Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday. I always used to be a kid at heart around Christmastime who got unnecessarily excited about anything and everything related to the holiday.

But somewhere along the transition into serious adulthood, the chaos of prepping for the holidays while juggling everything else life throws my way during that time has somewhat darkened my Christmas spirit. I’m sure many others can attest to the fact that the stress factor seems to skyrocket during the holidays because it’s more items added to the to-do list.

Putting the stress and rushing around aside, there are several other reasons why people get down around the holidays:

• Friends and family may live around the world and it’s impossible to see all the people we love and care about most.

• We miss loved ones who are no longer with us, and the holidays always make that missing piece seem bigger.

• For some people, the “winter blues” is really a serious disorder called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) that isn’t easy to shake or overcome, even during the most wonderful time of the year.

Whether you’re on vacation and relishing in a relaxing holiday season or you’re running around like mad trying to get everything done (I’m currently somewhere in the middle right now), let’s make this promise together:

I will find AT LEAST one reason to be happy this holiday season.

This is my one and only wish for each and every person who reads this post. No matter what you’re dealing with in life right now, I hope you can find at least one thing in your life that is worth celebrating during the holidays.

I have several friends who experienced (and currently are experiencing) very dark and difficult times this year, so I know it’s easier said than done to pull that one glimmer of sunshine out of all the doom and gloom. But it’s there. I promise. You just have to find. And you have to want to find it.

If you need some inspiration, I like the suggestions in this article about 10 ways to beat the holiday blues.

So, what do you say? Can you put aside your strife and promise to focus on all things happy and good during the holidays? I plan to.

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Anything You Want by Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby) is the kind of book that fits perfectly with my life these days. You can read it in one sitting, and it will probably take you an hour tops.

But don’t let the small size fool you. It’s packed with powerful wisdom and advice that you can apply to both personal and professional aspects of your life. This sentence from the back of the book sums it up nicely:

Must reading for every person who is an entrepreneur, wants to be one, wants to understand one or cares even a little about what it means to be human.

Anything You Want is part of Seth Godin’s The Domino Project, which Godin recently announced is ending. Luckily, if you decide after reading this post that you want to buy it, the book will still be available on Amazon.

Pura vida (pure life) – The signature Costa Rican phrase

I just returned from seven blissful days of honeymooning in Costa Rica. I had never been to Costa Rica before, and I quickly learned why people rave about this country. The scenery is breathtaking, the activities are limitless and the people are beyond kind. Costa Ricans have done an incredible job of using tourism as an economical driving force while still preserving the country’s beauty and natural resources.

Aside from loving that I had the opportunity to speak Spanish for an entire week, there are several other aspects of the country and its people that I love. As I started reflecting on all those things, I realized there are several ways people can apply the Costa Rican way of life to their own lives and businesses. So, here are some suggestions based on what I learned during my time in Costa Rica:

1. Be kind and helpful. This seems like such a no-brainer, yet too many people lack these simple attributes. Simple isn’t always easy, but as Chris Brogan states in his Salt and Pepper Simplicity post, “The more places in our life and our business where we can season with salt and pepper, the better life becomes.”

The natives we met in Costa Rica were some of the nicest and most helpful people I have ever met. Everyone greeted us with a smile and was willing and happy to answer any questions we had. Our trip was amazing from the second we set foot in Costa Rica until we left seven days later, largely because the people we encountered and interacted with were so pleasant. It set the bar high for trips to other countries.

Key takeaway – Whether you’re interacting with friends, coworkers, family, strangers or clients/customers, be kind and helpful. You always end up benefiting in the end when your intentions are genuine and meant to provide help to others.

2. Go above and beyond with customer service – The customer service talk has centered on the opportunities that social media creates for quite some time now, but nothing can trump excellent in-person customer service. A few examples from Costa Rica:

1. A few minutes after we checked into the room at the first resort we stayed at, the manager at the front desk called our room to make sure we were happy with everything. Completely unexpected, yet very much appreciated.
2. The restaurant servers were excellent. They didn’t hover or constantly interrupt conversations, but our coffee cups and water glasses were never empty and plates were promptly removed once we were done eating. Servers were always smiling. If you’ve ever had a horrible experience with a server at a restaurant (or, if you’re like me and spent several years as a restaurant server), you appreciate top-notch service at restaurants because it makes the overall dining experience that much better.
3. When we checked into the hotel we were staying at the night before we left to fly back home, someone called from our travel agency to ask how our trip had been and if there was anything else they could do for us. Again, a pleasant surprise.

