<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Life After College by Jenny Blake &#187; Fun</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/category/fun/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org</link>
	<description></description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:02:59 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>ALIVE: 12 Ways to Wake Up, Light Up, and Find Your Bliss (with template)</title>
		<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/30/alive-12-ways-to-wake-up-light-up-find-bliss/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/30/alive-12-ways-to-wake-up-light-up-find-bliss/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jenny</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Coaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Templates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yoga]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/?p=5257</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;We show up, burn brightly, live passionately, hold nothing back, and when the moment is over, when our work is done, we step back and let go.&#8221; &#8211;Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat I just got back from the most incredible week of my life&#8230;totally unplugged with 11 other entrepreneurs in a Mayan villa called [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 600px">
	<a href="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/taninah-1-600x300.jpg" target="_blank"><img title="Taninah Bungalow" src="http://www.seanogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/taninah-1-600x300.jpg" alt="Taninah Bungalow - View of one of our palapas" width="600" height="300" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">View of one of Taninah&#39;s palapas (fab photo by Sean Ogle)</p>
</div>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We show up, burn brightly, live passionately, hold nothing back, and when the moment is over, when our work is done, we step back and let go.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8211;Rolf Gates, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385721544/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=lifaftcol-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0385721544" target="_blank">Meditations from the Mat</a></p></blockquote>
<div id="attachment_5263" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 307px">
	<a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jenny-Blake-Yoga-ReverseWarriorPose.jpg" target="_blank"><img class=" wp-image-5263   " style="border-image: initial; border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="Jenny Blake - Reverse Warrior Pose at Taninah at Sunset" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jenny-Blake-Yoga-ReverseWarriorPose.jpg" alt="Jenny Blake Yoga - Reverse Warrior at Taninah (Photo by Sean Ogle)" width="307" height="462" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">Yoga at sunset on top of the water tower (By Sean Ogle)</p>
</div>
<p><strong>I just got back from the most incredible week of my life&#8230;totally unplugged with 11 other entrepreneurs in a <a href="http://www.taninah.com/" target="_blank">Mayan villa called Taninah</a></strong>, situated in the middle of a jungle near Playa del Carmen in Mexico. We slept in palapas at night under the stars, then woke up to the sound of birds chirping and ducks splashing in the pond. We ate three meals a day together cooked by an incredible staff, and laughed, played and had great conversations all day every day like we were kids again.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s funny that just before I left I wrote the post, <a title="What’s Your Happy Place?" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/19/whats-your-happy-place/">What&#8217;s Your Happy Place</a>? I found it. I found it in physical form (the resort had ziplines, a mini golf course, a game room, a treehouse, hammocks, and a waterslide in a cave) and in my spirit &#8212; I&#8217;ve never felt such a pure sense of joy, bliss and love for such a sustained amount of time.</p>
<p>This post won&#8217;t be a recap of my vacation &#8211; there are no words that would do the experience justice. <strong>I feel transformed beyond measure, and this is my attempt at maintaining it moving forward, and helping you find that same sense of aliveness in your own life.</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://amzn.to/jennyblake" target="_blank">My book</a> is centered loosely upon the Wheel of Life (<a href="http://bit.ly/yKalPb" target="_blank">template here</a>), an exercise where you can rate every area of your life on a scale of 1-10 (work, money, friends, family, home, organization, health, personal growth, relationships, fun &amp; relaxation). While that exercise can help you <a title="Shop &gt; Design Your Life Course" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/shop/design-your-life/">design your life</a> in every area, it doesn&#8217;t quite hit on the qualities that bring us alive <em>within</em> that life.</p>
<p>The areas (and <strong><a href="http://bit.ly/yHQTZr" target="_blank">accompanying Wheel of Aliveness template</a></strong>) below are based on my trip and are influenced heavily by Martha Beck&#8217;s latest book, <strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451624484/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=lifaftcol-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1451624484" target="_blank">Finding Your Way in a Wild New World</a></strong>. <strong>I believe they can be applied to any person at any time, because they hit upon fundamental aspects of being fully human.</strong> If there are any areas that don&#8217;t resonate with you, feel free to replace them with ones that do.</p>
<h2>12 Ways to Wake up, Come Alive and Find Your Bliss</h2>
<p>As you read the list below, consider how each one is showing up in your own life (or not). On a scale of 1-10, how present and full is that element? How do you feel when you maximize each one? What would be possible in your life if you were to increase the areas that are lacking? Feel free to also use the <strong><a href="http://bit.ly/yHQTZr" target="_blank">shiny new template</a></strong> for this exercise.</p>
<ul>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Movement/play</strong> &#8211; many of us sit at computers all day and continue staring at screens into the night. How can you incorporate more athletics and movement, even outside of the gym? Yoga in the rain, tossing a football and baseball around, and zip-lining (among many other activities) completely brought me back to my body this week. The owner, Marino, even set-up an obstacle course for us on the last day, and I almost peed my pants watching everyone else go through it! It feels great to sweat and release energy through play. <strong>See also:</strong> Sean Ogle&#8217;s <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/lifestyle-design/the-importance-of-play" target="_blank">The Importance of Play</a> (about our trip)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Dance</strong> &#8211; you may not like dancing, but I believe that there is something incredibly powerful about connecting with music, feeling it in your bones, and letting yourself dance and be free. Sweating in a club, connecting with people around you, or just dancing by yourself when no one&#8217;s watching. <strong>See also:</strong> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY" target="_blank">Where the Hell is Matt?