A study by Dr. Michael McCollough, of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Dr. Robert Emmons, of the University of California at Davis, in which several hundred people kept a daily log of things they were grateful for, concluded that “daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy.”

At first, listing what you’re grateful for daily could appear to be yet another task you won’t get to. Tim Ferriss points out that “gratitude training” is the way to go, to make counting your blessings as routine as doing sit ups (or perhaps more routine for some!)

So here is a real-world example of how, if you break it down to the tiny things, you really can find things to be grateful for:

• I’m grateful for the nice evening light that caused me to open the curtains.
• I’m grateful my food is taking so long to cook, we settled on the couch to watch the DNC on tv.
• I’m grateful for my sense of humor that made me point out a man standing across the street, jokingly saying he was looking into the house.
• I’m grateful my friend had the presence of mind to shout out “I think he’s giving me a ticket!”
• I’m grateful that the parking person kindly let us off the hook. (It was a bizarre unobvious red zone in front of a stairway.)

In the September 2008 O Magazine, Oprah gives some good examples from her own gratitude journal:
“I am grateful for my breath and the recognition that I am here alive. Breathing. I am grateful for life. And for this time alone.”

OK a little deeper than my examples. But see how easy it is to find things to be grateful for?

Getting in the Gratitude Habit

What better use of Twitter, or status messages on your social networks, than to blast what you’re feeling grateful for? I know I know…there are better uses but it’s a good one!

A bunch of people have goals on SuperViva to feel more grateful or to start a gratitude journal.

The idea of seeing thousands of things I’m grateful for compiled does seem amazing. For now, I will at least continue counting my blessings to fall asleep. Sheep are so last millennium.

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It’s not a mere “hotel substitute.” Their goal is as follows:

“CouchSurfing.com helps you make connections worldwide. You can use the network to meet people and then go and surf other members’ couches! When you surf a couch, you are a guest at someone’s house. They will provide you with some sort of accommodation, a penthouse apartment or maybe a back yard to pitch your tent in. Stays can be as short as a cup of coffee, a night or two, or even a few months or more. When you offer your couch, you have complete control of who visits.”

Feel Good Metrics

With the momentum of several years, Couch Surfing seems to be hitting the “mainstream,” and now I hear friends mention it all the time. Check out the good energy they’ve created:

CouchSurfers 697,357
Successful Surf or Host Experiences 606,243
Friendships Created 748,720
Positive Experiences 1,219,741
Countries Represented 232
Cities Represented 46,949

They focus on safety. A clever verification process uses credit card authentication to make sure your name matches your mailing address and credit card. (Do I need to add that you’re responsible for your own safety and to use intuition?)

Why Surf? Imagine the Potential Synchronicity

Whether you’re hosting or a couch surfer, you’re automatically going to have commonalities:

• You’re both curious about people from other cultures and the world.
• You’re adventurous and open.
• You seeking out friends and connections.

I don’t know about you, but just reading what I wrote made me all the more inspired to continue couch surfing and hosting on future travels.

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Yearbook Yourself is an interesting marketing campaign by a mall operator. You upload a pic of yourself, choose if you’re male or female, then can browse through photos from the 1950s through the 1980s, to see your “yearbook” picture.

It’s totally fun to look for your perfect retro yearbook pic….for your Facebook profile photo For marketers, it’s a great example of viral marketing to reach the target audience (teens and parents).

Yes if you make one I want to see it!

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At some point during the year I’d moved this goal to my “backburner.”

But only again after seeing this YouTube video did I come to terms with the fact that going to La Tomatina is really one of my TOP experience goals. I mean, as a tomato loving, Spanish speaking Europhile, how could it not be?

And THAT is why a “backburner” is good, rather than completely deleting goals from your list. It’s a place to stash away the “someday, maybes” as David Allen calls them. I’m glad to have realized that La Tomatina is a “someday soon, definitely!”

In fact at one time, Lisa Peake of Davidco also noted the backburner as being a neato aspect of SuperViva.

Do you want to go in 2009?

Perhaps we can get together a SuperViva tomato extravaganza!

Better yet if you’re clever enough to find a great last minute fare, well….

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It could be a relationship, a hobby, entrepreneurial endeavor or a career.

Having often thought about where to go with SuperViva, the conundrum currently facing Pandora, an awesome online radio service, really struck me:

“At the moment we think this problem in Washington is not going to get solved,” Pandora’s founder Tim Westergren told the Post, “we have to pull the plug because all we’re doing is wasting money.”

What about rallying for donations from the public ala Wikipedia?
Or from Apple, on whose iPhone Pandora is an extremely popular application?
Or maybe it’s just gotten so exhausting that the Pandora team wants to quit?