Key takeaway – In business, it’s all about making your customers and clients happy. Sure, people will still buy from companies who don’t provide the best customer service, but it’s very likely they’ll share their disappointment in how they were treated. I will highly recommend Costa Rica as a place to visit to anyone I know because the people there treated us so well and genuinely cared about us having a great experience in their country.

3. Care about the environment and make efforts to sustain it – I was really impressed with how much Costa Ricans cared about the environment and preserving their country’s resources. Many hotels worldwide now encourage people to not get new sheets and towels every day unless absolutely necessary. But the hotels we stayed at during our trip (Hotel Parador, Arenal Kioro and The Marriott in San Jose) have implemented several initiatives related to improving and sustaining the environment. They also do a great job of marketing their eco-friendly initiatives through signs around the hotel, brochures in the rooms and their websites.

We took two different hiking tours through the rainforest, and both our guides talked about how Costa Ricans value the wildlife, plants and trees that live in the rainforest. We were allowed to take pictures of the animals they pointed out, but they insisted upon not using flash on the camera and not getting close to the animals in order to not disrupt or bother them (more for the sake of not interrupting their daily lives than the risk of us getting hurt, although they of course warned about the dangers of getting too close to animals like snakes and poisonous frogs!). It was obvious that while tourism is important to this country and it’s what pays the tour guides’ bills, they cared most about preserving Costa Rica’s natural resources.

Key takeaway – Care about the environment and make efforts to sustain it. Simple efforts like turning off lights, recycling paper at your office and recycling unwanted household items versus throwing them in the trash can go a long way. Here’s a good article about surprising ways to recycle everyday items.

4. Show a genuine interest when having conversations with others – As with number one, this seems like common sense. But, since so many people are addicted to their phones and constantly check email and social networks, it’s not as easy as it used to be to get someone’s full attention when talking to them. I have been guilty of looking at my phone while talking to someone (MAL loves to call me out on this, as he should), and I’m very conscious about not doing that anymore because I hate when it happens to me. It’s not too much to ask someone you’re talking with to pay attention, ask questions and show an interest in the conversation, now is it?

Once they realized I spoke Spanish beyond the typical phrases most non-fluent speakers know, every single native person asked me where I learned Spanish. They inquired about my time spent studying abroad in Chile and complimented me on how well I spoke. I could tell they were genuinely interested in knowing how I learned their language, and it was great to have such interesting conversations with taxi drivers, tour guides and hotel personnel.

Key takeaway – Don’t act like you’re off in “I’d rather be somewhere else” land or totally bored when you’re having a conversation with someone else. Even if the topic doesn’t completely intrigue you or you don’t agree with what the person is saying, show respect and at least pay attention to what he/she is saying.

This is really crucial when it comes to having a positive relationship with coworkers and clients/customers. Think about it from a business perspective – Would you do business with someone who acts like they could care less about what you have to say, or someone who is constantly distracted and can’t even focus on a brief conversation? Those red flags would definitely make me think twice if I were in a new business meeting with someone who acted like that.

Also, make sure you ask about others’ lives more than you talk about your own.

Do you agree, and can you identify with these suggestions? Have you had a similar “lessons learned” experience while traveling?

This is a guest post from a new friend I met in the blogosphere, Jenny Herman, aka Many Hats Mommy. Her husband and I connected on LinkedIn and were exchanging messages about PR and social media, and he suggested that I would be a good fit for Jenny’s Wednesday’s Woman feature. Jenny featured me on her blog in a two-part series about best practice tips for blogger outreach. Check out part two here.

Jenny’s post originates from her February article for Today’s Essential Woman, but it’s a perfect fit for my blog. Enjoy!

Nothing says “blah” quite like Michigan in February! Cold winds keep us inside, we slip on ice, and the cloudy skies dampen our spirits. As I was contemplating this, I came up with a few reminders to help us all fight the Michigan winter blues.

Buddy up
Spending time with someone else takes your mind off the grey clouds in the sky. Grab a friend and go to a coffee shop. Window shop at the mall together.

Are your friends too busy? Make new ones! Attend a book discussion at the library. Join the church choir or a volunteer group. Go to a creative class at your local arts and crafts store.

Look for others to help
One of the easiest ways to beat the blues is to help someone else! Make it more fun by doing things anonymously. Challenge your family or friends. Give everyone a little note card that says, “Hope this brightens your day.” Encourage each person to use their card in the next 24 hours. Of course, to give the card away they need to do something for someone else – leave money for coffee, fold laundry, shovel snow, leave groceries on a doorstep, etc.