</a> (One of my all-time favorite YouTube videos &#8212; you can&#8217;t watch it and NOT smile)</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Nature</strong> &#8211; It was an incredible experience getting to immerse ourselves totally in a Mayan jungle, especially after coming from THE concrete jungle of New York City. A reminder about how powerful it is to be outside, play outside and rest outside. Go for walks, lay in the grass, sit on a bench and people watch. <strong>See also:</strong> <a href="http://marthabeck.com/2011/12/logging-off-the-power-of-disconnection/" target="_blank">Martha Beck&#8217;s Logging Off: The Power of Disconnection</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong><strong>Water</strong> - </strong>I thought about combining this with nature, but it&#8217;s different. Water has a powerful effect on our bodies &#8212; whether it&#8217;s a pool, hot tub, bath tub, slip and slide, or even staring at a natural body of water like the ocean or a river. <strong>See also:</strong> Bon Iver&#8217;s incredible <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjxA25Tj1Ks" target="_blank">Holocene bonus video</a> from his self-titled album, <a title="A Little Slice of Heaven: 20 Life Lessons I Learned on the Rogue River" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2010/07/26/20-life-lessons-i-learned-on-the-rogue-river/">20 Life Lessons I Learned on the Rogue River</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Community &amp; Connection</strong> &#8211; there is something magical about sharing meals (3 a day), and finding people who inspire you to be the best, most authentic version of yourself. Consider the communities in your life: are they serving your most authentic self? Are they making your life better? During the trip we would come together for a few rounds of &#8220;Ohm&#8221; after every sporting event, even in the middle of a restaurant one day. Ohm is said to be the universal sound, and the beautiful harmony reminded all of us that we are connected and we are loved. <strong>See also: </strong><a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2010/09/21/holstee-this-is-your-life/">The Holstee Manifesto: This is Your Life.</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Laughter</strong> &#8211; laughter is one of the purest forms of joy. Find people who make you laugh, don&#8217;t take life too seriously, and let yourself be silly. <strong>See also:</strong> <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/top10youtubevideos">Top 10 Funniest YouTube Videos</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Learning &amp; Creativity</strong> &#8211; this entails reading books, engaging in conversation, asking questions, giving yourself space to explore your creative side. Engage your mind, and just as you let your body play and be outdoors, allow your inner creativity to shine through freedom and flexibility. By creating such an incredible place, Marino taught us all to dream big, bigger and bigger still. Never give up on bringing your wildest dreams to fruition.  <strong>See also:</strong> <a title="Live for the Dip" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2010/08/31/live-for-the-dip/">Live for the Dip</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Challenge</strong> &#8211; get outside of your comfort zone, tackle big goals and big ideas, undertake projects that bring you alive. <strong>See also:</strong> <a title="Joseph Campbell on The Hero’s Journey" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/03/01/joseph-campbell-on-the-heros-journey/">Joseph Campbell on The Hero&#8217;s Journey</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong> Commitment </strong> &#8211; what matters to you? Commit to living authentically, commit to living in accordance with your core values, and commit to projects and people that carry significant meaning. <strong>See also:</strong> <a href="http://williejackson.com/big-difference" target="_blank">Big Difference</a> by Willie Jackson, about the powerful conversation we had with Marino about the plight of the Mayans (much like Avatar) and his commitment to serving them.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong><strong>Gratitude &amp; Positivity</strong> - </strong>it was amazing to be around a group of people who let all negativity roll right off their backs at any given moment. No sooner did someone state a fear or self-doubt than it was washed away by caring, positive encouragement. This is about maintaining a player mentality (as opposed to a victim role) in your own life, about reframing negative thoughts into positive incarnations, and about constantly reminding yourself of everything in life that you are grateful for, therefore giving it a chance to expand even further. <strong>See also:</strong> <a title="Be Thankful" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2008/11/26/be-thankful-3/">Be Thankful</a>  and <a title="Book Notes: Zen and the Art of Happiness" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2009/10/20/book-notes-zen-and-the-art-of-happiness/">Zen and the Art of Happiness Book Notes</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Letting go</strong> &#8211; resting, relaxing, dropping any thoughts or worries that aren&#8217;t serving you, let small infractions in life roll of your back. My friend <a href="http://hrostoski.com" target="_blank">Mike</a> from the trip uses the motto, &#8220;Zero F*cks&#8221; &#8212; as in, &#8220;I have zero f*cks to give&#8221; when something irritating happens, or even when going into a situation (like a night out with friends to focus on being carefree). He quickly got us to all adopt the phrase &#8212; making sure to clarify that Zero F*cks only applies to stuff that doesn&#8217;t matter, so that you can focus your attention on everything else that does. <strong>See also:</strong> <a title="A Manifesto: Dancing with Demons and Finding the Light" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/01/05/a-manifesto-dancing-with-demons-and-finding-the-light/">Dancing with Demons and Finding the Light</a></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><strong>Light and love</strong> &#8211; sending love to yourself first and foremost, then to all others around you. One love. <strong>See also:</strong> <a title="Light, Love and Yoga Money" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/05/light-love-yoga-money/">Light, Love and Yoga Money</a> and <a title="Expanding Happiness: On Fear and Bliss (with notes from Dad!)" href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2009/12/08/expanding-happiness-on-fear-and-bliss/">Expanding Happiness: on Bliss and Fear (with notes from my dad)</a></li>
</ul>
<div>My deepest gratitude to Marino of <a href="http://taninah.com" target="_blank">Taninah</a> for creating such a magical place, to <a href="http://nicholasreese.com/" target="_blank">Nick Reese</a> for organizing the trip, and to the <a href="http://tumbledesign.com/" target="_blank">ten</a> <a href="http://www.williejackson.com" target="_blank">incredible</a> <a href="http://seanogle.com" target="_blank">people</a> <a href="http://karol.gajda.com" target="_blank">that</a> I <a href="http://hrostoski.com" target="_blank">am</a> <a href="http://artofbusiness.com/" target="_blank">fortunate</a> to <a href="https://twitter.com/alliemahler" target="_blank">call</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/clowjul" target="_blank">family</a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=16085148&amp;authType=NAME_SEARCH&amp;authToken=SNvr&amp;locale=en_US&amp;srchid=4da3fd71-b40a-4a8b-9c25-ed2499c0d455-0&amp;srchindex=1&amp;srchtotal=88&amp;goback=%2Efps_PBCK_*1_Daniel_Jarvis_*1_*1_*1_*1_*2_*1_Y_*1_*1_*1_false_1_R_*1_*51_*1_*51_true_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2&amp;pvs=ps&amp;trk=pp_profile_name_link" target="_blank">now</a>. For those who love travel as much as I do, be sure to also check out Jonah Lehrer&#8217;s <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/mar/14/why-travel-makes-you-smarter?fb=optOut" target="_blank">Why We Travel</a>.</div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts in the comments: What brings you alive?<br />
What do you have room for more of in your life?</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_5262" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 600px">
	<a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jenny-Blake-Yoga-Pigeon-Pose.jpg" target="_blank"><img class=" wp-image-5262  " style="border-image: initial; border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="Jenny Blake - Yoga at Taninah at Sunset (photo by Sean Ogle)" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jenny-Blake-Yoga-Pigeon-Pose.jpg" alt="Jenny Blake - Yoga at Taninah at Sunset (photo by Sean Ogle)" width="600" height="911" border="1" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">Modified pigeon pose at Taninah (HDR photo by Sean Ogle)</p>
