Rainbow in DC

Recently, I have been somewhat addicted to the Kid Cudi song Pursuit Of Happiness. It’s soothing and interesting. We’re all on the pursuit of happiness, right? Well, as much as I love the song, I think Kid Cudi got it wrong. He sings:

I’m On The Pursuit Of Happiness And I Know Everything That Shines Ain’t Always Gonna Be Gold
I’ll Be Fine Once I Get It; I’ll Be Good

It’s the same old paradox. Everyone’s trying to find or figure out the things that will make them happy – another person, money, fame, things. At Shiny Heart Ventures, we take the opposite view – be happy first, then bring your happiness to everything you do. It’s a mind shift for many people. Some may not think it’s possible. It is. It’s not only possible, it’s imperative to making great things happen and to living your best possible life. Life is a journey – so if your journey isn’t enjoyable you’re wasting precious time.

It may all sound somewhat trite, but it’s one of the most difficult truths for many of us to absorb and put into practice each day. It takes practice to wake up and be happy and put that into our daily work – not letting the mundane of everyday life drag us down. I recently read this in Positive Psychology News

Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania teaches that happiness is not something that just happens to us but rather something that we must consciously choose. By being mindful, we increase our opportunities to choose. Kirk Brown of Virginia Commonwealth University and Richard Ryan of the university of Rochester write in a summary of self-regulation that mindfulness is “an open or receptive awareness of and attention to what is taking place in the present moment.” – Suzann Pileggi

Mindfulness takes practice…and practicing gratitude is one way to help us stay on track, which is why we created Thankfulfor. The more you can slow down, identify and focus on the things you’re thankful for, the more you realize what you have and can invite more of those things into your life.

So, I hope if you enjoy the Kid Cudi song, you don’t take the words to heart. Don’t be on a pursuit of happiness. Be happy – take that happiness and use it on your pursuit of something else. He did get a few words right and I’ll leave you with those.

Imma Do Just What I Want Lookin’ Ahead No Turnin’ Back
If I Fall If I Die Know I Lived It To The Fullest

Shiny Heart Ventures Announces Thankfulfor.com

The Shiny Heart team has two projects in the works:  one is more involved and it’s still in development (more about that later), and the other is just about ready for launch. It’s called Thankfulfor and it’s all about gratitude. We’ve talked with a few close friends and family about it and the first question we usually get is, why?  Well, why not?  As Jerry Maguire once said: “We live in a cynical world. A cynical world.” It’s the easy and expected path to resort to sarcasm and snark nowadays. But our mission is not to build products that remind people of jaded attitudes – it’s to build products that remind people of the joys of life. What better way to do that than to provide a way for people to take stock of the things – big and small – that they are thankful for each day. In my experience, when we are feeling thankful it’s just a hop and a skip away from feelings of happiness – and happiness is contagious, particularly across social networks. We have a perfect medium to take advantage of this and maybe do the world some good.

So, back to the point.

What is Thankfulfor?

Thankfulfor is a micro-blogging site focused on gratitude. You can enter up to 140 characters about what you are thankful for and post them to your personal “journal” of thanks, which can either be private or public. You can also choose to send each Thankfulfor post to your social network on Twitter (and soon Facebook), spreading the good vibes far and wide.

Thousands, maybe more, practice gratitude globally, many using gratitude journals where they write down a few things they are grateful for each day. Most of those people will tell you it’s more than just a journal – it’s a key to happiness and well-being. Thankfulfor promises to take the resources available today and develop tools for a growing generation of people interested in journaling their gratitude as well as expressing and sharing their thanks with others.

While we haven’t opened up the site to everyone yet, we’re very close. If you are in the DC area and want to be one of the first to see it, we will be demoing Thankfulfor at TECH cocktail DC at the LeftBank in Adams Morgan tonight, August 27.  Out-of-towners, sign-up for our email updates (above) and follow us at @iamthankfulfor on Twitter.

We are so thankful for all of you who are here and supporting us in your own way. We hope you’ll give Thankfulfor a try. More to come soon!