Someone once told me that if you don’t put your goals down in writing, they’ll never come to fruition. I’ve always been bad with the follow through, so I’m hoping this blog will help me keep on task and will help as a reminder that I do actually have goals that I want to accomplish. I’m going to set SMART goals as a vehicle to getting started down the road to actually achieving some of these goals.
SMART Goals?
If you aren’t familiar, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. I’m not going to go into the specifics here (maybe in a future blog post), but if you’re curious here’s a great PDF by the University of Virginia that explains the concept and theory quite well. SMART goals provide a great framework to writing down your goals and keeping you in check. Sometimes goals can become unattainable dreams if they aren’t shaped and guided by the SMART framework. I like to say dreams are just unclear goals without action.
The 20 Mile March
I was introduced to the twenty mile march through Jason Scott Montoya. It’s basically a test of perseverance and discipline. No matter the circumstances or conditions, in order to succeed you need to consistently trudge through your twenty mile march. Now it goes without saying that the twenty mile march is a metaphor for consistent and deliberate actions toward your goals, so I’ll eventually define what my twenty mile march is. Right now it’s getting these blog posts out every day.
Goals for Oct 2nd, 2017 – Oct 2nd, 2018
By October 2nd, 2018 I have
Financial Freedom
…found at least one source of passive income that will provide at least $50.00 extra in my finances per month. I have and will spend no more than 3 hours a week managing this source of passive income. I have kept track of my passive income in excel and set bench marks for the year. ( Eventually I’ll explore other forms of passive income and be free from any financial bondage, whether it’s from a loss of a job, a dip in the economy, natural disasters, etc… I think this will also be a good learning opportunity and an opportunity for me to share with others what I have learned to better their lives.
The comfort of not having to live paycheck to paycheck (which thankfully I don’t live that way) and having the ability to handle any life surprises – for example accidents, major restorative dental work, etc… – as well as the ability to give to others in their time of need, will be well worth the effort of building passive income. For those that don’t know – Passive income in a nutshell is something you set up (work hard at or invest a lot in the beginning) and then let run on autopilot. Examples include, but are not limited to – Renting out property, royalties from music sales, dividends from the stock market, income from book sales (you write the book once and then sell copies of it).
Fitness
…a Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 25 (the healthy level for an individual of my age). I have accomplished this goal by exercising at least twice a week at the gym, focusing on cardio and weight training, bringing in healthy lunches to eat, and watching my carbohydrate intake. I have had Monthly and Quarterly check ins to see how I progress and I have kept track in Trello. Diet will consist of
This by far is going to be the hardest goal for me to obtain as it requires both discipline and self-control. I want to be healthier as I am getting older and fatter and would like to at least live to see my (now 3 year old) daughter get married. Also I hear exercising boosts energy, mental health, and all this other wild and crazy stuff.
Read the Bible
…read the first 33 books of the Bible. I have accomplished this by reading 1.5 chapters per week. The overall plan is to read the Bible cover to cover to completion in 3 years. I have not rushed through reading, but methodically and carefully read each verse with the intent to understand. I have sought an accountability partner to whom to share my progress with and they keep me on track if I waiver. Along with reading the Bible, I have focused on prayer, remembering to praise the Lord and to thank Him for the many blessings He has given.
For year one I want to see how it goes, perhaps as I continue I will write about any revelations the Lord has given to me while I am in the Word. The Lord has compelled me to be in the Word. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in riotousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work”. – 2 Timothy 3:16 – 17
Photography
…52 Photos published on 500px. I have published a photo per week on 500px, improving and honing my photography skills and actually enjoyed every bit of photography. Photography was not a chore and was published to delight and entertain others. I have set up a cadence of publishing photos and have a backlog of publish-worthy photos (at least for 500px standards) to choose from every week as to not cause any undue stress.
I have worked so hard at learning as much as I could from photography for the last 7 years, and I don’t want any of those skills to go to waste. I used to have a burning passion for photography, but as of late that passion has slowly died. It was as if photography was like burning tinder to light a fire. The fire blazed quickly, but also died quickly as it needed kindling and fuel to be sustained. This is my effort to re-stoke the fire that I had lost.
Language Learning
…learned basic conversational Korean. Enough to get me by at a decent Korean restaurant and at Super H-Mart (a Korean grocery chain). I have learned basic conversational Korean primarily through youtube and language learning apps on my phone. I also have refreshed my memory on reading and writing Hangul (the Korean language).
I have a basic understanding of Korean, but I think learning the language (again) will be a challenge and will connect me more with my ancestral culture. I’ve taken a Korean course in college and when I was quite young around 4, I could speak quite fluently. Of course all of that was lost when I started elementary school in Oklahoma. My teacher practically banned me from speaking it and I had to take intense speech therapy courses for the next 5 years of my life. But, I don’t blame anyone, I should’ve kept at it and should’ve learned it earlier, but with the internet it should be a lot easier.
What are your Goals?
And there you have it. I have five goals – pretty lofty, but to be Goal worthy it should stretch you in some way. What goals are you trying to accomplish this year? I guess most people start during the New Year? Why wait? Better now than later!
Thanks for stopping by!
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