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/30/alive-12-ways-to-wake-up-light-up-find-bliss/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>35</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>SQUEE!!! Life After College goes infographic&#8230;and gets poster-ized!</title>
		<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/11/mint-life-after-college-infographic-launch/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/11/mint-life-after-college-infographic-launch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:37:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jenny</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life After College - The Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/?p=5167</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today is a VERY exciting day . . . I&#8217;m proud to introduce the newest member of the Life After College family!* *Oh my . . .now I&#8217;m referring to projects as children. You know you&#8217;re hopelessly addicted to blogging when . . .  In collaboration with Mint and Quicken, we&#8217;ve released an infographic today called [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><div id="attachment_5168" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 300px">
	<a href="http://www.mint.com/blog/how-to/life-after-college-roadmap-012012/"><img class="size-full wp-image-5168 " style="border-image: initial; border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" title="Roadmap to Life After College - Infographic Preview (by Mint &amp; Jenny Blake)" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/RoadmapToLifeAfterCollege_Infographic_JennyBlake_MintQuicken_BlogPreview.jpg" alt="Roadmap to Life After College - Infographic Preview " width="300" height="902" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">Click to head over to Mint and see the infographic in full!</p>
</div>
<p><strong>Today is a VERY exciting day . . . </strong>I&#8217;m proud to introduce the newest member of the Life After College family!*</p>
<p><em>*Oh my . . .now I&#8217;m referring to projects as children. You know you&#8217;re hopelessly addicted to blogging when . . . </em></p>
<p><strong>In collaboration with Mint and Quicken, we&#8217;ve released an infographic today called &#8220;<a href="http://bit.ly/LACMintInfographic" target="_blank">Your Roadmap to Life After College</a>&#8220;</strong> &#8212; an eye-candy CliffsNotes version of <a href="http://amzn.to/jennyblake">my book</a>!</p>
<p>Our aim was to create something fun, interesting and useful, in a style that harkens back to the Choose Your Own Adventure books many of us loved as kids. <a href="http://bit.ly/LACMintInfographic" target="_blank">The Roadmap to Life After College</a> covers six major life areas: Home, Money, Career, Health, Social Life and Fun, with tips and statistics sprinkled throughout. A little <a title="A virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke, or feature in a work such as a computer program, web page, video game, movie, book, or crossword. " href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(media)" target="_blank">virtual easter egg</a>: If you look closely, you&#8217;ll notice that my dog <a href="http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=7zw3J&amp;m=3lCW.qoFWPBR.AZ&amp;b=.SrCWMZLtMmzmFHS.wexag" target="_blank">Patches</a> (may she rest in peace) is in the picture frame at the top <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><em><strong>If you&#8217;re looking to take the roadmap even further, I encourage you to sign-up for my latest greatest <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/shop/design-your-life/" target="_blank">Design Your Life</a> course</strong> (inspired by the infographic) &#8212; six weeks to help you &#8220;stop spinning and start LIVING&#8221; in all the areas above. The best part? If you enroll, you get a friend in free. Accountability is sexy, baby! </em></p>
<p>Whether you are nearing graduation, a few years out, or know someone approaching this major transition, we hope you enjoy the digital adventure on the <a href="http://bit.ly/LACMintInfographic" target="_blank">Mint Blog</a>!</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>That&#8217;s not it&#8230;</strong></span></p>
<p><strong>You can also purchase this infographic (reconfigured slightly) as a <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/your_roadmap_to_life_after_college_poster-228545948569513553" target="_blank">18&#215;24 poster</a>, which I&#8217;m really stoked about. </strong>First official JBE merchandise outside of the book! I may be biased, but I think it would make a great gift for any soon-to-be-grads you know <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts in the comments here or on the Mint blog, and please share this with anyone and everyone who you think could benefit!</p>
<p>***</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Make Sh*t Happen Doors are Open!</strong></span></p>
<p>Thanks to the awesomeness that is <a href="http://anymeeting.com" target="_blank">AnyMeeting</a> (h/t <a href="http://www.seanogle.com/product-reviews/unconventional-guide-to-publishing-review" target="_blank">Sean Ogle</a>), <strong>I was able to record today&#8217;s free Make Sh*t Happen Crash Course</strong><strong>. <a href="http://www.anymeeting.com/jennyblake/E959D785824E" target="_blank">View the recording</a>*</strong> and set your biggest goals on fire for 2012! In a good way, of course <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><em>*If you can&#8217;t see the video and PPT, here&#8217;s the work-around from AnyMeeting: &#8220;Start playing the recordings in question and right click the area where the content is supposed to be playing. Press &#8220;Settings&#8221; on the small menu that appears and now a Adobe Flash Player Settings prompt window should pop up. Uncheck the &#8220;Enable hardware acceleration&#8221; box and close the prompt window. Refresh your browser a couple times and that should resolve the issue.&#8221; Sorry for the hassle! </em></p>
<p><strong>The <a title="" href="http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=7zw3J&amp;m=3lCW.qoFWPBR.AZ&amp;b=BY.957WeoEbmQqlaf18xNQ" target="_blank">full course</a> is now open for enrollment, and I&#8217;m already in love with the early enrollees. </strong>It sold out in less than 24 hours last time, so make sure you get a jump on it if you know you&#8217;re interested.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s what one of the participants, rockstar <a href="http://drdavidgeier.com" target="_blank">David Geier</a>, had to say about his experience:</p>
<blockquote><p>“I really knew very little about this course before I signed up. Someone I know tweeted Jenny’s blog post about leaving Google to pursue her dreams, and that post struck a chord with me. I realized that I have had dreams of new pursuits that were just that – dreams. But something about that post made me want to give the MSH course a shot. And I was shocked how great this course was for me, because everything about it is not at all like me (or my past me).</p>
<p>I remember very specifically how nervous I was typing my big goal into the response section, knowing that the other members of the course would soon read it. I had to open a bottle of really expensive wine I had been saving for a special occasion as I typed it. I hit enter with some fear, honestly. But then I read the other responses and I couldn’t get over how amazing everyone’s dreams and projects were. I felt like we were all starting an amazing journey.</p>
<p>Every step along the way – creating our support network, writing our vision statements, creating accountability, discussing our progress with other course members – made the journey more and more tangible. While I still have a long way to go to complete my goals, I am so much more confident that I can do it and that it will happen that it almost feels inevitable.</p>
<p>I can’t say enough how much Jenny and her course have helped me!”</p>
<div id="testimonialbox3name">—David G.</div>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Cheers — to geeking out on infographics and to big goal swagger in 2012!</strong></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2012/01/11/mint-life-after-college-infographic-launch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>25</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Happy Thanksgiving! An iTunes Giveaway to Express my Gratitude</title>
