I’ve never been much of New Year’s Resolution guy because I don’t like making promises I’m probably not going to keep. But I am an obsessive and meticulous planner, so this year, I’ve decided to make not 1, but 5 New Year’s resolutions (personal ones), and plot them along a SMART timeline. I’m also posting them here because I once read that talking about your goals helps keep you focused on them because you’ve made yourself accountable by putting your rep on the line.
1 Month: 100 Push-Ups
‘Cause how hard can that be, right? But seriously, plan on doing the whole 100 push-ups program in January, and while it’s actually a 6 week program that will take me until mid-February to complete, I figure that either (a) I’ll be able to complete it in less time because I’m already in decent shape, or (b) I’ll at least be starting it in January and following it through to the end. I even promise to post a douchey videos of me doing 100 push-ups in a wife beater when I get there ;)
3 Months: Quit Smoking
Now, I know cold turkey doesn’t work for me, so I plan on cutting down steadily until I’m complete smoke-free by April 1st (which will give me one last St. Patrick’s Day as a smoker). I also plan on doing this without any quitting aids because I think that the reason smoking makes you look cool is because it’s kinda like breathing fire (watch below), which is kinda badass, and there’s nothing badass about dermal patches, nicotine gum, or vaping. So the way I look at it is that if you’re gonna give up something so badass, it has to be through sheer badass will power. Ya dig?
6 Months: Self-Publish Another eBook
I did this once a few years ago, but it was more of an experiment than a goal. It was fun to do, and I learned a lot, but it wasn’t edited properly and could’ve been cleaned up a lot. I even ended up publishing it under a pen name to keep it separate from my body of professional work.
Well, i plan on doing it for realz in 2014. I’ve found myself an editor, the first ~20,000 words are in her hands, and I plan to release it under my actual name by the end of June.
9 Months: Be a Competent Harmonica Player
One of my biggest regrets is having never really learned how to play an instrument. I grew up with music in the house, and I never really took advantage of that. So I’ve decided to start with the harmonica. I even received this beginner’s set
The book says it’s possible to not suck in 6 months’ time, so I figure that 9 should be more than enough to get where I wanna go. Besides, this way I can play myself Happy Birthday in September. You’ll probably get a video of that, too ;)
For now, though, you’ll have to settle for this video of the Blues Man of 16th Street that I found on YouTube. I met him once when I was in San Fran, and he’s kinda the real deal as far has harmonica street busking savants go…
12 Months – Blog Once a Week
 This one is probably the easiest in terms of effort, but the toughest in terms of commitment. Blogging something is that I used to do with little effort, but as my career has matured and I’ve started my own business, I’ve had to think in terms of opportunity cost, and my blogging has almost always taken a backseat to sales efforts and billable hours.
What I’ve underestimated, however, was just how valuable blogging had been to my personal brand. It got my name out there and it opened doors. So in 2014, I plan to blog on average once a week, between here and third party blogs, for a total of 52 posts by 2015. I also plan to expand my blogging horizons, by tackling topics that aren’t necessarily related to technology or marketing because, well, I have a whole lot of other interests and know a lot of stuff about them and stuff…
* * * * *
Well, I’d say “Wish me luck!”, but we both know that the only way that any of this is going to get done is by me getting off my ass and gettin’er done! But you’re welcome to taunt me along the way to keep me accountable ;)
