I just read an awesome book, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas, and it inspired me to post this next update as a doodle:

That’s right – starting tomorrow I am going to be UNPLUGGED for eight glorious days. My friend Julie and I are going on a road-trip to Oregon for a 5-day yoga/rafting expedition.

No gadgets, no computer, no email, no phone, no chargers. I will be officially detoxing from all things tech. See you all when I return the week of July 26!

***

P.S. Life After College now has a Facebook page – give ‘er a like if you want to!

P.P.S. Gen Y’ers: My friend Lauren needs 30 more survey respondents to reach her goal of 1,000 for a Bowdich Research Study. Help her out if you can

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I know you are all probably out barbecuing, soaking up the sun and generally unwinding – or so I hope – but it’s book giveaway time again! I am giving away a copy of Suze Orman’s The Road to Wealth (this one is the size of a door stop – it covers everything money-related you could ever want to know).

Watch the video below for instructions on how to enter (hint: it’s related to my money manifesto). The deadline is Friday, July 9, at which point I will pick a winner via Random.org.

I am headed to Brazil to deliver coach training for a group of managers next week…wish me luck!

Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone!

***

P.S. If you’re in the mood to watch another short video, check out my thoughts on digital literacy – a submission for George Haines‘ video project. George is an elementary school teacher in New York working on an awesome video compilation about technology for his students:

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That’s a random picture of me looking really happy (slash weird) in San Francisco. Crazy wind!

I type this post with almost as much excitement as the time Suze Orman said my name. Oh, who am I kidding?! I CAN BARELY CONTAIN MYSELF and I’ve been bursting to tell you this for weeks:

We have a book deal!!!!

Important note: the contract has NOT been signed yet, which is partly why I was waiting so long to update you. It could take a few more weeks, but the process is moving forward. Let’s hope this blog post doesn’t jinx anything!

Running Press – it’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

After the handful of meetings I had when my literary agent sent out the proposal in March, Running Press, a division of Perseus based in Philadelphia, made an offer to publish my book by Spring 2011. SPRING 2011! A book! A real one! In less than a year.  A huge thank you is in order to my agent Sarah for helping make this happen.

If you want the FULL nitty gritty details (including helpful writing-related links and resources) sign-up for my monthly(ish) “inside scoop” book newsletter or click here to read the archives.

The manuscript draft is due July 1, which is just three short weeks away. Nothing like a little (okay HUGE) deadline to light a fire under your ass, right?! Thankfully I have most of it written – except for one major piece of every chapter. That’s where you come in.

Want to see your name in print?

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Neil Pasricha describes himself as a “boring guy with a nine-to-five job,” but let me tell you – he is much, much more. Neil is humble and incredibly kind, and despite being “just a normal guy” he landed himself a book deal after his blog, 1,000 Awesome Things, quickly caught fire after starting in June of 2008.

I am so thrilled to celebrate the launch of Neil’s book this week – and happy to announce that Neil will send one lucky commenter an autographed copy! Just share an awesome thing with us in the comments and we’ll pick a winner at random. **Update: this contest is now over – congrats to Eve from South Korea who won!**

About The Book of Awesome:

In Neil’s own words, “Over the past year the website grew into a warm place where people around the world came to curl up under a blanket and think about the small joys we often overlook. With so much sad news and bad news pouring down upon us, it’s fun to stop for a minute and share a universal high five with humanity.” Don’t you just want to find Neil and hug him?! I do.  That endearing spirit, mixed with his great sense of humor and appreciation for the small things in life, makes Neil an absolutely AWESOME guy, and the same holds true for this book.

Some of my favorite “Awesome Things” from the book:
Each one has a page of heartfelt, funny, well-written description and commentary

• When cashiers open up new checkout lines at the grocery store
• When you get the milk-to-cereal ratio just right
• Picking the perfect nacho off someone else’s plate
• Fixing electronics by smacking them
• Tripping and realizing no one saw you
• The universal fry-sharing policy
• The sound of scissors cutting construction paper
• The smell of rain on a hot sidewalk
• Nailing a parallel parking spot on the first try
• Laughing so hard you start crying…or make no sound at all
• The sound of ice cubes cracking in a drink
• That one square in the waffle that is the most loaded with butter and syrup
• The Parking Lot Pull Through
• Getting something with actual handwriting in the mail
• Building an amazing couch-cushion fort
• Squeezing through a door as it’s shutting without touching it
• When you spill something on your shirt and it doesn’t leave a stain (my friends all know I’m a hot mess)
• Watching your odometer click over a major milestone
• Using Rock, Paper, Scissors to settle anything (that one is for you, Elisa!)
• A long hug when you really need it

And finally, I’d like to add one of my own:

• Seeing an AWESOME guy with a 9-5 job get a book deal from a blog that brings smiles to so many people’s faces every day. Congrats Neil!