		<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/11/24/happy-thanksgiving-a-giveaway-to-express-my-gratitude/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/11/24/happy-thanksgiving-a-giveaway-to-express-my-gratitude/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:04:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jenny</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaways]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gratitude]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quotes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/?p=4819</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, happy belated Thanksgiving to the Canadians, and happy Random Gratitude Day to all others around the globe! This quote from the Dalai Lama is one of my all-time favorites &#8212; for two years I had it printed on a piece of paper and taped to my bathroom mirror: Everyday, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><strong>Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, happy belated Thanksgiving to the Canadians, and happy Random Gratitude Day to all others around the globe!</strong></p>
<p>This quote from the Dalai Lama is one of my all-time favorites &#8212; for two years I had it printed on a piece of paper and taped to my bathroom mirror:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Everyday, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.</strong> I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.</p>
<p>—Dalai Lama</p></blockquote>
<p>After every yoga practice when I bow forward in namaste, I give thanks. I pause while my hands are touching my forehead and the ground in prayer-position (bowing forward over crossed-legs) and take a few minutes to cycle through everything I am grateful for.</p>
<p>Today I&#8217;d like to share some of the thoughts that come up most frequently:</p>
<ul>
<li>I am grateful for my body, my practice and my health.</li>
<li>I am grateful to have all of my basic needs met so that I can focus on doing work that inspires me and others.</li>
<li>I am grateful for my wonderful family; for how much they teach, inspire and support me. For their health and happiness.</li>
<li>I am grateful for my friends and for this incredible community.</li>
<li>I am grateful &#8212; so grateful &#8212; to be working for myself <em>because of all of you</em> and now to be living in New York City.</li>
<li>I am grateful to be giving myself the space to stumble, fall, get back up and keep climbing up the steep learning curve of this phase of my life.</li>
<li>I am grateful for my yoga teachers who create such an amazing space for me to relax, release, transform, and fly.</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>A giveaway to express my gratitude for YOU</strong></span></p>
<div class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 278px">
	<img class=" " title="Thanksgiving Cupcake" src="http://www.jeannebenedict.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/thanksgiving-turkey-cupcake.jpg" alt="Thanksgiving Cupcake" width="278" height="269" />
	<p class="wp-caption-text">Is this an awesome Thanksgiving cupcake or what?!</p>
</div>
<p>Hopefully you all know by now how much I love you. If you forgot, read <a title="Book off to press!!! Blogger speechless." href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2010/11/12/book-off-to-press-blogger-speechless/">this post</a> from the day I sent my book off to press.</p>
<p>After almost four years of blogging, you have been my rock. You have been the constant in my life, and the very source of my freedom.</p>
<p>I feel humbly indebted to this blog and to all of you for helping me reach my lifelong dream of being an author/speaker/coach/yoga teacher/entrepreneur extraordinairre.</p>
<p>Thank you for being so wonderful, compassionate, positive and loyal.</p>
<p><strong>As a small token of my appreciation, I am giving away ten $10 iTunes e-certificates (courtesy of JBE!). </strong></p>
<p>Music makes my life go &#8217;round (I&#8217;ve made a seasonal playlist every quarter for the last 10 years), and I&#8217;d love to help you refresh your collection &#8212; whether it&#8217;s for running, car blasting, working, or dancing around the house in your underwear to Mariah Carey&#8217;s version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY&amp;ob=av3e" target="_blank">All I Want for Christmas is You</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>To enter, leave a comment stating something small or unexpected you are grateful for<br />
(ie you get a free pass on saying health, friends or family <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">***</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Since I realize you may be in a tryptophan hangover and/or spending precious time with friends and family instead of commenting on blogs, <strong>the deadline to enter will be Wednesday, November 30.</strong> In the meantime: go grab a water bottle or hairbrush, turn it into a microphone, jump on the bed and blast the following video while singing at the top of your lungs:</p>
<div class="videossc_box" style="width:560px; height:349px;"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yXQViqx6GMY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/11/24/happy-thanksgiving-a-giveaway-to-express-my-gratitude/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>75</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>With Gratitude: Book Tour Best Moments (that can&#8217;t possibly do the whole thing justice)</title>
		<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/06/16/with-gratitude-book-tour-best-moments/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/06/16/with-gratitude-book-tour-best-moments/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:34:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jenny</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cupcakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grab Bag/Hodge Podge/Crock Pot Posts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jenny's Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life After College - The Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Media Appearances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Speaking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Start Here]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/?p=3943</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m typing this post with a heart full to the brim of gratitude. The sun is rising, and I&#8217;m reflecting on my last official book tour stop in Los Angeles on Tuesday night &#8212; a room full of bright, warm people and blog friends (new and old) that my Dad and grandma described as &#8220;smart [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>I&#8217;m typing this post with a heart full to the brim of gratitude. The sun is rising, and I&#8217;m reflecting on my last official book tour stop in Los Angeles on Tuesday night &#8212; a room full of bright, warm people and blog friends (new and old) that my Dad and grandma described as &#8220;smart as a whip.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>YES.</strong> <em>That&#8217;s what every stop has been like.</em></p>
<div id="attachment_3944" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 360px">
	<a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/jenny-blake-book-tour-speech-notes.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-3944 " title="jenny-blake-book-tour-speech-notes" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/jenny-blake-book-tour-speech-notes.jpg" alt="In Los Angeles at Urth Cafe -- planning my final book tour speech" width="360" height="480" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">In Los Angeles at Urth Cafe -- planning my final book tour speech</p>
</div>
<p>I remarked the other day that I feel rich with friends. Above all else, that&#8217;s what this <a href="http://lacbook.com/press-events/book-tour" target="_blank">book tour</a> has taught me. I am rich with brilliant friends, readers and community &#8212; in every city, including the ones I haven&#8217;t had a chance to visit (yet!).</p>
