Live A More Creative Life

That was me, yesterday, with a lovely crowd from Alternatives talking about living a more creative life. They (as do most of us) wanted freedom, confidence, joy and more of life and I hope they felt they got it. Certainly everyone left having set a goal (some for the first time) and having realised that they want to bring back more of what they loved as children.

It was a great way for me to spend a day - meeting lots of nice people and having quite a few lightbulb moments myself.

In one of the photos everyone is helping Steve brainstorm how to get more people interested in his product. When we first brainstormed no-one thought of anything Steve hadn't considered before. But when we got 'silly' and started brainstorming using a shoe and a candle everyone thought of wonderful slogans and fun things for him to do - from marking footprints from one place to another to 'Let us light up your life'. A creative tool if ever there was one.

Our next workshop is run by Gordon Melvin and is all about the Enneagram. Find out what type you are, how it holds you back and how to release your true self. The workshop is on 31st October in Westminster, Central London from 10.00-5.30. £75, £60 concessions. If you'd like to come along, contact genevieve@lifeclubs.co.uk.

What would make your life even more creative?

See you soon - amongst the shoes and candles,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs
PS My new book (The Life Book) is already on Amazon!!!

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Total chaos...

I am messy. There's no other word for it. From the mess in my car - uneaten sandwiches, half-empty plastic bottles of water and plastic bags littering the floor - to the books, papers and lego lying all over my home, my life is full of clutter.

Monday's Me Day was wonderful. A very organised friend of mine was staying and I asked him to help me tidy up our two office rooms (not my car - I couldn't ask anyone to do that). Of course, it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. A man who likes a paper-free environment, he was a bit upset by my insistence that I needed to keep certain sheets, but we compromised and filed them all away beautifully - rather than shoving them in my usual cardboard box, and put a new shelf in the bookshelves to store materials in. My rooms look wonderful and it was a treat to do them in the Life Clubs decluttering week.

There's something slightly uncanny about being too tidy. If I'm honest, I've felt a little unsettled ever since my rooms looked so organised. I'm left with a 'What next?' feeling. There's no longer a 'I must declutter' at the top of my 'To Do' list. There's now a 'Phone clients', 'Plan new website', 'Write proposal for next book' ...etc and none of those tasks are quite as easy or satisfying as tidying up my room. There's almost a fear of getting too decluttered as I'll have to take serious action when it's done.

That was my Me Day and his Me Day was helping me. The tidying up and chucking out certainly was happy. Sadly I've got a whole year to wait 'til the next Me Day when I can start tackling my car - or is that just an excuse?

See you this week,
Looking forward,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs

This is your last chance to come to my workshop this Sunday, Live A More Creative Life, in Central London. It's going to be great. Book now or just turn up.

To read tips garnered from Life Clubs workshops, sign up to our bulletin.

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Selling yourself

This week's workshop was all about discovering the skills you have and how they can be used in many ways. It's got me thinking.

Genevieve, my 'muse... person without whom I am lost' is going away today for three weeks and I'm wonderng about how I am going to fit into her space and do all the things she does. If you like, can I fit into her outfit?

If I was looking for a replacement I'd want someone organised, good at accounts, good at spreadsheets, can remember everything, good at negotiating, computer literate, patient, creative, fun... and that, for three weeks, has to be me.

Remembering the workshop I can think about my skills and whether I'm up to the job:
I'm organised when I pack my suitcase
I used to be good at accounts when I did them 15 years ago
Gosh, I've never done spreadsheets, but can have a go for these three weeks
I can't remember everything but know where to look things up
I'm good at negotiating for others so will remember Life Clubs is an 'other' and be good
I'm computer literate
Not at all patient, but can be when I remember to breathe,
Tick the creative and fun boxes

I'm now feeling confident that I'll be OK for three weeks... or maybe even four.

We often dismiss skills that we had years ago without realising they're still valid. I can do what Genevieve does, although the thought of it at first filled me with fear.

Do you fill your job description?

Have a good weekend.
Don't forget to come along to my Happy Me Day workshop on Monday 21st September, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU from 6.15-9.00pm. £15 (all profits to charity).
See you next week for more...
Nina
Founder Life Clubs
Author The Big Book of Me and The Big Book of Us

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Media darlings...

Oh the glamour of it all!

This week I was invited to talk to some Zest Magazine readers AND the winner of the Psychologies Magazine competition phoned up as she’d won a Life Club with friends in her home as a prize. I can’t tell you how media I feel (a far cry from my holiday in the country!)

At Zest Magazine I was talking to a group of women who wanted to lose weight. They all looked gorgeous, but I suppose that’s not how they feel. They’d already had a nutritionist and a fitness trainer talk to them, so I thought helping them stick to their diet would be the best way to approach things.

When thinking about what had kept them motivated all their lives to do the things they do (whether it was brushing their teeth, eating, staying friends or working), they came up with love, fear, fun, discipline, and routine.

For most of them, fun and love were two of the main motivators, so we brainstormed around how they could make weight loss fun and bring love into it. They left with a smile, a determined look and an ‘I look great’ Life Clubs sticker.

Talking of media, I’d love it if any of you who read and liked either The Big Book of Me and/or The Big Book of Us could go into amazon and write something nice about them. I’d be so grateful.

Bottom line: come and join me in the world of glamour.

Nina
Founder Life Clubs and the soon-to-be author of The Life Book and How To Be What You Want To Be
PS On Monday 21st September, from 6.30-8.30pm, Life Clubs is celebrating Me Day and Nina will be running a special workshop plus tea party, profits to charity, in The Abbey Community Association, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU. Hope you can come (£15 only). Let genevieve@lifeclubs.co.uk know so we can put you on the guest list.

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You choose...

I've just returned from the most perfect 'holiday'. I had a month in the country, finishing my two books that are going to be published next year. I did a few hours work, answered some e-mails, made some phone calls and then relaxed for the rest of the day. How much more blissful could that be?

But it may not suit you. I have friends who don't want to work at all on their holiday. They just want to sunbathe or swim or sightsee or read. For them a month of working - a change, rather than a rest, just wouldn't work.

This picture showing all these stunning colours makes me think of the choices we each of us have when we want to balance our lives.

For you, is the green a walk in the woods or earning money? Is the yellow a sunny day or going to pray? Is the red going out dancing or visiting your mum? You can pick and choose and balance the colours to suit you.

Every day we have to make choices about what we want to do - how we want to live our lives. In order to know the life balance you want, you have to know what you want.

This week's (7th-11th September) Life Club will show you how to create the rainbow that works for you.

See you there - it's definitely a stripey week.
Nina
Founder Life Clubs and the soon-to-be author of The Life Book and How To Be What You Want To Be
PS On Monday 21st September, from 6.30-8.30pm, Life Clubs is celebrating Me Day and Nina will be running a special workshop plus tea party, profits to charity, in The Abbey Community Association, 34 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BU. Hope you can come (£15 only).

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