Ted Leonsis

"I. Family Matters 1. Fall in love and get married ☑ 2. Have a healthy son ☑ 3. Have a healthy daughter ☑ 4. Take care of mother/ father ☑ 5. Take care of in-laws ☑ 6. Take care of extended family ☑ 7. Have grandchildren ❒ 8. Have great-grandchildren ❒ 9. Leave trusts for family members ☑ 10. Leave all financial matters in great shape for family members upon passing on ❒ 11. Have children become individuals and self-actualized staying loving within the family ☑ II. Financial Matters 12. Pay off college debts ☑ 13. Net worth of ten million dollars, after taxes ☑ 14. Net worth of one hundred million dollars, after taxes ☑ 15. Net worth of one billion dollars, after taxes ❒ 16. Zero personal debt for family ☑ 17. Make ten million dollars on an outside investment ☑ 18. Become a partner in a venture capital fund ☑ 19. Create one billion dollars in value with an outside investment ❒ 20. Start a company and sell it ☑ 21. Conduct an IPO on a company I founded ☑ 22. Create world’s largest media company ☑ III. Possessions 23. Own a beach home that stays in family ☑ 24. Own a jet ☑ 25. Own a yacht ☑ 26. Own a convertible Porsche or Mercedes Benz ☑ 27. Own a mountain home that stays in the family ❒ 28. Own a great piece of art ☑ 29. Own a great personal collection of watches ☑ 30. Own a Ferrari ☑ 31. Restore an antique auto ☑ 32. Own a restaurant or club ☑ 33. Support someone who makes a great breakthrough in science or art ❒ IV. Charities 34. Change someone’s life via a charity ☑ 35. Give one million dollars to Georgetown University/ sit on Board ☑ 36. Major impact on a children’s charity ☑ 37. Start a family charity foundation ☑ 38. Give away one hundred million dollars in lifetime ❒ 39. Have a building/ perpetual memorial named after the family ☑ V. Sports 40. Own a sports franchise (basketball, hockey or football) ☑ 41. Win a world championship ❒ 42. Attend a Superbowl with Dolphins or Redskins ☑ 43. Attend a Final Four with Georgetown ☑ 44. Attend a World Series with Yankees ☑ 45. Meet Mickey Mantle ☑ 46. Catch a foul ☑ 46. Catch a foul ball ☑ 47. Go to an NBAAII-Star ☑ 47. Go to an NBA All-Star Game ☑ 48. Go to an NBA Draft ☑ 49. Go to an NHL All-Star ☑ 49. Go to an NHL All-Star Game ☑ 50. Go to a Capitals Stanley Cup game ☑ 51. Go to Olympics ☑ 52. Play Augusta ☑ 53. Play Pebble ☑ 53. Play Pebble Beach ☑ 54. Play Cypress Point ☑ 55. Play St. Andrews ❒ 56. Go to Ryder ☑ 56. Go to Ryder Cup ☑ 57. Go to US Open Golf ☑ 57. Go to US Open Golf Tourney ☑ 58. Go to World Cup ❒ 59. Get a hole-in-one ❒ 60. Play in a celebrity golf tournament ☑ 61. Go to a US Open Tennis ☑ 61. Go to a US Open Tennis Final ☑ 62. Go to baseball All-Star Game ☑ 63. Go to a Fantasy Camp ☑ 64. Shoot baskets at Madison Square Garden or Boston Garden ☑ 65. Go one-on-one with Michael Jordan ☑ VI. Travel 66. Go to Greece ☑ 67. Go to Italy ☑ 68. Go to Israel/ Jerusalem ☑ 69. Go to ☑ 69. Go to Hawaii ☑ 70. Go on safari to Africa ❒ 71. Go to London ☑ 72. Go to ☑ 72. Go to Paris ☑ 73. Go to Australia ☑ 74. Sail thru Caribbean ☑ 75. Sail thru Mediterranean ☑ 76. Go to ☑ 76. Go to China ☑ 77. Go to Brazil ☑ 78. Go to Alaska ☑ 79. Go to Egypt ☑ 80. Go to Bali ❒ 81. Go to Tahiti ❒ VII. Stuff 82. Be on cover of a magazine ☑ 83. Produce a TV show ☑ 83. Produce a TV show ☑ 84. Go into outerspace ❒ 85. Write a book ☑ 86. Invent a boardgame ☑ 87. Make a movie ☑ 88. Win a Grammy/ Oscar/ Tony/ Emmy Award ☑ 89. Swim with dolphins ☑ 90. Swim with Great White sharks ❒ 91. Get an honorary degree ☑ 92. Hold elective ☑ 92. Hold elective office ☑ 93. Go to White House/ Meet President ☑ 94. Advise a foreign government ☑ 95. Live overseas for one year ❒ 96. Go to Oscar ceremonies ☑ 97. Go to MTV Awards ☑ 97. Go to MTV Awards Show ❒ 98. See the Rolling Stones ❒ 99. See the Who ☑ 100. Take a year sabbatical ❒ 101. Sail around the world with family ❒ Appendix B The Happiness Questionnaire 1. Describe when or where you are most happy. 2. Would the people that know you best—family, friends, coworkers—describe you as a happy person? 3. Do you consider yourself happy . . . a. All of the time b. Most of the time c. Some of the time d. Never? 4. Have you ever compiled a list of your life’s goals? 5. If you haven’t, do you have in mind a rough list of your life’s goals? 6. If you have a list in mind, please share some of your most important life’s goals—those you may have already achieved or those you’re still striving toward. You can list as few as 2 or as many as 10. 7. Are you on track to accomplish your goals? 8. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “not important,” and 10 being “extremely important,” how important is it that you achieve most of your life’s goals? 9. Has there ever been a moment in your life—a health scare, the death of a loved one, a sudden crisis, an unexpected opportunity—when your assessment of your life’s goals changed in an instant? 10. If yes, describe the event in fewer than 20 words. 11. Many people operate within multiple communities simultaneously. We have face-to-face contact with family, friends we see often, the co-workers we see every day. We are active participants in organizations, forums, churches and synagogues, teams, community associations, alumni groups, political entities. We participate within virtual communities and networks such as Facebook. Starting with family, friends, and co-workers, list some of the communities in which you are an active participant. You can list as many as 10. 12. Do you believe you participate in more communities of interest than the average person, fewer than the average person, or about the same as the average person? 13. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “not important,” and 10 being “extremely important,” how important is it to your sense of happiness that you participate in such communities? 14. Personal expression can take many forms, from writing a diary to publishing a blog; from being an artist to having unique ways of expressing your individuality. List some of your outlets for personal expression. You can list as few as 2 or as many as 10. 15. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “not important,” and 10 being “extremely important,” how important is it to your sense of happiness that you have one or more outlets for your personal expression? 16. Daily life is busy, and sometimes it is hard to reflect on things that bring us happiness—whether it is the company of our family or friends, or something as simple as a nice day, a beautiful sunset. Do you consider yourself able to reflect on things that bring you happiness . . . a. All of the time b. Most of the time c. Some of the time d. Never? 17. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “not important,” and 10 being “extremely important,” how important is it to be able to step back and reflect on, or show gratitude for, things that make you happy? 18. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “not very much,” and 10 being “a great deal,” how much do you “give back to society,” either through charitable contributions or through volunteering your time? 19. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “not important,” and 10 being “extremely important,” how important is it to your sense of happiness that you “give back to society”? 20. Some people believe that they have a higher calling, or that there is a higher purpose to their lives, whether it’s the job they do, or the activities they participate in within their community, or in their responsibilities to others. Do you have a sense that there is a higher purpose to your life? 21. If yes, describe your higher calling, or your higher purpose in life, in fewer than 20 words. 22. On a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “not important,” and 10 being “extremely important,” how important is it to your sense of happiness that you feel you have some kind of higher purpose in life? 23. What makes you happy? You can list as few as 2 conditions, ingredients, or factors, or as many as 10. 24. Are you male or female? 25. What is your age? 26. Optional: Is your annual income: a. Under $ 50,000 b. Between $ 50,000 and $ 100,000 c. More than $ 100,000 Index A Access Hollywood Across the River and into the Trees advertising revenues Advertising.com AIDs AIM Fight airplane flight Alcoholics Anonymous Alcorn, Allan"

