The contents of this blog matter not one jot if you haven’t at any point joined my micro-community that helps you get better at writing (and beyond), but that doesn’t mean I can’t jump the musket and give you 10 great reasons to walk away from TeamGDI before you’ve even got there, now does it?

The worst thing about joining any community, membership, or cult of any kind, is that you’ll always wonder if – when it no longer lights your candle – you’ll be able to make it out from the covenant alive (or at least with very little visible or mental scarring). Unlike the gym I didn’t see the inside of between 2017 and 2022, my micro-community has no tie-in, and no clauses of any kind that suggest you have to stick around when (for whatever reason) you’d rather tie up your spotty hanky on a stick and leave. You do get a stamp on your hand at the exit, however, to say that you’ll always be welcome to come back, should the urge to sacrifice just one more goat get too strong…

I’d love for people to want to stay in TeamGDI forever, naturally, because it’s the micro-community I essentially built out of loneliness back during lockdown, but there could be a million reasons why you’d personally decide that’s just not going to happen. Here are just 10 of them.

1. You signed up for the draw of working with me in a group setting, but then quickly realised I do comparatively very little. It’s true, I stand on the shoulders of giants in that place – big time. I’m happy to admit that I’m brilliant at the puppet-mastery of bringing together the most good-hearted, hard-working, clever, honest, witty, and straight-shooting people, but my genius pretty much stops right there. Some days I’ll click on to Mighty Networks (the beautiful private platform/app where our community is based) and I’ll see that problems have been solved, ideas have been generated, and members have been supported – all without me even being aware, never mind there.
2. You don’t like anyone else in the group. I blame the aforementioned puppet-master who brought those fuckers together in the first place, to be honest. Don’t tell her I said that.
3. You realised that although I’m totally what you expected from having read my posts, or whatever, I’m just ‘not for you’ when presented to you up close and personal in a small group settting (and you quickly grasped that the only person who really finds my jokes funny is… me). Save yourself.
4. You have more important things to spend £48 a month on, such as a tub of Lurpak, two miles of petrol, or an hour of heating. I wish I was joking.
5. You don’t have the time to get along to the fortnightly calls on Zoom, to dip into the weekly co-working sessions online, or to get stuck in with the chats and messages over on the platform. This is all fine, because all of those things are there for you as and when you need them, but given that the group runs on community interaction, if you find you’re already struggling to see your own family (or daylight), then a group that seeks to help you via active social participation shouldn’t be your priority right now. I should really let my husband join the group, now I mention it…
6. You don’t like the fact that I’m not a cheerleader. Sure, I’ll give you all the praise in the world when it’s due, but although I’ll be delighted to see you when you rock up in our micro-community and on calls, I’m not giving you a medal just for that alone. I’m here to give you constructive criticism, great ideas, and actionable feedback on anything you need (for writing, or anything else), so that you leave a group call or discussion thread feeling that you can and will do better with what comes next (all the while in full possession of the knowledge and confidence of exactly how the hell to do it).
7. You need round-the-clock accountability. So we’ve established I’m more challenger than cheerleader in point 6, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hound you at every available moment to do what you (or I) said you needed to do at an earlier point in time. You’ll get accountability whilst active in the group – and I’ll check in on you if you go AWOL so that I can be sure you’re alive – but I’m not going to be banging down your door to force you to do something when you likely have other stuff going on and that’s why you’ve not been present for a while.
8. You’ve realised TeamGDI isn’t as bells-and-whistles-filled as the million and one memberships and communities out there that are vying for your cash and begging for your bum on a seat. It’s a simple micro-community, here. No plans for growth and scale, no plans for big branding. Similarly, no masterminds, no bank of on-demand resources, no special guests… (you do get Barry the Cat, though – and he is pretty spesh).
9. You joined, you loved, you benefitted… but now you have other priorities and plans, and feel like you want or need to go and concentrate on those things, instead. Look at you, winning at life in your growth and achievements. I’m proud of you.
10. You don’t have – or feel that you have to give – a reason for leaving. It’s true – you don’t! It’s your money and your time – and your choice as to who you spend both of those things with. And I respect the hell out of that.

I think number 9 is my favourite. I mean, I love my GDI-ers, but if they get to a place with us that makes them feel more confident with their copy, more content with their content, and more rock-solid in their writing… and also just all-in-all better about their work, their writing, their business, their relationships, or their life in general, then that’s only ever a great review for me and what I’m trying to do, here.

I will still hound you for a great review when you go, though.

One more thing before you leave, however…

Make sure you come and join us in TeamGDI!