Activate endorphins
Take small bits of time in your day and do a quick pick-me-up exercise break to release those happy brain chemicals called endorphins. For example, I have started doing “exercise expeditions” with my sons. We walk quickly down the apartment building hallways. We do some stair-stepping on the lowest level. We wave our arms around crazily as we walk.

Another idea is simply to turn on some music and dance to a song or two. If you’re self-conscious, do it when no one is around. If you have children, get them involved. They will love being silly with you and won’t even realize they’re doing exercise.

Have a grateful spirit
It’s hard to be thankful and complain at the same time. This practice has really improved my mental health. I know – you may be facing really tough times. Try to find something to be thankful for, no matter how small. I would encourage you to purchase an inexpensive spiral notebook and each day write down things you’re thankful for. Some days one may seem hard enough, and other days you may find 20. Later, you have something you can read over when you’re feeling down.

So, the next time you’re walking outside, ankle-deep in brown slush, and you think of how “blah” the day is, remember these four little things you can do to turn the day around. In fact, why don’t you start right now by sharing this article with someone else who may be feeling a little too wintry today.

Jenny Herman fights the Michigan winter blues in Southgate with her husband and two boys. She thinks out loud about a variety of topics on her blog (manyhatsmommy.blogspot.com) and invites you to stop by.

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You would have to have been holed up in your home with no access to news or the Internet to not have heard about the homeless man with the golden voice. If you’re thinking “say, what?”, watch this short video before reading further:

To quickly sum up the story, a videographer from The Columbus Dispatch took the above video of Ted Williams, who was homeless. He held a sign claiming he had a God-given talent of an amazing voice, the videographer captured him doing his “radio voice” on camera and boom, Ted Williams became an overnight Internet sensation. Ted has appeared on national news programs like the TODAY Show, and Quicken Loans and the Cleveland Cavaliers have offered Ted a job AND a home.

You can spend hours reading the many stories about how Ted’s life has been dramatically changed in the best way possible this week, so I don’t want to retell those stories here. What I do want to touch on is how Ted’s story should remind us how a little help can go a long way. Think about how long it took the Dispatch videographer to shoot and upload that video to the Internet. That minimal time has completely transformed the life of someone who was previously living on the streets.

Wouldn’t we all be so lucky to say that we played a major role in profoundly changing someone’s life? Put education, money and professional achievements aside. You want to know how you really achieve greatness in this world? You help other people. When I hear about amazing stories like this, I get giddy thinking about the day when I’ll have the opportunity to produce this kind of happiness in someone else’s life.

Maybe you’ll never cure cancer or rid the world of homelessness, but you can make it a top priority to be as helpful to others as possible (and this isn’t limited to charitable acts). Don’t do it solely to gain recognition or reap rewards, but I promise your life will become more enriched if you take others along with you on your road to success.

If you want another dose of inspiration, check out what Mark Horvath is doing with InvisiblePeople.tv and We Are Visible.

So, what are you doing to help others?

Everyone knows someone who gives uncondtionally because they care more about others than they do about themselves. These are people who never stop trying to make the world a better place. Whether they’re helping a handful of people or hundreds of thousands, their actions make a positive impact.

Some of these people get showered with thanks and gratitude for their hard work. Others are silent soldiers who do good but don’t get rewarded as much as their counterparts for any number of reasons. From saying “thank you” to nominating someone for a prestigious award, there are a variety of ways to put the spotlight on do-gooders. I recently learned about a really creative way to recognize people who shine.

It’s called the Yellow Envelope Project. It’s an initiative started by the House of Shine, which brings together people who are committed to being their best and to bringing out the best in others. The goal of the Yellow Envelope Project is to recognize everyday citizens who make a difference. Each week, people who participate in the initiative send letters of gratitude in a yellow envelope to the selected person of the week who will receive the letters. I really like how the person of the week’s story is included so you can clearly see why this person is deserving of recognition.

Pretty creative, right? If you’re any bit inquisitive, you’re probably wondering about the story behind this project. Claudia Beeny is one of three ladies who makes up the House of Shine team, and she answered a few questions for me about the Yellow Envelope Project:

When was the project started, and what inspired you to start it?
The Yellow Envelope Project is an outgrowth of my website, www.houseofshine.com. – a website dedicated to teaching and promoting principles of excellence. We thought that one way we could promote the principles of shine would be to catch everyday citizens in the act of being excellent – of brightening their corner of the world by going above and beyond.