How to Win a Copy of 1,000 Awesome Things:

Please join me and Neil in adding to the awesome! To enter to win an autographed copy of the book, leave a comment with one of your own awesome things by the end of the day on Sunday. I’ll pick a winner via Random.org early next week, then Neil will send you a signed copy of his book. **Update: this contest is now over – congrats to Eve from South Korea who won!**

You can also purchase The Book of Awesome on Amazon (a great gift, and it’s currently 50% off!) and follow Neil on Twitter.

Click here (or press play below) to watch the book trailer – I loved this!

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I find it easy to get buried in the busyness of work. Scratch that. I find it easy for my entire identity to get wrapped up in my work. Sometimes I don’t even know who I am if not a Googler or a Blogger or a Coach or an {insert label here}.

I have a feeling I’m not alone. For those of us in the early phases of our careers, particularly without a spouse and kids, work is often where we spend most of our time, energy and attention. Within our jobs, many of us have managers, company objectives and performance reviews that influence us to adapt so that we fit into the broader team and organization. It’s easy to lose our sense of identity and independence.

“We do not exist for the sole purpose of paying our bills”

Given that it’s so easy to get wrapped-up in work, I often take time to repeat the following reminder to myself (and coaching clients): you are not your job. No matter how much you may love what you do (or not), you are a creative, interesting, independent person outside of what keeps you busy for 50 hours a week (and I’m sure many more if you include side projects).

Jonathan Fields captures this thought perfectly in the intro to his book, Career Renegade:

Much to the contrary of what we’ve been told for the better part of our lives, we do not exist for the sole purpose of paying our bills, grooming our kids to be able to do the same, and maybe, someday, retiring to finally enjoy life, should we ever reach that point.

We are here to let our lights shine as brightly as possible, to drink in the joy of friendship and family, to serve and better the greater community, and to tap into and inspire passion into everything we do. We are here to come alive. In doing so, we serve as an example to others that a life beyond muddling is not only possible, but mandatory.”

−Jonathan Fields

There’s a person underneath all that “doing”

We all work for different reasons. At a minimum, our jobs help pay the bills. At best, our jobs also allow us to grow, learn, contribute, collaborate and feel fulfilled.

But even with all that – despite how much of your identity may be wonderfully shaped by the work that you do – don’t forget this very important fact: you are not your job. You are an individual with your own ideas, aspirations, interests and insights.

Where might there be room to revisit those things that make you uniquely you outside of the work that you do?

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Well, folks – spring is in the air! It’s about time we ditch winter and leap into days full of sunshine and unicorns. No unicorns? Okay fine, let’s get excited about the good weather anyway. The sun is shining, the days are long, and everyone seems to shed a few layers of clothing (guys rejoice: sundresses are around the corner). What does that mean? We can no longer hide behind bulky jackets, sweaters and leggings (click here for a good laugh) – our health and fitness habits are on full display.

Health and fitness is an area I’m deeply passionate about, so today I’m sharing a few of the resources I’ve found most helpful (including two new templates!), and giving away another free book (and journal) from The Mayo Clinic.

First, a little background on my recent health and fitness history:
Working at Google really is much of what it is cracked up to be, especially when it comes to food (we have 18 cafes just in Mountain View). But what they don’t offer here is a class on “How to not gorge your face out because the food supply is organic, unlimited and comes with five dessert options at every meal, not to mention the snack rooms where danger lurks when restlessness strikes at 3 p.m. every afternoon.” I gained AT LEAST 20 pounds when I started working here. You might have had the Freshman 15 in college, well I put on a generous Google 20 after I started working here four years ago.

Thankfully I’ve since lost that weight in the last year, but it hasn’t been easy. I’ve read many books and learned the importance of portion control, healthy choices, and finding dynamic diet and exercise systems that work for me. I’ve learned that good health is a day-by-day journey (not a one-time destination), and that exercise is absolutely critical to keeping me healthy and happy. Below are many of the resources I’ve used – I’d love to hear what has worked for you too!