"The most important lesson learned can be summarized as follows: when the company, and its employees, partners, and users were happy, AOL flourished. When these constituencies were unhappy, it spiraled down. It was a simple formula. Make multiple communities happy and all will be well. Fail to do so, and it all falls apart."

"Even though I was the Vice Chairman of AOL and ran our Audience business—the growth engine for the company’s transformation—when I read Iris Chang’s book, it didn’t take me long to want to turn it into a movie. Producing a film while being a senior executive of a major online service, as well as the owner of sports teams, was an enormous amount of work. I enjoyed every minute of making the film, from the casting of the actors to the negotiation with Chinese television. Only later did I realize that fulfilling my need to express myself had been a strain. It made me happy. And it led directly to my creating SnagFilms in 2008. I had a need to express myself, and a few steps down the road, I’d created a really fast-growing business."

"In order to live a life without regret, it is vital to both set goals and take available opportunities to achieve them. I had the opportunity to fulfill item #40 on my list of 101 goals, to own a professional sports team. I didn’t blow my chance. There’s no question that owning the Washington Capitals of the NHL continues to make me happy."

"When Redford’s in Sundance, he’s in the mountains, he’s horseback riding and skiing, and he’s working within an artistic community he created. He’s giving back, and he’s found his higher calling. In my first conversation with him, he told me, “I can make movies, either as a director or an actor, but my legacy will be that I’ve touched thousands of young artists and filmmakers. I will have brought thousands of films to a wider community and done it in a way that has turned into a pretty good business.”"

"The Jesuits at Georgetown taught me that everyone’s life needs balance, and I learned as a young man that over-indexing in one facet of my life—business success—prevented me from being happy."