Our focus is very clearly on everyday citizens who go out of their way to shine. They are the teachers, coaches, neighbors, postal workers and baristas who help keep our communities going. You will never see them on the front page of the paper or the Today Show. They might never win an award or receive a plaque, but they shine because every day they get up and find ways to pour themselves into the lives of others.

We were inspired to start the Yellow Envelope Project because we recognize that shining takes effort and that sometimes going above and beyond can leave you feeling tired. We were inspired to find a way we could help keep these people motivated. Our idea is, each week, to select a winner and to flood his or her mailbox with anonymous letters of gratitude. Letters that, of course, are mailed in yellow envelopes.

How many people have nominated someone for the Yellow Envelope Project since it started?
The project has existed for a year now, and during that time, more than 100 people have been nominated. Currently, we select one winner a week, and on Saturday mornings, post a mailing address for that week’s recipient at www.yellowenvelopeproject.com. Participants have one week to write their note and mail it before we meet again the following Saturday to recognize another person who shines.

Do you have a favorite story to share about a nominator or a recipient?
A few weeks ago, we flooded the mailbox of a woman who volunteers quite a bit of her time in the neonatal unit of her local hospital. It turns out she was out of town the week her mailbox was flooded with yellow envelopes. She was visiting her grandsons, both of whom received devastating medical diagnoses that week. When she returned home she was greeted with countless anonymous letters of gratitude from around the country. That felt good.

Last weekend we sent our first letter to a teenager. Her mother wrote in telling about how her daughter ate lunch with special needs children, despite the bullying and ridicule she received from other middle-schoolers. Encouraging her at such a young and impressionable age felt especially important.

Why is spreading happiness your passion?
I think promoting excellence is more of a passion for me than spreading happiness. In a world where so many people worry only about themselves and take pride in finding loopholes or in taking the path of least resistance, I am motivated to send a different message. I am committed to harnessing the energy of everyone who believes that settling for mediocrity is the surest way to beget more mediocrity and that individual acts of excellence can eventually add up.

I want people who shine to know that others notice. I want them to know we realize how much extra energy it takes to go the extra mile and that we respect their commitment to going above and beyond. I want people who shine to have letters – physical proof – that their time on earth matters and that small gestures in small communities really are appreciated. I want them to know they are a part of a larger movement – a growing group of people committed to powering the planet with shine.

Do you have any future plans for the Yellow Envelope Project or House of Shine that you’d like to share?
We wouldn’t shine if we didn’t have big plans for the Yellow Envelope Project and the House of Shine, would we?

In the immediate future we will develop a new Yellow Envelope Project website. The site will feature Yellow Envelope Project recipients, as well as introduce readers to other ways they can join our mission to Power the Planet with Shine. We are working on initiatives that introduce concepts of shine to elementary school kids, as well as providing workshops and trainings on the principles of shine. Naturally, another goal is that each week we would have hundreds of nominations rolling in from all over the country, spotlighting people who go above and beyond.

Our plan for the House of Shine is to establish the site as a resource for people who are committed to principles of excellence. Currently, we host a daily blog on our site, but we would also love to feature vendors, products and websites that shine, offer virtual workshops and someday make our message of shine every bit as recognized as “Life is Good.”

So, how can you get involved? You can mail a yellow envelope and letter of thanks to recipients, you can nominate a recipient or you can select your own recipient. Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, taking part in the Yellow Envelope Project is an awesome way to show thanks for someone who puts a smile on your face. I know who I’m nominating!

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Summer is starting to wind down, and that means it’s almost back to school time for many children. I remember how much fun it was to go shopping for all the new school supplies I would need for the upcoming year. I loved picking out a new backpack and finding folders and notebooks with cool designs that matched my personality (many were pink and glittery…go figure!).

Unfortunately, starting a new school year is not always a happy time for kids because many parents cannot afford all the necessary school supplies. You might be thinking, “How much can a few pencils, pens and notebooks really cost?” But trust me, it adds up.

It was Friday after work. I didn’t get enough sleep the night before, so I was exhausted. Even though couch time sounded enticing, I had been looking forward to playing in a tennis mixer all week and had multiple practices canceled in previous weeks due to the weather. Once again, the weather decided to not cooperate and it was raining off and on the whole day. I stopped at the store to buy my contribution snack fully knowing the match would be canceled once I showed up.  You know those times when you’re crabby just because you feel like being crabby? That was me. So, I was not in the best mood when I walked in the store.