<p>People often ask <a href="http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/announcing-the-unconventional-book-tour/" target="_blank">Chris Guillebeau</a> if his self-funded 50-city book tour was worth it and he always says yes. Mine &#8212; albeit a little smaller scale (coming in at 10 cities) &#8212; was absolutely worth it too.</p>
<p><strong>I&#8217;ve never felt more inspired or more <em>ALIVE</em></strong>. I sometimes resist doing recap posts because I hate the thought of leaving someone important out of a link round-up and I don&#8217;t want anyone to feel left out. So this post may not contain a lot of names&#8230;.but you know exactly who you are.</p>
<p>You know if you purchased a book, came out to my book launch party, a bookstore event, an after party, a conference; sent a tweet, a text, an email, a Facebook note, a picture, or commented on a blog post these last three months. <strong>If you did any one of those things &#8212; or even just quietly followed along through this blog &#8212; I am grateful.</strong> <em>You have given me wings</em>.</p>
<p><strong>Below are some book tour highlights from every city.</strong> If I left your name out, just know that it isn&#8217;t because I don&#8217;t love you!</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>1. Austin Texas &#8212; <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/03/20/8-days-25-moments/" target="_blank">SXSW</a>:</strong></span> a giant dinner hosted by <a href="http://twitter.com/nickreese" target="_blank">Nick Reese</a> with 20+ awesome people, the first official book launch party, hosted by <a href="http://twitter.com/bettyjeanbell" target="_blank">Betty Jean Bell</a> with my first ever <a href="http://www.hillcountrycupcake.com/" target="_blank">cupcake sponsor</a>. Late night Philly Cheesesteaks with <a href="http://twitter.com/andydrish" target="_blank">Andy Drish</a> talking about business and big plans.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>2. Las Vegas, Round 1:</strong></span> Cancelling my flight home (despite a mile-high to-do list just two weeks before my book launch) to hop into a car for a spontaneous 19-hour drive to Vegas with <a href="http://twitter.com/seanogle" target="_blank">Sean Ogle</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ryanmartin07" target="_blank">Ryan Martin</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/bite4size" target="_blank">Jenna Forstrom</a> &#8212; all friends I had met just days prior.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3. <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/03/20/8-days-25-moments/" target="_blank">Bay Area, CA</a>: </strong></span>Doing my first two book store readings; looking out to an audience of friends and family, feeling like a REAL author while signing books, realizing that the whole writing journey was absolutely worth it. Receiving quite possibly the nerdiest-but-most-awesome gift ever from my high school friends &#8212; a framed picture of my book&#8217;s ISBN number.</p>
<div id="attachment_3950" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 368px">
	<a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/patrick_LAC.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-3950" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="patrick_LAC" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/patrick_LAC-1024x768.jpg" alt="Patrick with Life After College" width="368" height="277" /></a>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">Spotted! LAC with my college roommate&#39;s brother, Patrick Connor.</p>
</div>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>4. The Internet at Large:</strong></span> Having you all tweet, email, comment and share your love as you helped me launch the book (check out the <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/04/14/life-after-college-book-launch-post-game-analysis/" target="_blank">post-game analysis of how it all went</a>). Getting tweets with picture of the book on bookshelves across America at Barnes &amp; Noble (and on the beach in <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/05/30/may-miscellaneum/" target="_blank">Hawaii</a>!).</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>5. TEDxCMU:</strong></span> delivering the opening speech to a live audience of 500 people; <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/04/05/10-lessons-from-almost-panicking-in-front-of-500-people-at-tedxcmu/" target="_blank">almost panicking</a> when my slides went out, then feeling proud of the recovery while <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/05/17/video-my-tedxcmu-speech-career-in-the-age-of-the-app/" target="_blank">watching the video</a> back; hanging out with <a href="http://www.charliehoehn.com" target="_blank">Charlie</a> and <a href="http://revolution.is" target="_blank">Amber</a> and supporting each other as we helped show the audience what is possible for their lives and careers; having giant margaritas with the whole TEDx student organizer-crew after the event.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>6. </strong><strong>Making an appearance on my first Morning Show (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qihv2E9qqwA" target="_blank">Video</a> ~2 Minutes)</strong></span></p>
<p>Heading over to the BetterTV studios in NYC on the morning of my book launch party to film a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/jennyblake#p/u/0/qihv2E9qqwA" target="_blank">two-minute video segment</a>. Being swept into the green room where every other guest waited with their personal assistant and/or handler; watching the girls from Jerseyliscious do their thing. Feeling as nervous about those two minutes as any major speech (with only one take to get it right), but being really happy with how it all turned out and keeping fingers and toes crossed that it helps The Today Show find my phone number!</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>7. An Epic NYC Book Launch Party (with 2-minute <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCreativeInterns" target="_blank">Video</a>)</strong></span></p>
<p>Having over 200 people attend the book launch party in New York City. Receiving a larger-than-life cake from my NYC Angel Ann Turi; dancing and connecting with friends throughout the night; signing 200 books for the gift bags with Allie Mahler&#8217;s help; doing my version of a <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/jennyblake/NYCBookLaunchParty02" target="_blank">Sex and the City Photo Shoot</a> with photographer <a href="http://www.photoboothproject.com" target="_blank">Galo Delgado</a>. {<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycreativeinterns/" target="_blank"><strong>Full Flickr set here</strong></a>} <em>Click on photos below to enlarge.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap2.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3954" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="JennyBlake_BookTourRecap2" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap2.jpg" alt="Life After College Book Tour - Snapshots 2 (Jenny Blake)" width="562" height="421" /></a></p>
<p>Here&#8217;s an awesome <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCreativeInterns#p/a/u/0/tLgMYT13-Ak" target="_blank"><strong>two-minute video-recap</strong></a> from videographer <strong><a href="http://www.bryanridgell.com/" target="_blank">Bryan Ridgell</a> </strong>(big thanks to <a href="http://www.nycreativeinterns.com" target="_blank">NY Creative Interns</a>, Victoria Monsul at <a href="http://www.wixlounge.com" target="_blank">Wix Lounge</a>, and Ruth Ann Harnisch!!):</p>
