On November 4th, 2008, the two tickets running for president and vice president of the US were set to make history. Either the first female VP and the oldest guy to be elected for a first term or the first African American to be president of the US. The former represented to many voters and many people around the world a continuation of the policies that have almost brought this country to its knees over the last 8 years. The latter in Barack Obama and Joe Biden won the election in an electoral college landslide and a majority in the popular vote which looks to be about 52% - 48%, closer than many of the polls were predicting.

Can Obama deliver on his campaign promises. We’ll see. Does he in fact bring “change” to Washington, we’ll have to see. He talks a good game and he seems to prefer dialog to violence which will be a big step forward for this country. He won over lots of states that typically fall to the GOP. After the last 8 years (and particularly the last 4) of economic failures, massive war spending, a decline in the heath, education and infrastructure systems in the US, we’ve got a new perspective.

It’s not going ot be an easy road since the country and many of its citizens are broke but we’ve got some fresh blood in the White House. Enjoy being a part of this historic day and enjoy looking forward to new ideas, new approaches and a US president who at least seems committed to building the United States back up to what it once was and becoming a better, more respected and more integrated global citizen.

In tough economic times, the little things can mean so much more.  Giving extravagant gifts can be cool at the holidays and be a good way to show love, friendship or appreciation.  If your budget is a little tight this year, give something YOU create that shows YOU put some time and effort into the gift instead of just whipping out the credit card and buying something for someone that they could have just as easily bought for themselves if they really wanted it.

This holiday season, you can give the gift of memories available from www.blurb.com.  At Blurb.com, you download some book making software, create your book, upload it and then you or other people can order it.  It can make the perfect gift for a parent or grandparent, a post wedding gift or any other occasion.

If you have a close group on Meetup.com that you spend a lot of time with, it would be a great way to preserve memories from the year to give out to or make available to all the members!  Help someone else enjoy the holidays and give a great gift you can feel great about giving!

Were you at this show or one on this tour?  It’s easily one of the best bands ever and one of the best songs they ever performed.  The video on this clip is awesome as is the performance.  Kick back, relax, enjoy and relive the memories.  Enjoy the Silence!

Maybe you’ve moved to a new town, maybe your friends are all getting married and having kids, maybe work is taking up way to much of your time and just don’t get out and do much.  If you are going to really enjoy life, it helps to get out and DO things and meet people with like minded interests.  The whole online social networking craze is great but it mostly just involves spending more itme in front of a computer. 

Meetup.com puts a whole new spin on social networking.  Get on the computer so you can get OFF the computer and go out and DO something.  Meetup.com is a great site!  People create meetup groups geared toward a specific interest and post them on the Meetup.com website.  Groups can be public or private and then other people can join them.  If you want to start a Meetup.com group, you go to the site, put in some basic information about the group, who might want to join, what types of activities you envision the group doing and then get other people to sign up.  People will find your Meetup group on the website and you can use whatever other methods of publicizing the group you want.  As the organizer of the group, you’ll pay about $140 per year.  If you want, you can charge a nominal fee, say $2.00 for each person who comes to a Meetup.com event or you can just leave it open and probably get more people to show up without the fee.  You can create a group on virtually any topic, you can use it to publicize your business, you could even start a new business and organize events that people pay to attend.  Ski clubs, adventure groups, tea shop tastings, realtor open house tours and intro classes to almost anything are potential business ideas.

When you signup on Meetup.com as an individual, you can put in as much or as little information as you want and then go through and join as many or as few groups as you want.  It doesn’t cost you anything to join a group but may cost a few bucks to go to meetings.  Some Meetup.com groups will involve trips, dinners, professional guides or things like white water rafting or flying lessons in which case you will probably have to pay extra to go to those events.  If you are short on cash, there will be plenty of free or nearly free events that you can attend when you join various groups.

If you are stuck in a rut and feel like you need to get out and enjoy life more, be sure to checkout Meetup.com, join or start a group, go to some meetings and find people to hang out with who have similar interests.  There are also lots of support groups on Meetup.com for various issues that people have so it can literally be a place to meet supportive people to help you through any difficult times you may be having.

Are you ready to Start a Meetup Group?

Would you like to Join a Meetup Group?

In order to really enjoy this life, it is important to enjoy your job and enjoy what you do at work.  How do you do that?  When we first start out in the working world, we often don’t know what we want to do but whatever track we end up in and whatever we end up doing can go on for quite a long time.  It is also to fall into the trap of feeling like our environments dictate what we do, where we work, and how much we enjoy life.