Fitness Templates
It took me a few years of on-again/off-again fitness habits to realize that exercise is really where much of my baseline happiness comes from. If I don’t exercise, I immediately notice I feel more stressed, less creative, and often sad and robbed of energy.

The templates below are how I keep myself on track – if you’re like me, you know how good it feels to check things off a list and track progress over time. These templates are also great because you can share with a friend for accountability (each person gets their own tab). I’m especially proud of the Weekly Tracker – it has conditional formatting, boxes that change color automatically and countIF statements. Nerd alert!

(if you are reading via email or feed reader, click the links below to preview)

Weekly Fitness and/or Activity Tracker (great for checking off daily/weekly targets):

Triathlon, Half-Marathon and Full Marathon Training Schedules:

My Favorite Health & Fitness Resources

• Favorite books I’ve read: The Four-Day Win (A MUST READ), The End of Overeating (A MUST READ), The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer (great stuff on the mental and physiological aspects of training), French Women Don’t Get Fat, and Get with the Program
• Books I’m planning to read: Integrative Nutrition, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, The Program: The Brain Smart Approach to the Healthiest You, Born to Run, and In Defense of Food
• Blogs: Epic Self (by Amber Zuckswert), Healthy Lifestyle Design (by Matt Gartland), Just B Living (by Tonya Leigh) and Balanced Existence

Mayo Clinic Book & Journal Giveaway

The Mayo Clinic has been generous enough to send me an extra copy of their book, The Mayo Clinic Diet: Eat Well, Enjoy Life, Lose Weight, and the accompanying journal to give away to a lucky reader! I haven’t read it yet, so whoever wins the giveaway can join a mini book club with me to discuss.

Description: The Mayo Clinic Diet is packed with meal plans, tips for overcoming challenges, help in starting an exercise plan, and overall encouragement for success from the Mayo Clinic’s weight-loss and nutrition experts. The Mayo Clinic Diet emphasizes foods that are not only healthy, but also taste great. Part 1, the “Lose It!” phase, is The Mayo Clinic Diet’s two-week quick-start plan. “Lose It” is designed to help dieters lose 6 to 10 pounds in just 14 days. After dieters complete the “Lose It” phase, they move on to Part 2, “Live It.” This phase is designed to help dieters continue to lose 1-2 pounds each week until they reach their desired healthy weight. “Live It” offers a customized guide to using the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid.

How to enter: leave a comment with your favorite health tip, habit or resource and I’ll pick a winner at random. I’m actually super excited about hearing all of your great health and fitness ideas – let’s start this spring off right! **UPDATE: The drawing is now over (congrats to EK!) – but please feel free to still leave your health tips in the comments!**

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If I ever do learn to cook (one day mom, I promise!), I'm starting with this thing.

It’s time for another Crock-Pot post (yes, I just made that up): sometimes I get hit with so many unrelated miscellaneous links, articles, and cool things to share that I decide to throw it all into a big stew and serve it up. Bon appetite!

Happy Thoughts – Delivered Daily

I’m a sucker for daily inspirational emails, quotes or thoughts. Three lists I’ve been enjoying lately:

• The Daily Love – “Wisdom with Style” (Quotes on love and happiness)
• Positive Quote of the Day (Short, simple email with a great thought to start each day)
• TUT – Notes from the Universe (funny, wise and widely-known list)

I particularly appreciated today’s TUT Note (thank you Ruth Ann for sharing it!):

“Of all the things that matter, Jenny, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done, is not among them.

Chill,
The Universe

And, quite accidentally, Jenny, such an appreciation leads to greater efficiency and more productivity. Not that that really matters.”

Other great stuff around the web:

• Colin Wright’s eBook, How to be Remarkable (the Least You Need to Know). Incredibly well done with powerful advice – a must-read!
• Matt Cheuvront‘s Epiphany Moment video series (featuring yours truly)
• The full round-up of posts for Elisa Doucette’s February “All You Need is Love” series
• The reader comments on my Help a Reader Out: How Do You Make Decisions post: TONS of fantastic, insightful tips.
• My Dad’s Blog! I couldn’t be prouder. My dad and I take walks every Sunday and talk about life – I’m so excited that he’s now sharing all of his great stories, theories and art with the rest of the world!
• I signed-up for Formspring – ask me anything and I’ll answer (but keep it friendly and SFW, people!)
• There are lots more articles I find interesting (on writing, psychology, happiness, humor and more) on Delicious