<p><object width="500" height="314" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tLgMYT13-Ak?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="500" height="314" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tLgMYT13-Ak?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>8. Converging on Las Vegas for a second time to attend <a href="http://www.bloggersinsincity.com" target="_blank">Bloggers in Sin City</a> (hosted by the amazing <a href="http://nicoleisbetter.com/thai-massage-talking-dirty-and-free-noodles" target="_blank">Nicole Antoinette</a>):</strong></span> Meeting <a href="http://twitter.com/gracekboyle" target="_blank">Grace Boyle</a> in person for the first time (after knowing her for almost three years online), catching up with old friends, making new ones, having &#8220;business breakfasts&#8221; with Molly and the brilliant <a href="http://twitter.com/RobertCalise" target="_blank">Bob Calise</a>, and <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/jenniferalaine" target="_blank">Jenn</a> and I dancing our hearts out at Pure on the last night with a new friend that we picked up on the walk there (who clearly made the best decision EVER to ditch his friends hang out with 60 crazy bloggers instead). <em> </em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap1.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="size-full wp-image-3951 alignnone" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="JennyBlake_BookTourRecap1" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap1.jpg" alt="" width="562" height="421" /></a></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">9. My last <a href="http://www.answeringoliver.com/2011/06/next-trapeze-bar.html" target="_blank">bookstore event</a> in Seattle, WA</span>: </strong>Being greeted at the airport by the fabulous <a href="http://twitter.com/stratejoy" target="_blank">Molly Hoyne</a>, having <a href="http://twitter.com/dshanahan" target="_blank">Derek Shanahan</a> come down from Vancouver to hang out and shoot-the-shit before my book talk, meeting an awesome crew of readers and friends (including Seattle host <a href="http://twitter.com/MikeKrass" target="_blank">Mike Krass</a>), giving a talk at the bookstore where my dad grew up (check out this <a href="http://www.answeringoliver.com/2011/06/next-trapeze-bar.html" target="_blank">great recap from Devon</a>), heading around the corner for drinks with the <a href="http://www.pocketchanged.com/" target="_blank">awesome</a> <a href="http://www.answeringoliver.com/" target="_blank">people</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/vivekmayasandra " target="_blank">who</a> showed up and sharing our scariest can-barely-say-them-out-loud &#8220;secret&#8221; dreams and big goals with each other.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap3.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3952" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="JennyBlake_BookTourRecap3" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap3.jpg" alt="" width="562" height="421" /></a></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>10. An amazing weekend in Portland for the <a href="http://www.worlddominationsummit.com" target="_blank">World Domination Summit</a>: </strong></span>with far too many great memories and <a href="http://www.nonstopawesomeness.me/2011/06/how-58-creative-positive-productive-dynamos-build-momentum/" target="_blank">new friends</a> to <a href="http://www.undefinableyou.com/" target="_blank">count</a>. Exploding with inspiration and possibility as I thought about all the ways I can grow <em>Life After College</em>. Morning techno dance sessions in the hotel room with my roommate <a href="http://andydrish.com" target="_blank">Andy</a>, catching up over a glass of wine with <a href="http://www.doniree.com" target="_blank">Doniree</a>, meeting <a href="http://www.daveursillo.com" target="_blank">Dave</a> for the first time in person by running into him in the elevator (telling him &#8220;my heart&#8217;s going to explode!&#8221; in the coffee shop the day after the conference ended), meeting the bow-tie master himself <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ambassadorbruny" target="_blank">Mike Ambassador Bruny</a>, Sunday night shenanigans at Dante&#8217;s Sinferno (h/t <a href="http://location180.com" target="_blank">Sean Ogle</a>!), countless strategy and tip-sharing talks over lunch, learning from people I&#8217;ve long-admired like <a href="http://illumintedmind.net" target="_blank">Jonathan Mead</a>, <a href="http://www.productiveflourishing.com" target="_blank">Charlie Gilkey</a> and <a href="http://www.corbettbarr.com/surround-yourself-with-successful-people" target="_blank">Corbett Barr</a>, making many new friends (<a href="http://www.lauraroeder.com" target="_blank">major</a> <a href="http://legalnomads.com" target="_blank">girl</a> <a href="http://taragentile.com" target="_blank">crush</a> <a href="http://suitcaseentrepreneur.com" target="_blank">alert</a>!) and deeply feeling what it&#8217;s like to be surrounded by 500 people who would call you crazy for <em>NOT</em> following your biggest dreams.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap4.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-3953" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="JennyBlake_BookTourRecap4" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/JennyBlake_BookTourRecap4.jpg" alt="Life After College Book Tour Snapshots - 4" width="562" height="421" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="attachment_3976" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 216px">
	<strong><a href="http://twitpic.com/5bz86h" target="_blank"><img class="size-full wp-image-3976  " style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Bird design in latte at Urth" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/bird-latte.jpg" alt="The coolest latte design I've ever seen - at Urth Cafe in LA. " width="216" height="288" /></a></strong>
	<p class="wp-caption-text">The coolest latte design I&#39;ve ever seen - at Urth Cafe in LA. Tweet tweet!</p>
</div>
<p><strong>11. Los Angeles, CA:</strong> The final stop with the most energetic group of book tour attendees yet! Organized by <a href="http://growingforward.net" target="_blank">Scott Asai</a> and generously hosted by his friend Melissa in the &#8220;Hall of Fame&#8221; room at the New York Life offices. Writing a new speech an hour beforehand on fear, change, and big leaps; having my grandma attend one of my speeches for the first time (since high school graduation); meeting two incredible women (and several others) who traveled two hours to be there; and seeing what an <a href="http://allgroanup.com" target="_blank">inspiring</a> <a href="http://blog.joshallandysktra.com/" target="_blank">group</a> of <a href="http://twitter.com/SharlynHartwel" target="_blank">people</a> <a href="http://uintheusa.com" target="_blank">make</a> up the <a href="http://careersoutthere.com" target="_blank">LAC</a> <a href="http://inventure.org" target="_blank">community</a>; going out to dinner with my family afterward to celebrate and trying not to look ridiculous staring as we spotted the judges from American Idol at a table nearby (Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest and Steven Tyler).</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>12. Plane ride to NYC:</strong></span> Jumping back on a plane for a whirlwind trip to NYC to present at a <a href="http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/events/conference/conference-2011-speaker-listing" target="_blank">conference</a>; reflecting on the last 3 months of memories, blissful moments, worn out nights, living out of my suitcase, and <strong>knowing that every single minute and every dollar spent was absolutely, unquestionably <em>WORTH IT</em>.</strong></p>
<p>As I was writing this post, the Black Eyed Peas&#8217; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwQZQygg3Lk" target="_blank">The Time (of my life)</a> song came on. <strong>This book tour has absolutely been the time of my life, and I have every one of you to thank for it. I am rich with friends, I am rich with community, and I bow to you in gratitude. </strong></p>
<p><em><strong>Thank you for giving me wings. </strong></em>There are some big updates ahead &#8212; inspired by you &#8212; and I can&#8217;t wait until it&#8217;s time to share. In the meantime, <a href="http://www.livingwordsofwisdom.com/definition-of-namaste.html" target="_blank">Namaste</a> (I bow to the divine in you) &#8211; and cupcake CHEERS! To great things ahead for all of us <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/06/16/with-gratitude-book-tour-best-moments/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>40</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s-Almost-May Giveaway Day!</title>
