What a privilege it was to attend the 2-Day Thrive: A Third Metric Live Event. The 2-day event was hosted by power duo Arianna Huffington (President and Editor-in-Chief, The Huffington Post) and Mika Brzezinski (co-host of “Morning Joe” on MSNBC) and these two did not disappoint. With intelligence and humor, they kept all of us at the New York City Center thinking and laughing and did a fine job of introducing a slew of inspiring speakers on topics explored in Arianna’s new book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder.

For me, the event could not have come at a better time serving as incomparable research for the yearlong experiment in being more present in my life, fondly dubbed the HERE Year, which I’ve just begun. I can’t wait to share with you all the thoughts and questions I came away with, but first I feel compelled to provide you with a list of all the fantastic speakers and links to their work. I realize more than ever how lucky I am to be invited to these events and know that so many of you would love to have been there. Click on the various links to learn about these impressive and inspiring people and the important work they are doing. And if you are pressed for time (aren’t we all? a true theme of the conference), skim down for some my favorite moments of the two days and a huge book-bundle giveaway (14 books!).

2014 Third Metric Speakers:

Dr. David B. Angus. Leading cancer doctor and pioneering biomedical researcher. Book: A Short Guide to a Long Life
Miri Ben-Ari. Grammy award-winning violinist, Goodwill ambassador for music to the UN.
Mark T. Bertolini. Chairman, CEO & President of Aetna..
Charles Best. Leader of DonorsChoose.org.
Emilie Brzezinski. Multimedia artist. Mika’s mom! Book:The Lure of the Forest: Sculpture 1979-2013
Tory Burch. CEO & Designer of Tory Burch.
Brendon Burchard. New York Times bestselling author, founder of High Performance Academy & Experts Academy. Most recent book: The Charge
Kelly Coffey. Deputy CEO of the U.S. Private Bank.
Kenneth Cole. Kenneth Cole Productions.
Katie Couric. Host of “Katie”, award-winning journalist & TV personality, cancer advocate, NYT bestselling author.
Lucy Danziger. Former editor-in-chief of SELF & President of the American Society of Magazine Editors.
Laurie David. Author & producer. Book: The Family Cooks.
Dr. Richard J. Davidson. Professor of Psychology & Psychiatry, Director of Waisman Brain Imaging Lab, Founder & Chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds. Book: The Emotional Life of Your Brain.
Panache Desai. Contemporary thought leader. Book: Discovering Your Soul Signature.
Ellen Goodman. Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, author, speaker and commentator.
Katie Goodman. Performer, musician, writer, actress, speaker & co-creator of Broad Comedy.
Adam Grant. Wharton’s youngest full professor. Book: Give and Take.
Peter Himmelman. Grammy & Emmy-award-nominated singer-songwriter, performer, founder of Big Muse.
Erin Hoover. VP of Design for Westin & Sheraton Hotels & Resorts.
Dr. Mark Hyman. Doctor & bestselling author.
Jon Kabat-Zinn. Founding executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society. Founding director of Stress Reduction Clinic.
Jacki Kelley. CEO & President of Global Clients, IPC Mediabrands.
Cindi Leive. Editor-in-chief of Glamour magazine & glamour.com.
Federica Marchionni. President, Dolce & Gabbana Inc.
Brad Meltzer. NYT Bestselling author.
Alicia Menendez. Anchor on “Fusion.”
Julianne Moore. 4-time Academy Award-nominated actress. NYT Bestselling author. Book: My Mom Is a Foreigner, But Not to Me.
Alanis Morissette. Singer-songwriter-musician.
Brian Povinelli. Global Brand Leader for Westin and Le Meridien.
Andy Puddicombe. Voice of Headspace.
Dani Shapiro. Bestselling author & teacher of writing. Book: Still Writing.
Dr. Daniel J. Siegel. Clinical professor of psychiatry & founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center.
Agapo Stassinopoulos. Bestselling author & speaker, Arianna’s sister! Book: Unbinding the Heart: A Dose of Greek Wisdom, Generosity, and Unconditional Love.
Tracey Stewart. Editor-in-Chief, Moomah the Magazine and Make Nice Mission.
Ali Wentworth. Performer, Writer and Host
Joan Witowski. Health and Well-being Practitioner.
Shelley Zalis. CEO, Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange.
Camille Zamora & Monica Yunus. Founders of Sing for Hope.
Maysoon Zayid. Actress, professional standup comedian, and writer.
Randi Zuckerberg. NYT Bestselling author, Founder & CEO of Zuckerberg Media, editor-in-chief of Dot Complicated. Books: Dot Complicated & Dot.

ADR Highlights:

Talking with friend and mentor Dani Shapiro and hearing her deliver a beautiful speech on authenticity and self in writing and life.
Shaking hands with Candace Bushnell at the Inner Circle Reception.
Chatting again with the lovely and smart Laurie David after meeting her a few weeks ago at another Huffington Post event. Can’t wait to see her forthcoming film Fed Up.
Having a sleepover between the days with friend & author Jamie Krug that may or may not have involved raiding my kids’ Easter candy.
Having a fun lunch with friend and HuffPost senior editor Jessica Rotondi.
Having my tweet retweeted by Arianna herself. [My tweet was of a startling statistic I learned at the event]:

ADR Takeaways:

Sleep more.
Start meditating.
Learn how to cook.
Breathe.
Success is about more than money & power.
It is a gift to reveal ourselves.
None of us is broken.
Have discussions about death.
Family matters as much or more than work.
Don’t miss the moment.
Laugh.

So, it’s Saturday morning. And after I publish this post we are going to take our daughters to the Bronx Zoo. I try to avoid working on weekends, but this didn’t really feel like work and I felt compelled to come here and share a bit about my last couple days. My plan was to order all of the books mentioned above and I’ve decided to order two copies of each. One set for yours truly and one set for one of you. As an author myself and the founder of Happier Hours Literary Salons (site coming soon), I feel very strongly about supporting fellow writers and thinkers and I figure this is a great way to do this.

All you have to do:

1. Subscribe to this blog by email or RSS (if you aren’t already subscribed); and

2. Answer the question below for a chance to win 14 books (13 mentioned above + my novel LIFE AFTER YES) Two of the books have yet to be released, but I will send them along when they have pubbed. Note: I will close this giveaway on Saturday, May 3 at 12pm EST.