In early November, Jen and I took a long train ride adventure from Washington, D.C. to sunny Savannah, Georgia to speak about our entrepreneurship endeavors at the first annual Geekend 2009 event. The event was pulled together by the lovely team of Jake & Miriam Hodesh of New Moon of Savannah. With one of our old AOL pals also speaking and helping to pull the event together, we were extremely excited to be a part of the festivities.

We made an absolute geekend of it, enjoying our trip down, meeting lots of folks and speaking on Saturday in a session titled “I’m My Own Boss. Now What?” In the session, both Jen and I shared our different perspectives on starting your own business. I shared some insight on how to balance a full-time job at AOL while getting my dreams started on the side, pulling from my experiences with TECH cocktail, Somewhat Frank and Shiny Heart Ventures. Jen shared her experience of leaving a full-time job to develop a focused, day-to-day routine as a full-time entrepreneur. We shared stories and anecdotes of what we’ve learned so far in our various ventures, which includes Thankfulfor.com. Here’s an edited video clip from Geekend 2009, highlighting some of our talk – it’s about 10 minutes taken from an hour long session.

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