Alone at last...

This week's workshop is about the stories we tell ourselves, so I've been particularly interested in the stories I tell myself about my past, my present and my future. I can get stuck in an 'I had such an unhappy childhood' or 'I'm no good at anything' or 'my future is going to be rubbish', so when my close friend, Annie Lionnet (host of Frome Life Club), came round last night and offered to do my Tarot Cards I said 'Yes' as quick as a shot.

If I'm honest, I don't know what the big deal about Tarot Cards is at all, except that they're a great way of starting a conversation and telling a few stories.

We spread mine out on the table and Annie (the expert) looked at them in a rather confused manner and said 'I don't know what to make of them at all', but as she started explaining what each card symbolised it was totally clear to me.

Right now I'm fighting dragons and gathering a team around me to fight more of them. The first tentative coins of our toils are coming in and I'm starting to see a calm sea stretching out from the turbulence I'm in. Ahead there's success - lots of sheep and a family to leave my legacy too. So it's all very exciting.

But the card that puzzled Annie the most was The Hermit, sitting at the top marking my future. 'Yes' I told her excitedly 'That's my future'. Once I've succeeded in my mission of making the world a happier, better place, I can rest and be quiet with those I love. It fitted in perfectly.

Right now I'm very visible and trying to become more so. But watch this space. Once I disappear, you'll know I feel I've done what I wanted to do.

Stories are everywhere and within and without us. Come along this week and find your internal Tarot Cards - and how easy it is to weave a good plot or two.

And do hurry and book for our Work & You workshop. Places are selling fast. Do tell your friends if you know they're troubled at work or want to find a career they love.

Hope you have a great weekend,
Nina

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Out of my comfort zone

I went way out of my comfort zone this week and it felt scary...

A few years ago I ran a series of workshops at the drinks company, Diageo. They were a hit, we got wonderful feedback, everyone felt calm and energised at the end of them and I met a group of lovely people.

Quick flashback...

So, here's my secret... I have never had 'a job'.

Well, that's not strictly true. I worked for Electra/Asylum and CBS Records in Los Angeles when I was in my early twenties in the art department working on album covers (such fun), but since then I've always been self-employed.

When I created Life Clubs seven years ago, I never imagined the workshops being used by corporates and now, even though Life Clubs has been run in lots of corporates who have all loved the workshops, there's still that fearful little voice going round in my head saying 'What do you know about the life of someone with a job?', 'How can you bluff it with an HR person and say you understand their problems?' 'Stick to what you know'.

As our workshop of 24th January is all about those beliefs we have about ourselves that limit us, I decided to take action. I met the lovely man who came along to all my workshops at Diageo and asked him what I could do about getting repeat business after all that lovely feedback.

He welcomed me with open arms and, the moment I left, emailed two members of the HR team and the lady who ran the Women's Network introducing Life Clubs with effusive praise.

Don't sit (like me) waiting for three years for the phone to ring, just make that call. Leave your comfort zone for pastures new.

I went way out of my comfort zone this week and it felt scary... and wonderful!

See you this week at Life Clubs to work on your beliefs.

Hope you're having a great weekend,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs
PS If you're in a wonderful relationship, are over 25 and have been together for more than 18 months, please do answer this sex in relationships survey ... thanks.

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These boots are made for swaggering...

When I lived in Los Angeles in my early twenties one of the first things I bought myself was a pair of stunning cowboy boots. Actually, they were more like cowgirl boots. They were wonderfully loud – bright red and white and I wore them with pride. They’re now lying scuffed in a cupboard somewhere – too small for me to fit into and occasionally used by the children for dressing up. A shadow of their former selves.

I’m in Dorset this week for half-term and took myself to the Bournemouth Life Club as a treat. We spent the evening working on perspectives. Most peculiar things kept popping into my head. When asked to think of an animal, I thought of a tadpole (!?) and when asked to think of a character from a film I thought of John Wayne.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been a fan of cowboy films (apart from Butch Cassidy – and I’m not sure you’d count that) and I certainly have never been a fan of John Wayne, but there he was, larger than life in my mind.

So, what did my life look like from John Wayne’s perspective? It looked simple. Suddenly I had the power and the arrogance to make decisions, to be confident, to be ruthless, to determine my future.

I left the Life Club not walking, but swaggering. I’m going to buy myself another pair of cowboy boots – maybe black this time.

What item of clothing makes you feel confident? Or even swagger?

See you at Life Clubs.
All best wishes,
Nina
PS We’re looking for Hosts to run clubs in the UK and Canada right now. Check out our website for more.

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Happy Second Birthday to Watford Life Club

Watford Life Clubs second birthday celebration was great fun. Juliette cut the stunning cake my daughter had made and we all ate, drank and were merry.
Hope you can make the next party. Cake's all gone, but maybe I can persuade her to make another.
Nina
Founder Life Clubs

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Being You

I love Russian dolls at the best of times, but this week's workshop is all about values and to me that little Russian doll says so much about values. She seems to be peeping out of her many-layered protection going 'My values are what keep me safe'. And yet her values on each level may be contradictory and each doll may represent a different collection of values.

We are multi-dimensional, thank goodness, just like this doll and studying our values is one of the most fascinating and fun and basic introductions to self-development.

I strongly urge you all to have a go.

See you at this week's Life Club,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs who values... integrity, freedom, happiness, running along the beach (not doing enough of that these days!) to name but a few.

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Happy Me Day at Base Camp

Hope you all enjoyed Me Day as much as we did. We ate delicious fairy cakes that Gen created and Smarties and Love Hearts. We also laughed doing the workshop and filling in the quiz. A good time was had by all - including two of my children who joined us. And the effects of the workshop made us all feel good.

Do let us know what you did to celebrate.

See you at Life Clubs this week. We're talking about money - very appropriate at this time of year.
All best,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs

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It's going to go wrong

I always assume machines know nothing and people know everything

One of the assumptions I make is that my computer is going to go wrong and all my work is going to get lost.

I have lost things on occasion, but by and large I know this assumption isn't true. Firstly because I have one of those little MacBooks and I've been told they rarely break down. Secondly because (when I remember) I back everything up 'in space' so it can't get lost and, what I don't back up google, my e-mail account, does. And thirdly - I think I need a thirdly here - because it hasn't gone wrong since I had it - and those odd times when I thought it had - it was always me that had done something wrong.

So, logically I can reassure my assumption that all is well. The facts stack up nicely against it and so I have to stay calm and trust that everything is OK.

My other assumption - that people know everything - is equally difficult to feel comfortable with. It takes me a long time when I meet someone to realise that we have different pools of knowledge. I always assume they know everything I know - even if I know that I don't know everything they know.

The last five days I've spent training Life Clubs hosts and increasingly I find training others a little uncanny. I can't imagine that they don't know what I know, so I cut corners in what I tell them and skip over things that are probably quite important - anything rather than risk telling them something they already know. And yet if I thought about the facts, it would be apparent that they don't know anything I'm going to teach them or else why would they be there.

If only I could assume that people know nothing and machines know everything, I'd be all right.

See you soon,
Nina
Founder Life Clubs

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