One of my favorite activities, whether by myself or while leading one of my teams, is to make a gratitude list. After all, research proves that gratitude is a key element of happiness, so what better way to get in a good mood or get your team in a good mood than a little gratitude. 

The activity is quite simple: Set a timer on your phones for 2 minutes (everyone has 2 minutes to spare, right?), open up the Notes app on your phone, and then write the words "I am grateful for" and make as long a list as you can in 2 minutes. Write down everything that goes through your head- it's all good, as long as you feel gratitude throughout the process. You can be grateful for things large and small, simple and complicated, people, material things, and things in nature. 

The amazing thing you'll find, is in just 2 minutes, your mood will go from bad to good, or good to great, or great to ecstatic. The power of authentic gratitude to change your mindset is well documented. And over time, 2 minutes at a time, your increasingly positive mindset will absolutely make you a better leader, make you more happy, and change your life. I'll demonstrate, right here and right now: 

I am grateful for: 

1) my new son Seth and my 2 amazing daughters 

2) the sun which keeps our planet warm enough

3) my wife Carrie 

4) my family 

5) my friends from high school 

6) my friends from college 

7) my awesome teams at Likeable Local and Likeable Media

8) the internet 

9) social media 

10) LinkedIn 

11) love 

12) my first boss 

13) my teachers 

14) the train that takes me to work each day 

15) New York City 

16) great theater 

17) great books (Give and Take is a must read!)

18) dancing 

19) learning 

20) laughter 

21) clean water

22) oranges 

23) my amazing editors 

24) ice cream 

25) anything gluten-free that actually tastes good 

26) the Mets 

27) tennis 

28) musicians at Penn Station 

29) Thanksgiving 

30) my new jacket 

31) my house 

32) my orange shoes 

33) opportunities to learn and grow every day 

34) my investors 

35) mentors who've believed in me 

36) trees 

37) my parents 

38) my brothers 

39) my neighborhood 

40) sunsets 

41) rainbows 

42) butterflies 

43) unicorns, even if they're not real, for the joy they bring my daughter Kate 

44) escalators 

45) planes 

46) my health 

47) my doctors 

48) police officers and fire fighters who keep us safe 

49) Apple and my new iPhone

50) my advisory board 

51) unbiased reporters 

52) non corrupt politicians 

53) clocks 

54) Christmas music (even if I'm Jewish) 

55) God and my religious community 

56) the amazing opportunities I was born into in the United States 

57) Twitter 

58) strawberries 

59) Darryl Strawberry 

60) dark chocolate 

61) green tea 

62) sushi 

63) my executive team at Likeable Local 

64) small businesses 

65) my winter coat 

66) vodka sodas 

67) tolerance 

68) kisses 

69) discounts 

70) my favorite bloggers (I'm looking at you, James Altucher!) 

71) seasons 

72) water slides 

73) our partners 

74) Disney 

75) snow 

76) my kids' teachers 

77) anyone who can make exercise fun for me 

78) fruit salad 

79) protein 

80) likeable salespeople 

81) startup entrepreneurs 

82) non-annoying marketers 

83) my forum from Entrepreneurs Organization 

84) great nonprofits like Donors Choose 

85) my life 

86) standing desks 

87) our core values 

88) Mark Zuckerberg 

89) fantasy and dynasty league baseball 

90) vacations 

91) bold people 

92) dreams 

93) parades

94) jokes 

95) enough money 

96) helium 

97) lessons I've learned even if they seemed tough at the time 

98) children's books 

99) online education 

100) Venn diagrams 

101) babies