There is an Opening call at the start to get to know each other and set intentions for the season with regards to the theme we are exploring. Biweekly calls after that - 2x workshopping the first book, 2x workshopping the second book. Reading the books and applying our personal key takeaways happens between the biweekly calls. If you choose to have an accountability buddy/buddies, you can make your own arrangements for in between catch-ups that work well for you. I will be designing the workshops in such a way that there is time for both individual reflection and group discussions. I will use different coaching and facilitation tools for that, with a focus on embodiment coaching and creative tools. We might also do some spotlight coaching if we have time, where I can help one volunteer among us with their topic in a way that is also helpful for those who observe. Or we could have a brainstorming session in our circle to help someone who asks for the group's wisdom.

The third month has a different idea. It's the time when some of us might want to slow down and so instead of reading a 3rd book, they want to focus on implementing what they had started and resting in between. While others might want to read a 3rd book of their choice on the theme for the season and share their learnings with the group. Maybe there are people among us who love writing or teaching and they want to take that time to solidify their learning experience by writing about it or teaching in their local community. As things diverge in the 3rd month, we will only meet once at the end of it to exchange experiences, reflect back on the season and say our goodbyes (closing call). Accountability buddies can continue to meet more often if they want to.

So essentially a season includes 6 calls: opening call, 4x workshopping calls based on two books we all read together, closing call. Not counting the extra calls you want to set up with your accountability buddies.

Group calls will be 60-90 min each, not longer, to avoid zoom fatigue. They will be interactive and we will change pace now and then, to keep our energy up.

This is a brand new initiative and so the 1st edition is an experiment in the form of a smaller version of what it will be after. This means that instead of starting with a whole season, we will begin with a 1-1.5 month commitment -> 1 book -> 3 calls (opening call, 1x workshopping call, 1x closing call). The people who join me now will be co-creating parts of the club with me. In fact, the co-creation begins with signing up to the Interest list. E.g. I am looking to first speak to the people on the Interest list about their preferences and ideas before deciding on the start date and other logistics for the 1st round.

The 1st edition is like a discovery ship about to set off into uncharted territory. As a captain I have a vision of what we will be discovering together and a way to orientate us in open seas, but I have no way of guaranteeing what will happen exactly, besides that it's going to be an adventure. So for this first round I am essentially looking for a crew of people who get excited about that and enjoy a bit of mystery and not having it all planned out. It's absolutely fine if this is not you right now and you would rather join us later, once we've done this once or twice, and have settled into a clearer structure.

The 1st edition will start in October or November and end by mid December latest. Once things settle, we will move into a predictable seasonal routine with a start at the beginning of each season.

The meetings will likely take place on Sunday. I am based in Europe (CET time zone) and I will accommodate as much as possible people from different time zones. E.g. if we have more people joining from the US and Canada, we will be meeting in their morning / European evening. If we have more people from Asia and Australia, we will plan to meet in their evening / morning in Europe. If it's a very mixed group, we could alternate - one of the biweekly calls each month accommodating some time zones, the other one - the other. There will be recordings for those who cannot attend, without capturing what happens in the breakout rooms as that is not possible to record and it could also be too private. Attending live is best of course, but here is where having an accountability buddy can keep you anchored when you missed out on a group call.

We will meet on Zoom, so you can join from anywhere. Try to be in a place supporting your focus for this work, so you can benefit more from it and so you can be truly there for the others in the group. This space we are building is not meant as a solo experience but as a community experience. On some days you will not feel you are resourced enough to give or receive much. Come anyway, we have your back! Practice showing up and you will see you will always be able to give and get something out of it.

And camera on, please, whenever possible.

Modern lives are so busy, I totally get that, and especially busy for those of us with demanding jobs/businesses, caretaking responsibilities or alternating health. And yet, if you have the feeling you don't have time to read one book per month, have a look at your phone app that captures your online time. You will be amazed at how the pockets of time add up. We are so used to grabbing the phone for a quick scroll when we "just" have 10 minutes at a time. Imagine if you grabbed the book instead.

