What exactly IS an Idea Club?
An Idea Club is a club where you will be sent a new Idea each month by email. The email contains a suggestion, or Idea, for a type of activity related to the Club you joined. Instead of trying to choose what to do, you have a fun assignment to fulfill. Each Club sends one Idea a month for 12 months.
How much does it cost to join?
The Idea of the Month Club is a pay as you wish service. WISH is the operative word here. If you truly wish to have more Heart to Heart conversations, to BE in Nature more often, or to engage in any of the other types of Clubs then you must invest that wish with power. At this time the easiest way to access a feeling of power is money. Each time you receive an Idea email you will remember “I spent X amount of money on this because it's important to me and it will make my life more enjoyable.” This translates into action. And the best part is that action is fun. You have a day to look forward to each month where you have an assignment to engage in the world in a fresh and exciting way.
The suggested minimum is $12 per club, which covers an entire year of Ideas. One dollar per Idea is the suggested minimum because anything less than a dollar indicates that you are investing very little of yourself into the Ideas, so you probably won't do them. If you aren't ready to spend at least a dollar an Idea then you probably shouldn't join. If you do spend at least a dollar an Idea then that indicates that you are ready to actualize more caring, sharing, or daring into your life.
Why should I pay for ideas?
There are a number of reasons to pay for Ideas. The most important one is that it is an investment in action. Consider for a moment if you paid a penny for each Idea. How much attention would you pay to the Idea email? What if you paid $100 for every Idea? What about $1000? The higher your investment the more important each Idea becomes and the more willing you are to act on it.
If the Ideas were free then it would be one more thing that you read on the internet, think “that's nice” and move on. When you invest money you are more likely to act on each Idea and that is the whole point of the IMC. ACTION. It is one thing to consider having a picnic, it is a completely different thing to smell the fresh air, feel the sun on your skin and savor the tasty treats. When you spend money on joining a club you are emphasizing to yourself the importance of spending time on doing these types of Ideas.
Another reason to join an Idea Club is that it easily narrows down the decision making process. In this day and age we are overwhelmed with choices. It's easy to get lost in choices and spend too much energy figuring out what to do. With an Idea Club a major choice is made for you. It is then easy to focus on actualizing the Idea rather trying to decide on one.
Will the Ideas cost money to do? Will they take a lot of time?
That is up to you. Your level of engagement is part of the fun and you can choose whether to spend money and at what level. Consider again the Idea “Go on a picnic.” Well, you could plan a whole Saturday, bake some fresh bread, assemble a selection of meats and cheeses, pack a bunch of blankets and pillows, bring a radio, drive to that faraway spot you love and really go for it. Or you could grab a burrito and head to the local park. Every Idea is an open suggestion for you to do in your way.
Each email you receive will come with some suggestions for ways to actualize that Idea. Also some clubs may involve money while others don't at all. The Heart to Heart club is about conversation and communcation and there is no need to spend money on anything. But if you wanted you could have that Heart to Heart in a different restaurant every month. Some of the other clubs, like Adventure Some, are likely to include places where you might have to pay an entrance fee.
There are no products, coupons, or advertising associated with any Idea Club. You will receive only two emails each month (Idea and reminder) focusing on suggestions for activites, each of which is open to your unique interpretation.
What if I already do what the Idea suggests?
If you already do what the idea suggests then that is your cue to take it to the next level.You've proven that you're good at it, and now is your chance to show off. Perhaps the Idea is as simple as “Cook a delicious meal.” Well maybe you already do that most nights. For the Idea night present a multi-course meal, garnish your plates, serve a special drink paired to each course. Let the Idea inspire you to new heights.
What if I don't like the Idea?
Then you know that it is especially important for you! If you think the Idea sounds stupid, boring, or unfun then that indicates that it is surpassing your boundaries in some way. One of my yoga teachers used to say “If a pose is extra hard for you then that means your body needs it that much more.” It is the place where you are tight, constricted, and it may take a little more effort to open up. And that's why you joined the Club: to engage with Ideas! So find a way to play with that Idea, engage on a level that appropriate for you and find out what happens when you stretch in a new way.
Are the Ideas outlandish?
The ideas are pretty straightforward. Once again, the focus here is on ACTION. Joining a club indicates your readiness to use your time wisely. Each email you receive is a call to action, to plan for something outside of what you usually do, and to DO IT. Take for instance bowling. Bowling is something you know exists, you know you CAN do, but probably something you don't do that often. Enter the Idea Club. You anticipate that you are going to get an Idea in your Inbox, you've already got some time scheduled to do this mysterious thing, and the Idea email arrives and it says GO BOWLING. Instant fun without the hassle of figuring out what to do or when.
Where are these Ideas coming from anyway?
The Idea of the Month Club is the brainchild of me-- carly ptak (you can call me carlybird if you'd like).
I have many roles in life including artist, hypnotherapist, nature lover, student, partner in a 21 year relationship that has included both polygamy and monogamy, world traveller, good friend, kundalini qigong practitioner, empath, mentor, musician, and person who loves to have Ideas! Past projects have included the Idea Machine, the Actualization Apparatus and LoveArt. My passion is helping myself and others focus on the juicy parts of life: having fun, being connected, enjoying adventure, and just plain relaxing.
As the main originator of the Ideas you are sent each month I promise to do my best to create a fresh Idea for every month. It is not something that I have already composed and am sending out automatically; the clubs are a constant work in progress. The way that I create Ideas for the clubs is by focusing on a number of areas including time in nature, current conversations with others, extensive research into self care methodologies, social media, astrology, good sense, gleanings from my own teachers and experiences, and intuition. I run my Ideas by friends and family (especially my kind and patient husband Twig Harper), and do as many of them as I can to make sure that they are usuable, safe, and enjoyable.
To learn more about my other projects visit thillcenter.com