My Policy on Book Reviews – and Live a Life You Love: Book Giveaway Winner

I’ve implemented a new policy on this blog for book reviews (on books that others send to me, not ones I choose myself). In the name of transparency, I’m sharing it with all of you:

1. I will only review books if I get two copies – one for me and one to give away to my readers; It’s no fun if I’m the only one getting a free book!
2. I will only agree to someone sending me a book in the first place if I find the description captivating. The book should meet at least one of the following criteria: useful/beneficial to me and my readers, related to topics I blog about, or fun/unique in some way.
3. I reserve the right to decide whether to write a blog post on the book until after reading it (at which point I can discern whether a majority of my readers will learn or benefit in some way).
4. Am I missing anything?

With that, I’m excited to announce that Clara is the winner of the Live a Life You Love book giveaway. Congrats, and thanks so much to everyone who commented to enter!

OK Go’s AWESOME New Music Video – This Too Shall Pass

I leave you with one final pick-me-up: OK Go’s new music video – it’s colorful, playful, creative, and just pure genius. (Plus – the contraptions remind me of the booby traps from The Goonies, one of my all time favorite movies.) Enjoy!

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Dr. Susan Biali

Two years ago, when my parents and friends were my only blog subscribers and I had just started coaching, a woman named Susan Biali commented on my blog with a note of encouragement.

When I saw that she was a flamenco-dancing doctor, life-coach, author AND speaker who split her time living between Mexico and Canada? I almost fell out of my chair. She was (and still is) LIVING. THE. DREAM.  A version of my dream. The one in which I become an author-speaker-life coach-entrepreneur-extraordinaire; inspiring others while living a balanced, healthy, passionate life.

Susan has done more than inspire me these last two years. She has shown me the true meaning of generosity. Generosity of spirit. Generosity of time. Generosity of giving people one of the greatest gifts in the world: believing in them, and lifting them up when times get tough.

• Generosity is having a big full life, and sending a note to a no-name blogger.
• Generosity is writing one year later, sending that same blogger an email just to say hello, this time bursting from the seams with praise, support and encouragement.
• Generosity is agreeing to a phone call in the middle of a full schedule of speaking, traveling, writing and publishing a book.
• Generosity is proactively offering to have MONTHLY calls to support that blogger’s dreams, even while working so hard on her own.
• Generosity is sending two copies of her new book with hand-written notes on the inside, then making time for a call right in the middle of the book promotion frenzy.
• Generosity is offering help…even when the other person doesn’t quite know how to ask.

Don’t forget what a gift your time and attention is – and the difference it can make in someone else’s life.

Live a Life You Love: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier, More Passionate You

In her book, Live a Life You Love, Susan says “People first, life later.” She means it, and her generosity with me is proof of that.

Susan’s book – aside from leaving me brimming with pride and sheer joy for her success – has lifted me up after a physically and emotionally exhausting week. I picked it up and couldn’t put it down. It felt like Susan was sitting right next to me, reminding me of all the things that truly matter in life.

From the last chapter: “Under all the stress, fear, failures, and wrong choices you might have made in your life, you know who you really are, and how you’re meant to live. I hope I’ve successfully reminded you of how totally original you are, how worthy of love you are, how brilliant and wonderful your body is, and what you you need to thrive.”

Susan achieves her mission with flying colors in this book. She is vulnerable, relatable and wise. Her “gold dust” (our word for radiating joy and energy) sparkles on every page, and her generosity – which extends far beyond this book – has been a true gift to me (and many others).

With that, I am thrilled to share a signed copy with one of you! Just leave me a comment by the end of the day on Sunday, and I’ll pick a winner through Random.org early next week.

As Susan says, “May you live a life rich in meaning, health and happiness!” Wherever you are starting from this week, may you take one step closer to all three.

Happy Friday everyone

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The world is re-created in every instant of time, and this moment is always your life’s beginning. No matter how many years have been stolen from you by your own ignorance, by cruel fate, or by the acts of others, you have a clean, broad slate before you. In this instant – this one now – you can begin steering by starlight, and if you do, the rest of creation will conspire to guide, teach, and help you.