We come together, among other things, because we love books and want to go back to reading more books. That doesn't mean you have to read the entire book, especially if you didn't like some parts and skipped through them. The goal is mindful reading, reflecting on the parts you read, making your own sense out of them, discussing them with others to gain more perspectives and then applying your own key learning inspired by all of it (books, discussions, workshopping). So it's not about quantity but quality. Just find time for the quality.

When it comes to the time investment in the club, we will have 6 calls, 60-90 min each. On top of that you decide how much time to spend on extra calls with accountability buddies, and how much time to spend on what you choose to implement.

I will be preparing our meetings, so you don't have to prepare anything. It's ok if you don't read the whole book or didn't have time to reflect on it, just come to our call, we will workshop it together, meaning I will have prompts and exercises ready, so we can reflect, discuss, takeaway key learnings. What you need to make time for out of our meetings is time to apply your key learnings into your life, this is entirely up to you. You can work with an accountability buddy from the group or a pod if we are a bigger group, which will help, but you still need to be the one leading your own implementation as noone can do that instead of you.

I will not set a limit for now and see how it goes. Maybe it's 5 of us, maybe we are 20. In any case, I will make sure it's interactive and everyone has the opportunity to participate! Whether it's through breakout rooms or else, you will have enough space to speak up, share, connect. I am NOT building something passive. This club is about real live connection and spaciousness to express yourself and build relationships.

My list is endless, there are so many I am interested in discovering together with you! Maybe you have some suggestions as well?

Below are some examples. As this is a brand new creation, I wanted to first see who is interested in the generic concept and what their interests are before picking the most suiting ones to begin with.

Theme: Making the best of limitations and hardships in life. Books: "Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman, "The Obstacle is the Way" by Ryan Holiday, "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg Mckeown, "Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender" by David R. Hawkins, "Life Is in the Transitions" by Bruce Feiler, "Transitions" by William and Susan Bridges, "The Five Things We Cannot Change: And the Happiness We Find by Embracing Them" by David Richo, "Morning Altars" by Day Schildkret, "The Only Constant" by Najwa Zebian.

Theme: The future of work / career in modern times. Books: "The 100-Year Life" and “The New Long Life” by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott, "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" by Yuval Noah Harari, "The Squiggly Career" by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis, ""Working Identity" by Herminia Ibarra, "Company of One" by Paul Jarvis, "Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI" by Ethan Mollick, "Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, "The Big Leap" by Gay Hendricks.

Theme: Being a multipassionate. Books: "Refuse to Choose!" by Barbara Sher, "The Renaissance Soul" by Margaret Lobenstine, "How to Be Everything" by Emilie Wapnick.

Theme: Modern anxiety in today's fast-paced life and what to do about it. Books: "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt, "Lost Connections" by Johann Hari, "Dopamine Nation" by Dr Anna Lembke, "Slow Productivity" by Cal Newport, "The Nature Fix" by Florence Williams, "52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy" by Annabel Streets, "Rest Is Resistance" by Tricia Hersey.

Theme: Living better and longer. Books: "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art" by James Nestor, "Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity" by Peter Attia MD, "Glucose Revolution" by Jessie Inchauspe, "Built to Move" by Juliet and Kelly Starret, "Heal Your Body, Cure Your Mind" by Dr. Ameet Aggarwal, "The Good Gut" by Justin and Erica Sonnenburg or "The Mind-Gut Connection" by Emeran Mayer MD.

Theme: Organize your digital life so it's not overwhelming. Books: "The PARA Method" or "Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte, "Digital Minimalism" by Cal Newport.

Theme: Reconnect with nature. Books: "Weathering" by Ruth Allen, "Grounded" by Ruth Allen, "The earth prescription" by Laura Koniver MD, "Earthing" by Clinton Ober, Stephen Sinatra and Martin Zucker, "Forest Therapy" by Sarah Ivens, "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer, "The Enchanted Life" by Sharon Blackie, "Your Guide to Forest Bathing" by Amos Clifford, "Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild" by Lucy Jones, "The Well Gardened Mind" by Sue Stuart-Smith, "Forest Bathing" by Qing Li.

