It is very hard to want to move up quickly and still have a high quality of life.  I can honestly say I was Mr. Retail when I began my one and only full time job (I hope to never have a full time job again!).  I would go in on my days off, I would come in early and stay late.  When I got home I constantly thought about ways to increase profits.  When I wasn’t working I would take my girlfriend at the time to other retailers just to see what they were doing.  I sacrificed many quality aspects of my life in an attempt to move up quickly.  The most important qualities of life I sacrificed were relationships and time and I am glad I got out as quickly as I did.

With that being said I now realize that finding a happy medium between being ambitious and seeking a high quality of life is what is right for me.  As most of you know I am extremely excited and devoted to increasing the readership of Subprime Blogger.  With that, I have realized that more “excess” time and effort put into the website sometimes burns me out.  A few weeks ago I explained that I can usually get my work done in three hours a day.  Once I have completed my work I have the ability to do as I please.

I have created a fitness plan that allows me to do between three to four hours of fitness activities a day.  These activities include yoga, mountain and road biking, working out, cardio, and squash.  Obviously, with a significant amount of time, I can expand this list but as of right now this is where I stand and I absolutely love it.  By the end of the day my body is physically tired and my mind has not wandered in the ways it used to.  For me this is one of the many perks of being a professional blogger and I would not trade it for any job in the world.

Quality of life versus ambition is something that is hard for many young professionals.  It seems that after a few years of working hard many people understand that they cannot sacrifice everything in their life for their job.  Sometimes it is too little too late and I hope this has not happened to you and I hope it never will.  Take the time to call loved ones, take the time to go for a three mile run and most importantly take the time to find out the things in life that make you happy and do them as much as you can!

Something that always comes up with I think of clinging too tightly is my personal investment portfolio.  When I was in college and a recent graduate I made sure that my real time ticker was always streaming with up to the second quotes on all the investments I owned.  I was so analytical about it that I actually talked myself out of some very profitable trades.  After getting a full time job I no longer had time to check my stocks every day.  I noticed that the less I analyzed my portfolio the better it performed.

I will never be the investor who just random picks stocks but I am convinced that I need to go with my gut instinct and just leave it at that.  In early 2005 I told all of my friends and family to buy gold under $600; luckily for me I made this purchase as well and I continue to hold it.  Over the course of the last five years I can document many stocks that I bought and sold too early because I was clinging too tightly.  I will continue to hold on loosely to my investment portfolio but I won’t let go!

I am sure many of you have had relationships that involved someone overbearing.  That individual could have been a mother or father, your significant other or even yourself.  You probably realized, after time, that the more you tried to make things better the harder they got.  I often use the analogy of holding a can of Coke when it comes to relationships.  If you hold the can too tight you are going to start crushing it but if you do not use enough strength you are going to let the can drop to the floor and all the Coke will spill out.  Once again, there must to be a happy medium in which you can hold the can comfortably and just move forward.

If you get in a situation in your life that involves thinking about something each and every day you might want to turn on the 38 Special song and realize that it would be a good idea to “hold on loosely, but don’t let go.”  Getting something off your mind and allowing yourself to refresh goes a long way in making mature, correct decisions.  Right now finances are a big concern for many people.  Dwelling on your finances each and every day is likely to just bring you down so take some time to yourself and enjoy your happiness list rather than thinking about your credit score.  With that in mind, don’t let go!  Eventually you will need to come back to your financial situation and clear things up but try to hold on loosely.

There are many aspects of my life that almost every American desires – no boss, no set schedule, I can earn money from anywhere on the planet, a solid income, healthy, young, energetic.  I could go on and on but once again I will be attempting to convince myself that I am happy and full of life.  Looking from an outside perspective many of my friends and family members feel as if I live the dream life.  In all reality, I probably do but I have not been enjoying it over the last few weeks and possibly even months.

I went through a few personal issues this summer and these issues seem to be hanging on to me.  I feel as if I am completely over this issue but, once again, I am trying to convince myself of that rather than just letting it happen.  I truly believe I have the potential to live the dream life but I need to allow it to happen rather than dwell on things that I cannot control.

Today I am going to start an activity that I think will help you to increase happiness.  There is an activity or event that we all love to do.  Even if you are severely depressed there are still things that you enjoy.  The one caveat to this activity is it has to be an activity that you can do even if someone in particular does not want to do it with you.  You cannot say “I love going out to a movie with my ex-girlfriend.”  This is not helping you at all because all you are going to do is dwell on how you are not with her anymore and you wish you could go to a movie with her.  Going to movies with friends is acceptable though.

With that being the only rule now we will move on to the activity.  Sit down with a pencil and paper or on your personal computer and write down every little thing you can think of that makes you happy.  At first it might be hard to think of some ideas but check your email, look at the bookmarks on your internet browser, skim over old notes or even just look at your dvr’d shows.  I am sure these activities will spark some of the interests in your life.

While thinking about the things that make you happy do not limit yourself.  If you once spent a summer in France and you will never forget it then that is something that makes you happy!  It might take you awhile to compile the list but it will definitely be worth it once it has been complete.  Below you are going to find my list and the things that make me happy no matter who is involved;

• Giving and receiving advice about life
• Watching Lost
• Long “presence” walks – walks where I am completely in the moment, no past and no future thoughts
• Stock market analysis, especially looking at historical stock charts
• Driving my 2009 Audi a4
• Reading history of financial markets
• Eating a new type of food or at a new restaurant
• Sprinting – I was a former college track athlete
• Working out
• Reading Muscle Media
• Watching water flow through a riverbed
• Catching any fish on a dry fly
• Having intelligent conversations with anyone who has the entrepreneurial spirit
• Watching funny movies – The Hangover is the greatest movie ever
• Playing Risk
• Sitting at Westover Barber Shop and enjoying the conversation
• Reuniting with long lost friends
• Smiling
• Laughing until it hurts
• Researching Financial security
• Enjoying College Football Saturdays in the Fall
• Being mentally challenged
• Learning to cook new dishes
• Sitting and enjoying nature from a distance
• Stretching my body through yoga
• Meditating

This is just the beginning of my list and I will continue to come back to it over time.  The list you create is not even close to being complete.  Each time you find something new that makes you happy make sure to add it to your list.  By creating a free blog on wordpress or blogspot it will make it very easy to keep this entry updated.  Make sure that you do not lose your happiness solely in one other person; especially for this activity.  We have all been through heartbreak and that will ruin the entire activity if you happen to go through it.

I would suggest that every single day you do at least one of the activities on this list.  If you want to find true happiness throughout your day make sure to do several of these activities.  Obviously you will not be able to do every single activity but try to get them all in over a months period of time.  Going through a 30 day happiness period never hurt anyone.

When you feel down or even slightly depressed you can come back to your happiness list and think about all the things that cheer you up.  Sometimes it just takes a little reassurance that life is beautiful but once we figure it out all aspects of our lives with reverberate with joy and excitement.