almost re-born if you like. A new year is time to 'have another go', maybe to start something afresh or to tackle something we've been doing another way.

In a way Life Clubs is like a new year every week. You get to do something new, discover something, have another go. It's fun. That's why people come skipping out.

So, a Life Club in the New Year can only be totally special. Find your nearest and come along ... now.

See you soon,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs and runs Westminster Life Club

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