Theme: Real human connections. Books: "Deep Human Connection" by Stephen Cope, "The Art of Gathering" by Priya Parker, "Authentic Relating" by Ryel Kestano, "Circling and Authentic Relating Practice Guide" by Marc Beneteau, "Authentic Relating Games Manual" by Sara Ness, "Red Tents" by Mary Ann Clements, "The Power of Moments" by Chip and Dan Heath, "The Good Life" by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, "Eight Dates" by John and Julie Gottman, "Give and Take" by Adam Grant, "How to Have Impossible Conversations" by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay, "Teamworks" by Barbara Sher, "You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For" by Richard Schwartz.

Theme: Seasonal living. Books: "The Earth Prescription" by Laura Kinover MD, "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living" by Jane Alexander, "The Almanac" by Lia Leendertz, "The Self-Care Year" by Alison Davies, "A Year of Living Mindfully" by Randi Ragan, "The Cottage Fairy Companion" by Paola Merrill, "Evergreen" by Lydia Elise Millen.

Theme: Slower living. Books: "The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down" by Haemin Sunim, "Zen: The Art of Simple Living" by Shunmyo Masuno, "Simpler Life" by Alain De Botton.

Theme: Home as a sanctuary or as a tool for health and change. Books: "Spirit of the Home: How to make your home a sanctuary" by Jane Alexander, "Happy by Design: How to Create a Home That Boosts Your Health & Happiness" by Victoria Harrison, "My Hygge Home" by Meik Wiking, "Rewild Your Home: Bring the Outside In" by Victoria Harrison.

Theme: Embodiment. Books: "Embodiment - Moving beyond mindfulness" by Mark Walsh, "Anchored" by Deb Dana, "Returning Home to Our Bodies" by Abigail Rose Clarke, "Leadership Embodiment" by Wendy Palmer and Janet Crawford.

Theme: Conscious embodied parenting. Books: "Simplicity Parenting" by Kim John Payne, "You Are Your Child's First Teacher" by Rahima Dancy "Hunt, Gather, Parent" by Michaeleen Doucleff, "Free-Range Kids: How Parents and Teachers Can Let Go and Let Grow" by Lenore Skenazy, "Happy Child, Happy Home: Conscious Parenting and Creative Discipline" by Lou Harvey-Zahra.

Theme: Women empowerment. Books: "Fair Play" by Eve Rodsky "Invisible Women" by Caroline Criado Perez "Career and Family: Women's Century-Long Journey toward Equity" by Claudia Goldin "Motherwhelmed: Challenging Norms, Untangling Truths, and Restoring Our Worth to the World" by Beth Berry "Time management for moms" by Julia Ray, "How Women Rise" by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith.

Theme: Life purpose. Books: "The Great Work of Your Life" by Stephen Cope, "Regenerative Purpose" by Wendy May, "Ikigai, Kaizen & Hansei" and "The Essence of Ichigo Ichie" by Makoto Saito, “Live Your Legend” by Scott Dinsmore, "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek.

Theme: Job searching. Books: "Never Search Alone: The Job Seeker’s Playbook" by Phyl Terry, "Career Coach GPT" by Jeremy Schifeling, "The 2-Hour Job Search" by Steve Dalton.

Theme: Power of rituals. Books: "Rituals for Life: A guide to creating meaningful rituals inspired by nature" by Isla Macleod "The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices" by Casper Ter Kuile "Everyday Rituals: The Liberating Power of Our Routines" by Pearl Katz.

Theme: The importance of hobbies and creative expression. Books: tbc.

Theme: Non-fictional writing for personal growth. Books: tbc.

I want to make it affordable for people from different circumstances and yet sustainable for me as this is a significant investment of time and effort.

I haven't decided on a fixed price yet. For now I am thinking between 70-100 euro (80-110 USD) for the first edition (1 book, 6 weeks, 3 group calls). It depends on what gets included in the end after the upcoming discussions with people on the Interest list (e.g. if they want a limit on participants or more 1:1 time with me, the price will need to increase).

This is very affordable in the Western world, and yet it's expensive for other parts of the world. I am sorry if this means you cannot join us right now. I hope to be able to offer scholarships in the future when the club is more established.