When we get out of school, sometimes we are straddled with student loans and other obligations like car payments and credit cards.  When this is the case, we don’t have as much leverage when it comes to accepting a job.  Sometimes the need to get an income to pay bills takes priority over getting a job that is really what we want to do and something that will be enjoyable and fulfilling.

As Will Smith told his son in “The Pursuit of Happyness”, don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do something.  Many times that person who tells you you can’t do something is you.  Maybe you’ve had some rough times, you’ve got some obstacles or you’ve got financial obligations that may seem overwhelming.  Regardless of what you are facing NEVER give up on your dreams.  If you really want to enjoy this life and make the most of it, you have to have a vision of who you are, who you want to be and where you want to go.

If you need to get more enjoyment out of life, take a hard look at your job where you spend a big chunk of your life, give some serious though to the issues above and see if you are in the right place or need to start moving in a new direction.  The sooner you take action steps to get going to the right direction for you, the sooner you will start to enjoy this life more than you currently do.

• Is you job what you want to do now?
• If it isn’t are you there because you believe it will lead you to where you want to go? 
• When you look back on the past 3,5, 10 or more years do you feel good about where you’ve worked, what you’ve achieved and where you are going or is there an empty spot?
• If you were making your Bucket List, would there be a lot of things on it that you haven’t done at work or because of work?
• Do you have trouble sleeping at night or getting up in the morning?
• Are You bored with your job?
• Does your job provide an intellectually challenging environment to keep your brain sharp?
• Can you honestly say you enjoy your job?

If you’ve got mixed feelings about the points above, it is time to give them some serious thought and consideration. 

• Look back on the past, 3,5 or 10 years of your life and ask yourself if you’ve enjoyed life and made the most of it. 
• Imagine yourself 5 or 10 years in the future.  When you look back on what you are doing now, how will you feel about it?

If you feel any discomfort when you ponder these issues, spend a little more time and figure out what would really make you happy and what obstacles YOU are putting in your way to achieve your dreams, do what you want to do and enjoy life to the fullest. 

The sooner you can get your job to align with what you really want to do in life, the sooner you will start to soar.  Passion can overcome anything and when you can be passionate about your work it shows in spades.  You’ll feel better, you’ll be more pleasant to be around, your stress level is likely to decrease and you’ll perform better and make more money with a more positive attitude.

Working out is a great way to burn off work stress, sweat out toxins and feel better all around!  The typical workout is 40 - 60 minutes on the elliptical machine sometimes followed by a few laps in the pool and always some time to relax in the hot tub.  In order to get in a long uninterrupted workout, it is better to go to the gym later at night.  An hour on the elliptical machine typically burns 1,000 calories according to the little computer on the machine. 

Not only does working out at the gym help to feel better and re-energize after a long day but it helps to stay in shape for other activities as well.  ACL (knee) injuries are very common among skiers and thanks in part to the elliptical workouts and lots of mountain biking, the knees have help up well and endured many years of bump and extreme skiing around the world. 

If you’re feeling sluggish and need some energy, going to the gym for regular workouts can help you feel A LOT better.  When you feel better you tend to enjoy life more.  If you can go every day and go hard, that is great, but even 20-30 minutes a few times a week will help you tone up and start to feel better.

What did you do today to make the most of the day and enjoy life today?

Ever wanted to be able to film hands free while you are skiing, biking, driving or performing some other activity during which it may be hard to hold a video camera and still let loose?  Well, skiing it one of the best ways to enjoy life during the winter when the snow flies. 

The thing about skiing is that when you go skiing, most people in the group just want to ski and it is often hard to get people to stop for the stunning pictures that are there for the taking on a great day out on the slopes.  It is even more difficult to take the time out to do video.  Ideally, the ATC3K helmet cam will facilitate more filming during the days on the slopes.  The reviews say the mic on it isn’t very good and the photo quality is ok for the price but not great.  It should be good enough to add some fun to a day on the slopes and get some good footage while barreling down the slopes.

Sometimes it is a toy, a trip, an adventure, or just appreciation of great weather and a nice day that makes it possible to enjoy life more.  This little gadget will help to enjoy the ski season more and extend the memories beyond the end of the ski season.

Over time this site will highlight ways to get more out of life from beautiful photos to adrenaline pumping activities. You’ll find information on lots of great activities on the East Coast and around the world at time permits. Stay tuned, stay positive, come along for the ride and enjoy life more starting today. Stay tuned for updates by subscribing to the feed on this site or by following on Twitter. No matter how tired you are, how long you have worked, how short on time you are be sure to do something each and every day to make the most of it and enjoy life more than you ever have!