I chose to stop at Trader Joe’s because it was conveniently located on my route home. I quickly located what I wanted and got in line. If you’ve ever been to Trader Joe’s, you know customer service is a top priority. I’ve always been pleasantly surprised by how cheery and just plain nice the cashiers are at that store. Some people like to go about their business and not make small talk when shopping, but I appreciate when someone goes out of their way to talk to me. My sour mood quickly changed once I started chatting with the cashier. He made sure I didn’t need anything else and then got me talking about my weekend plans. Maybe he’s one of those perma-peppy dudes, or maybe he was just having a great day, but his happy mood quickly lifted my spirits. Our talk lasted no longer than a minute, but I left feeling silly for ever being crabby in the first place. I also made a mental note to remember why I need to visit Trader Joe’s more often (good customer service = customer retention, for all you marketing folks out there!).

Fast forward to today. A friend of mine told me about some on-the-side work he’s doing for The Friendship Circle. He mentioned how his contacts there want to connect with more people in the community. He introduced us, and I checked out the place today.

The mission of the The Friendship Circle is to provide assistance and support to the families of children with special needs. I had heard of the organization, but the little I knew about it revolved around the $100,000 grant it won earlier this year through the Chase Challenge Facebook contest.

I took a tour of The Friendship Circle and its Weinberg Village, an interactive and mock real world town that lets children with special needs have fun while learning important life skills at the same time. They get real spending money from the bank, which they can use to go to the movies or buy something at the drug store. There’s a pet store, a library, a salon for haircuts and manicures and even a dentist and doctor’s office. The village provides a safe environment for children with special needs while making them feel like an important part of society and teaching them how to do daily tasks that someone without special needs most likely completes without thinking twice.

Weinberg Village was super cool, but I was also impressed with the main area – the Ferber Kaufman LifeTown. Everywhere I looked I saw something that was meant to bring happiness to children. The LifeTown area had a variety of themed rooms, like an arts and craft room and an interactive room with games. There was a huge tub of colored balls where kids could jump in and play, monkey bars, a sand pit and plush foam squares with a trampoline below it. So fun, right? There’s even a special quiet room where parents can chill out and relax while their kids participate in activities.

I learned today that The Friendship Circle is not only a happy place for children with special needs, but also for parents, volunteers and everyone else who works non-stop to make the organization successful. I couldn’t believe that a place like this that is so unique and important to our community has existed for 15 years, but I just learned about it today. There will be more to come on The Friendship Circle in the next few weeks!

Those are my two recent happy tales to get your week started off right. Please share any recent happy experiences if you have them!

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There was an interesting op-ed piece titled The Sandra Bullock Trade in The New York Times this past week about happiness and what teams of researchers have discovered about happiness in the past few decades (hat tip to the Zappos for tweeting this article).

One of the key research findings is that “worldly success has shallow roots while interpersonal bonds permeate through and through.” Makes sense, right? You cannot place the same amount of value on happiness and success because many successful people are miserable. Having a multi-million dollar annual salary means crap if you work 80 hours a week and never spend time with the people you love or doing the activities that make you happy.

The “money can’t buy love” mantra reminds me of reality TV shows I’ve seen about people who win the lottery but wind up unhappier than they were before they hit the jackpot. Winning the lottery doesn’t automatically boost your well being. Neither does landing a promotion at work. The article points out that people get slightly happier as their income rises, but this is contingent on how they experience growth. Wealth can bring on unrealistic expectations and derail stable relationships. But for those who experience growth in a more positive way, new responsibilities at work can lead to more interesting opportunities in life.

The overall impression from the happiness research is twofold: (1) Economic and professional success aren’t as rooted and important as interpersonal relationships. (2) Most of us pay attention to the wrong things, meaning we are trained to concern ourselves more with the material things in life versus those that truly matter.

I’m not trying to denounce the importance of money. I wish every person on this planet had enough money to live comfortably. What concerns me is people who equate happiness to wealth. You have to ask yourself, is earning a six or seven figure salary worth it if you never have time to enjoy life? I say absolutely not.

I would choose my health, friends and family who love me for who I am and a good balance between my career and social life any day over money. If that means I’ll live in a three bedroom bungalow in a metro Detroit suburb for the rest of my life, then so be it.

Who’s with me?

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If you live in a part of the world where cold weather exists for a good portion of the year, you understand why the first signs of spring are a sigh of relief. I walked out of work every day this week and instantly felt excitement/happiness from feeling the warm temps and seeing the ice melting on the Detroit River. It’s amazing how something as simple as warm weather can instantly brighten a person’s mood. I took the above picture to share a little piece of the happiness I’ve been feeling all this week.