—Martha Beck, Steering by Starlight

Martha Beck is one of my ALL TIME favorite authors – she is sharp, hilarious, insightful, and I also find her story fascinating. Beck exhausted herself for years pursuing three Harvard degrees (including a Ph.D) while raising three kids (this after leaving the Mormon church and her family behind), then realized she wanted to become a life coach to save others from the physical and emotional misery she endured for so long. She’s been featured on Oprah, and now runs her own coach training program (which I discovered through fellow coaches Pam Slim and Cath Duncan).

I can honestly say that two of her books – Finding Your North Star and The Four-Day Win – changed my life. The former helped me navigate an emotionally turbulent time in my life, and the latter will forever change the way I think about food and health. Curious about what other gems of wisdom Martha had to share, I read Steering by Starlight over the holidays. The following are excerpts from the chapter on “lizard brain” fears that hold us back.

Excerpts from Chapter 2: Wizard vs. Lizard: The Battle for Your Brain
Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck

Photo Courtesy of Bogdan Suditu (Flickr)

• The entire purpose of your reptilian brain is to continuously broadcast survival fears – alarm reactions that keep animals alive in the wild.
• These fears fall into two categories: lack and attack. On one hand, our reptilian brains are convinced that we lack everything we need: We don’t have enough love, time, money, everything. On the other hand, something terrible is about to happen.
• [Focusing on lack-and-attack fear] ruins your relationships, your body, your life – and it doesn’t protect you from anything. In fact, it often creates what it fears.
• When we’re taken over by intense, high-adrenaline lizard fears about lack and attack, the people around us become anxious as well. They respond to our jitters by getting jittery, our defensiveness becomes defensive. Sociologists call this “social contagion.”
• Psychologists call it projection and reaction formation: Each person responds to the other by projecting her own sense of fear and grasping, then reacting violently against signs of fear (which come across as aggression) in the other. Your hideously controlling boss is so dictatorial that his employees really do want to rise up and depose him. The clingy friend who often shows up unannounced or refuses to leave, hoping to get every possible moment of your time? You avoid that person like the plague.
• A Catholic priest once told me the only thing the Devil can’t stand is being laughed at. This maxim suggests that learning to laugh at our fears is one of the best ways to conquer our own evil tendencies. This is ironic because most of the time, we unconsciously worship our fears, holding them deeply sacred.
• Don’t wait for your lizard fears to go away; they never will, as long as you have a brain. If you do nothing more than choose whatever feels most “shackles off” (freeing) to you, moment by moment, you will fulfill your best destiny.
• Freedom is available at any time, to anyone – and so is captivity. Moving away from fear is not nearly as realistic or productive as moving toward freedom.
• You will never realize your best destiny through the avoidance of fear. Rather, you will realize it through the exercise of courage, which means taking whatever action is most liberating to the soul, even when you are afraid.

***

I read a lot of books – connect with me on Good Reads to keep up!

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Last week I announced that I’m giving away two copies of the prettiest book that’s ever graced my coffee table, The Visual Miscellaneum by David McCandless.

I loved your comments! Some of my favorites:

• Mark KS - Linked to Hans Rosling’s TED Talk (uses “cool data tools to show how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty”)
• Ryan – “I’m not sure this book would be suitable for my coffee table which currently features Men’s Health, ESPN the Mag, and Maxim Magazine. I can’t afford for people to realize I’m a dork – that would totally ruin the image I’ve so carefully crafted” (I don’t know Ryan, I think the cat’s already out of the bag…)
• Kristi R – “I think I might die and go to heaven if I’m ever fortunate enough to get people to send me books for free because I blog.” (Yes! It will happen – so set up that blog and send me the link ASAP!)
• David – “You get nerdier and nerdier every day. The nerdiness never ends. It’s hot.” (Thank you – I take that as the highest compliment!)
• Elisa – “Is there a chart in there for dating and love? If someone could break that down into a bar graph or something for me I’d be eternally grateful.” (Me too! I’d like some dating/love decision matrices that are masked in pretty colors to make the fact that I’m referencing them less depressing.)
• Royce – “That book is awesome. Is it nerdy if I would open that book up to appreciate the graphs and images, even if I completely ignored the actual content of those graphs? Too nerdy?” (Never! Nothing is ever too nerdy in my neck of the woods).
• Catherine – “I like lists, I like random facts, I like to organize, well, just about everything. But, to see such things in pretty graphical form?!? Sounds like my version of nerd heaven!” (Mine too – cheers!)

And without further ado – with screenshots from Random.org – congrats to Valerie M. and Doniree for winning the book giveaway!

VM_random2 VM_random1

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