While in the midst of my own backs and forths on where to go with SuperViva, someone gave me The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin.

It took only about an hour or two to read and instigated some useful critical thinking. You’ll find such nuggets of wisdom as:

• Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.
• [Strategic] quitting is not the same as failing..Quitting smart is a great way to avoid failing.
• Quitting is better than coping because quitting frees you up to excel at something else.

I highly recommend The Dip as well as these other books if you’re struggling with a big decision on which way to go, whether in business or your personal life:

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Kevin is clearly practicing what he preaches. One of his pics includes him pushing Lance Armstrong aside as he beats him in a bike race (or maybe I’m reading into the photo).

Check out Kevin’s company for inspiration to go for the extreme outdoor adventure you’ve only dreamed of!

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Well NPR recently featured a story on how to audition for the Blue Man Group.

Be the first to add this goal to your life list and apply on the Blue Man Group Casting website!

According to their site: “The dream of being a Blue Man may be no further than your willingness and desire to take a chance.”

Please send pics.

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How about creating a life that blends all of these together, much like a creamy chocolate ganache?

Well, it just dawned on me that I know of at least 3 wonderful artisan chocolate businesses run by couples who met, became chocolate makers, and are delighting in success. One thing they all have in common is a commitment to their communities and using the best natural ingredients.

And I know of two others that had 20+ years of success, with the couple working side by side.

Enjoy an oxytocin rush from a few of these chocolate love stories …

Black Dinah Chocolatiers

Black Dinah Chocolatiers is one of those treasures you discover only so often. And it’s as hidden as a treasure, located on a tiny island in northern Maine, near Acadia National Park, called Isle au Haut (pronounced something like Eel-a-ho).

Not only is the story of how Kate and Steve met, moved, and went into chocolate sweet but, they say, “At Black Dinah, we make our ganache by infusing locally produced cream with a wide variety of locally grown, organic herbs, flowers and fruits, and whole spices.”

Isle au Haut is quite a haul although Kate says it’s worth it and “there is a wonderful inn on the east side–The Inn at Isle au Haut. Diana is a fabulous cook and a gracious host.” But if you can’t make the voyage, you can experience their chocolates in several locations on the mainland.

Local delight: Chocolates sprinkled with Maine sea salt. (Best to order in winter, when the salt won’t melt from humidity!)

Recchiuti Confections

Recchiuti Confections, run by the team of Michael and Jacky Recchiuti, started as a San Francisco Farmer’s Market booth and has grown to a chocolate company craved worldwide. As I recall, Michael “is” the chocolate and Jacky leads the beautiful design work.

In his blog Michael tells the story: “I was able to introduce my chocolates to the fine palates of the market committee, who decide the vendor trend. Once they tasted my chocolates, I was asked to be a part-time vendor during the winter months. Once spring rolls around, I would have to make room for all of the farmers returning to the market….my little booth became this hub of local fixes and everyone championed me to stay thru the summer and become a full time high-end chocolate vendor. The locals and tourists flocked to the market and also for their weekly fine chocolate fix, life is good and the market has helped put Recchiuti Confection on the local radar.”

Make sure to visit Recchiuti Confections at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Or better yet, mail order some for a sneak preview.

Local delight: Creativity Explored Box decorated with artwork from artists from Creativity Explored in San Francisco.

John and Kira’s

Interestingly, John and Kira embarked first on a goal to start a company before deciding on chocolate as the answer: “We wanted to create a company that would: support and encourage community activism, make a product that tasted great, and was something that we could make people happy with.”

In particular John and Kira’s raspberry and mint flavors stand out in my mind. Although the lady bugs and bees may be the cutest chocolates I’ve ever seen. They are a great example of a local business finding success by integrating community into their products—and giving back to the community as well.

Local delight: The Garden Mint variety infuses “real mint leaves picked by the student gardeners at Drew Elementary and UC High School.”

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“Flat broke at the age of 21, Joe Cirulli made a list of 10 things he wanted to accomplish in life. One by one, he pulled them off — and built a health and fitness empire.”

Whether you think positively about Cirulli himself, the story is yet another confirmation of setting goals and sticking to them! Read The Believer…

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According to StarDate “The next meteor shower is the Perseids on August 12, 2008. After the first-quarter moon sets, around 2 a.m., meteors should be more easily visible until dawn. You may see dozens of meteors per hour.”

Bill Cooke of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center says: “The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th. There should be plenty of meteors–perhaps one or two every minute.”

NASA’s 2008 Perseid Meteor Shower page reports:
“The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates–a meteor!”

Can’t wait to hear reports of meteor magic.

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