		<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/04/28/almost-may-giveaway-day/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/04/28/almost-may-giveaway-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:05:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jenny</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Giveaways]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/?p=3764</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As someone whose mood is directly linked to the weather (for better or for worse), I find myself practically skipping as I write this post&#8230;Spring is springing, people! A colony of butterflies in my brain just got their wings. And yes, I realize that sounds like I&#8217;m on drugs. A drug called Sunshine! And coffee. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><strong><img class="alignleft" title="Butterfly Image" src="http://neenmachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/smithsonian-butterflies.jpg" alt="Butterfly Image" width="118" height="166" /></strong>As someone whose mood is directly linked to the weather (for better or for worse), I find myself practically skipping as I write this post&#8230;<strong>Spring is springing, people! </strong>A colony of butterflies in my brain just got their wings. And yes, I realize that sounds like I&#8217;m on drugs. A drug called <em>Sunshine!</em> And coffee. <em>Too much coffee&#8230;</em></p>
<p>It gives me great pleasure to bring you not one&#8230;not two&#8230;but <strong>THREE giveaways today</strong> as a thank you for being the best readers on the planet! <em>Details on how to enter are in the footer of the post.</em></p>
<p><strong>» Giveaway #1: A copy of Neil Pasricha&#8217;s </strong><a href="ttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399157506/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=lifaftcol-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399349&amp;creativeASIN=0399157506" target="_blank"><strong>The Book of EVEN MORE Awesome</strong><br />
</a>I reviewed Neil&#8217;s first book <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2010/04/15/book-of-awesome/" target="_blank">last year</a>, and I&#8217;m so excited to announce that he&#8217;s already releasing <a href="ttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399157506/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=lifaftcol-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399349&amp;creativeASIN=0399157506" target="_blank">book #2</a>&#8230;today! Neil is an amazing writer who brings optimism, laughs and great perspective with his quirky and heartfelt lists of <a href="http://1000awesomethings.com" target="_blank">Awesome Things</a>. I can&#8217;t help but smile when I read his work &#8212; The Book of Even More Awesome had me grinning from ear-to-ear. Check out <a href="http://1000awesomethings.com/2011/04/28/256-when-the-bass-kicks-in/" target="_blank">#256 &#8211; When the Bass Kicks In</a> (one of my favorite things too!) to watch the awesome book trailer video.</p>
<p><strong>» Giveaway #2: THREE sets of Business Cards from <a href="http://www.uprinting.com" target="_blank">UPrinting.com</a> ($70 value each)</strong><br />
Working on a <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/03/27/6-ways-to-manage-a-side-hustle-without-going-insane/" target="_blank">side hustle</a> and declaring the start of {Your Name} Enterprises? Need some business cards that are just for you (not your company)? Enter to win one of three sets of business cards from <a href="http://www.uprinting.com" target="_blank">UPrinting.com</a> that you can use to promote your business&#8230;or to give random <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-pitti-new-york" target="_blank">hot Italian waiters</a> your number (I know nothing about this).</p>
<p><strong>» Giveaway #3: A <a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=kodak+easy+share+c122&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;cid=12195331994402528507&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=vSS3TZubA6-F0QH1-fDlDw&amp;ved=0CEEQ8wIwBA#" target="_blank">Kodak EasyShare digital camera</a> (~$60 value) from <a href="http://home.insureuonline.org/" target="_blank">National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)<br />
</a></strong>Remember that one time I had my <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/03/07/sxsw-stolen-goods-signs/" target="_blank">car broken into</a> and my laptop, Italian leather bag, Flipcam and Moleskine stolen? <em>Yeah, that sucked. </em>When I tried to get my bag covered by my homeowner&#8217;s insurance, I was told that I needed a receipt (it was a gift) or at the very least a picture of me holding the bag. <em>I had neither.</em></p>
<p>So it was particularly timely when Allie from NAIC reached out to me a week later encouraging me to spread the word about how important it is to photograph your belongings for insurance purposes. Prior to the car incident, I would have shrugged this off. Now I&#8217;m sold &#8211; and want to share the digital camera as a boost for you to do the same. Even if you don&#8217;t win &#8212; I highly recommend you follow the NAIC&#8217;s helpful <a href="http://home.insureuonline.org/" target="_blank">home inventory tips</a>. Unfortunately a similar thing just happened to <a href="http://smallhandsbigideas.com/change/stolen/" target="_blank">Grace</a> who also provides great reminders in her most recent post, <a href="http://smallhandsbigideas.com/change/stolen/" target="_blank">Stolen</a>.</p>
<p><strong>A little insurance inventory education for all of us (from Allie):</strong></p>
<ul>
<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;Do you know how much ‘stuff’ you own? Unfortunately, without a clear grasp of our property, our most prize possessions might not be covered by our homeowners or renters insurance.</strong> One of the best ways to make sure possessions are fully protected is to document them through a home inventory.</p>
<p>A home inventory basically involves documenting the “stuff” in your home to ensure all your favorite things are covered in case of a fire or emergency. As a young single, you might want to consider purchasing renters insurance to cover your possessions, even if living with roommates — don’t rely on the landlord’s insurance.</p>
<p>While there are several options for forming an inventory, a new option is an iPhone application called MyHOME Scr.APP.book. The free app, from NAIC, lets you quickly photograph and capture images, descriptions, bar codes and serial numbers, and then stores them electronically for safekeeping. The app organizes information room by room and creates a back-up file for e-mail sharing.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
</ul>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>How to Enter:</strong></span></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve created three prompts on the <strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/LifeAfterCollege" target="_blank">Life After College Facebook page</a></strong> &#8212; one for each giveaway (that way the entries don&#8217;t get all jumbled in the comments here depending on who wants what). <strong>Respond to each prompt (no more than once, but you can answer all three) by Wednesday, May 4 for your chance to win!</strong></p>
<p>***</p>
<p><strong>Update:</strong> Speaking of giveaways, huge congrats to <a href="http://www.waterfallingupwards.com">Sarah Peck</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/sfmusicchick" target="_blank">Amanda Hansen</a> who won the Life After College launch day <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/2011/03/29/life-after-college-book-happy-launch-day/" target="_blank">coaching session giveaway</a>! If you didn&#8217;t win but want a major life/inspiration/action plan boost, feel free to check out my <a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/coaching/" target="_blank">coaching packages</a> &#8212; I would love to hear from you <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/04/28/almost-may-giveaway-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>8</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Life After College Book &#8211; Happy Launch Day, Baby!!!</title>
