One of the best parts about quitting your job to work for yourself is that you suddenly find time to do all the wonderful things you always wanted to do.

Sure, I was able to do some of these while working 10 hours per day, but I was frequently too tired or ill-prepared to get the full benefit until I started working for myself.

And when you build an active and interesting life by doing these activities on a regular basis, you can’t help but make a lot of friends along the way.

You see, the group activity is an excuse to see the same people on a regular basis – and really, if you hang out with someone more than a few times in the span of a month due to a shared interest, then by definition you are friends.

Some of those people you will naturally start to see more often, by meeting outside of the original activity (grabbing a drink, at a party you host, etc).

I think everyone should pick at least one item from the active category and one from the mental category. Or if you want to really kick it off, do at least half a dozen each week. I’ve listed some below, each of which I’ve done at some point in time. I typically try each one for 6 months to a year and then try another to keep things fresh and interesting. Some that I really love, I’ve been doing for longer, but you’ll never find out that you love it until you try.

Pick something that makes you a little bit nervous and realize that it’s ok if you aren’t very skilled yet. You might feel like an idiot for the first few months when getting started in any new skill, but that’s ok ;) Often it’s easier to find someone who has already gotten started in one of these sports, and ask to join them for the first time. Don’t worry about holding them back, they will feel great finally knowing more than someone else and getting to be your teacher!

Active Items (Exercise)

• Learn self defense (I recommend Brazilian jujitsu and Thai kickboxing)
• Take a break dancing class
• Take a spinning class at the gym
• Do a group session with a personal trainer and REALLY feel sore
• Run around a local park or popular jogging spot (to meet more people, bring a dog)
• Play one of my favorite sports of all time: beach volleyball (even if you don’t live near a beach, you can still find sand courts everywhere)
• Invite someone of a similar skill level to play tennis each week, grow the group as you see fit
• Try yogo or pilates
• Go to an indoor rock wall, and try rock climbing! (surprisingly, it has very little to do with strength, and is much closer to playing chess than lifting weights)
• Go surfing

Mental Items

• Take an improv comedy class at a place like Comedy Sportz which is in most major cities in the U.S.
• Join Toastmasters
• Do some community theater
• Join a local band, try composing some music on your computer, or learn to DJ.
• Join at least 3 Meetup.com groups
• Play board games with a group on a regular basis
• Join a wine tasting club
• Join at least one networking group such as BNI
• Join at least one alumni organization from your school
• Take some Learning Annex classes
• Try doing a 5-minute standup comedy routine at open mic night at a local comedy club
• Learn at least one form of Latin dance such as salsa or tango.
• Visit a gun range, and get your concealed handgun license!

Everybody has that list of things in the back of their mind that they always thought sounded cool, but have never gotten around to doing. Whether that is joining a book club or building custom race cars, you need to start doing it.

One final benefit: once you have an interesting life, you now can now invite every new person you meet to join. Inviting a new contact to try rock climbing is much more memorable and exciting than inviting them to “do lunch” or “keep in touch” (they won’t).

These are just examples, and there are PLENTY more. What two items are you going to sign up for today?