		<link>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/03/29/life-after-college-book-happy-launch-day/</link>
		<comments>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/03/29/life-after-college-book-happy-launch-day/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jenny</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Audio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life After College - The Book!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Webinars]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/?p=3537</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s so much going on today that I barely know where to start! This is a three-part post: launch-day reactions and videos, interviews you don&#8217;t want to miss, and details on how to enter to win a signed book and coaching session from me! 1. Pinch Me. My house is in a state of disarray, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><em>There&#8217;s so much going on today that I barely know where to start! This is a three-part post: launch-day reactions and videos, interviews you don&#8217;t want to miss, and details on how to enter to win a signed book and coaching session from me! </em></p>
<p><strong>1. Pinch Me.</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/LifeAfterCollegeBook_JennyBlake.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-3547" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Life After College Book Signing - Jenny Blake" src="http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/LifeAfterCollegeBook_JennyBlake.jpg" alt="Life After College Book Signing - Jenny Blake" width="362" height="376" /></a>My house is in a state of disarray, you couldn&#8217;t pry me out of my sweats if you tried, stacks of unopened mail pile higher every day, and I have to add things like &#8220;shower&#8221; and &#8220;leave the house&#8221; to my to-do list. In Jenny Blake world this can only mean one thing&#8230;book launch day is upon us, baby!!!</p>
<p>It&#8217;s finally HERE. <em>Today</em>.</p>
<p>What?!? I know&#8230;I can hardly believe it either.</p>
<p>Just as some girls spend years fantasizing about their wedding, I&#8217;ve had visions of my book launch party and first book signing for as long as I can remember. What I&#8217;d be wearing, how I&#8217;d be glowing with happiness as I celebrated the proudest day of my life with friends and family, and a feeling deep in my gut that I was fulfilling my exact purpose on this planet.</p>
<p>Through all the ups and downs of the last two and a half years, I am thrilled to report that my vision became a reality this weekend. I had my first book signing on Thursday (sold out of books!) and my book launch party on Saturday &#8212; a signing at Books, Inc. followed by drinks, dancing and cupcakes. Some short video highlights (courtesy of my brother Tom, aka T-Bones):</p>
<p><strong>Video #1: Book Signing at Books, Inc &#8211; 36sec (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e90yMxbFpgo" target="_blank">open in new window</a>):</strong></p>
<p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e90yMxbFpgo?hl=en&amp;fs=1" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e90yMxbFpgo?hl=en&amp;fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object></p>
<p><strong>Video #2: Cheers! From the book launch party &#8211; 8sec (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhEHMKdW3jM" target="_blank">open in a new window</a>):</strong></p>
<p><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EhEHMKdW3jM?hl=en&amp;fs=1" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EhEHMKdW3jM?hl=en&amp;fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>2. Interviews + &#8220;Behind the Scenes&#8221; Webinar Recording</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I&#8217;m collecting all interviews, reviews and mentions on the <a href="http://www.lacbook.com/press-events/around-the-web/" target="_blank">book website</a> &#8212; here are some that you don&#8217;t want to miss!</p>
<ul>
<li>Interview and book review at <a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/elisadoucette/2011/03/29/book-review-life-after-college-by-jenny-blake">Forbes.com</a> (thanks to the amazing <a href="http://opheliaswebb.com/">Elisa Doucette</a>!)</li>
<li>The recording of my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150115667752391&amp;oid=23742245095" target="_blank">Behind the Scenes of the Publishing Process webinar</a></li>
<li>My BlogcastFM interview (~40 minute podcast) on <a href="http://ow.ly/4np0c">How to Get a Book Deal without a Massive Audience</a></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>3. In honor of LAUNCH DAY (SQUEE!!) I&#8217;ve got a special giveaway for you:</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Two readers will win an autographed copy of <a href="http://amzn.to/jennyblake" target="_blank">Life After College: The Complete Guide To Getting What You Want</a> and a <strong>45-minute private coaching session ($300 value!) </strong>to help you find clarity and inspiration around whatever topic you choose.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong>Giveaway Rules:<br />
</strong>Each of the actions below equals 1 or 2 entries. After you&#8217;ve completed one or more, leave a comment below telling me how many entries you&#8217;ve earned (we&#8217;re on the honor system here!):</p>
<ol>
<li>Share this post on Twitter with the hashtag #LACBook &#8211; 1 Entry</li>
<li>Share this post on Facebook &#8211; 1 Entry</li>
<li>&#8220;Like&#8221; the <a title="Life After College - Facebook.com" href="http://facebook.com/LifeAfterCollege" target="_blank">Life After College Facebook Page</a> &#8211; 1 Entry</li>
<li>Let me know you are subscribed to the <a title="Inside Scoop eNewsletter" href="http://forms.aweber.com/form/19/800034419.htm" target="_blank">Inside Scoop</a> newsletter &#8211; 2 Entries</li>
<li>Write an honest review on <a title="Life After College: The Complete Guide To Getting What You Want - Amazon.com" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0762441275?tag=lifaftcol-20&amp;camp=213381&amp;creative=390973&amp;linkCode=as4&amp;creativeASIN=0762441275&amp;adid=0F5VFG9WT87XGNS8WGQQ&amp;" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> (obviously only if you have already read the book!) &#8211; 2 Entries</li>
<li>Copy and paste this <a href="http://www.lacbook.com/press-events/press-materials/help-spread-the-word/" target="_blank">template email</a> to let your networks know about the book &#8211; 3 Entries</li>
</ol>
<p>The contest ends on <strong>Wednesday, April 3rd at 5pm PST</strong>.</p>
<p>Good luck and thank you so much for being here to celebrate with me!!</p>
<p>Big love and hugs to you all <img src='http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
Jenny</p>
<p>***</p>
<p><strong>P.S. Webinar Reminder &#8211; </strong>If you&#8217;re free at 5PST/8EST tonight, join me and Brazen Careerist for a <a href="http://www.brazencareerist.com/promos/life-after-college/jenny-blake" target="_blank">30-minute webinar and 30-minute Network Roulette</a>! During the webinar I’ll share my career development philosophy and side hustle tips for 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of Q&amp;A, then we’ll head into a 30-minute Network Roulette where the first <strong>five</strong> people to get paired with me will win signed copies of <a href="http://www.amzn.to/jennyblake" target="_blank">Life After College</a>.</p>
<p><strong>P.P.S. Bloggers -</strong> are you registered to attend <a href="http://www.bloggersinsincity.com">#BiSC</a> yet? This will be my second year in attendance at Bloggers in Sin City &#8212; a fabulous weekend of drinks, dancing, and chatting poolside. If you register by Wednesday, you&#8217;ll be eligible to enter to win another <a href="http://www.bloggersinsincity.com/registration-raffle-life-after-college-book-free-30-min-coaching-session/comment-page-1#comment-966" target="_blank">book + coaching giveaway</a>!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.lifeaftercollege.org/blog/2011/03/29/life-after-college-book-happy-launch-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>20</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

