Earlier this year, I set several goals for myself that I want to accomplish before the year is out.  Previously, I would routinely set goals and then hope to accomplish them.  Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t.  But what I didn’t do is follow up periodically to see if I was making any progress.  That changes this year.

Here is a list of the goals I have set for myself along with notes on the progress, if any, I made on the goal during June.  The majority of the goals were detailed in my Making Plans for 2011 post from earlier this year.  I’ve added a few goals to the list since then as well.

You can find updates from previous months here:

• January 2011
• February 2011
• March 2011
• April 2011
• May 2011

June was a month for recovering.  My mom got sick in May and I spent much of that month with her in Florida.  She died on May 20 and I spent the rest of May and the beginning of June helping to plan her funeral and tie up some loose ends.  During much of May I was feeling lousy.  However, I had family issues to attend to, so I really couldn’t deal with my own problems at that time.  After my mom’s funeral, I finally got in to see a doctor and found out I am having some complications from the prostate cancer treatment I received last year.*  Thankfully, it’s nothing serious, but it is annoying as hell and it is lingering longer than it is supposed to.  As I write this, I’m still having some problems and I’m scheduled to see the doctor in a couple of days.

*My apologies.  I know there is nothing in the world more boring than listening to someone else go on about their health problems.

The point to all of this is that I was under the weather for much of the month and didn’t get as much done as I would have liked.  Either that, or I’m just looking for excuses.

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I’m going to give you three scenarios.  After you’ve read all three, pick the one you want for your life.

Scenario #1 — You are lying in a hammock that is strung between two palm trees on a tropical beach.  The sound of the waves gently coming ashore  is intermittently interupted by the occasional cry of a sea gull.  You raise your head and stare out at the empty beach and the torquise waters beyond.  You reach for the cool drink sitting on the small table next to your hammock as a gentle sea breeze blows across your bare, tanned skin.  As you sip your drink, you can hear soft island music coming from inside the beach hut you now call home.  You smile involuntarily as you think to yourself, ‘another day in paradise.’

Scenario #2 — The phones are ringing off the hook, which is a good thing.  It means sales are being made.  And if sales are being made, that means that you were right about your business idea.  It also means that you are making money.  It started out so innocently.  You had an idea that just wouldn’t go away.  So you researched it.  You nurtured the idea.  Then you took the plunge.  You risked yourself financially.  You worked long hours and sweated every time a shipment was late or a customer complained.  You were involved in every facet of the business from designing the product to hiring employees.  You also had to be there when employees were fired.  There weren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.  More than once you faced the possibility of having to shut down your business.  But in the end, you got to hear that sweet sound you dreamed about and worked toward; the sound of phones ringing.

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“I’ll just work for a few years until I have enough money to do what I really want to do.”  Sound familar?  I’ve heard it said several times.  I’ve even said it myself.  It’s an easy way out of actually having to do what you want to do.

The thing is, we believe it when we say it.  We really think that we will work that uniniteresting, but good paying job for a short time.  We really think that we’ll give up the job after we’ve saved up enough money.  But things change.  Our expenses increase.  Our family grows.  And we get tied in more and more to that job. 

Author Dan Miller says that we have the equation all wrong.  What we’re saying is that we’ll get the money first and then we’ll follow our passion.  But Dan, who writes at 48Days.com, says we should be putting passion first and a paycheck second. 

In a recent blog post, Dan said:

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On a cold January day in 2009, U.S. Airways flight 1549 took off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport enroute to Charlotte, North Carolina.  At the controls of the plane was Capt. Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger. 

About three minutes into the flight, the plane hit a flock of Canadian geese, resulting in the complete loss of thrust in both engines.  Sullenberger turned the plane around in a vain attempt to return to the airport.  When it became clear that the plane would not make it back to the airport, Sullenberger lined the Airbus A320-214 up with the Hudson River in Manhattan, narrowly missed the George Washington Bridge, and crash landed into the icy waters of the Hudson.  Miraculously, everybody on board survived the crash and Sullenberger became an overnight celebrity.

Sitting in seat 1D that day, directly across from the flight attendant, was Ric Elias.  Elias is the co-founder and CEO of Red Ventures, a successful marketing and branding company headquartered in Fort Mills, SC.  Elias had been to New York on business and was heading home to his family.

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For a little over two weeks, I’ve been participating in the Trust 30 writing challenge being run by The Domino Project.  It has been a good experience, but I’m getting burned out on the constant self-evaluation.  Many of the daily prompts are exactly or almost exactly the same, the wording is just different.

So, I’ve decided to move on.  I’ll continue to monitor the challenge to see if any of the remaining prompts speak to me, but the challenge is no longer fun or enlightening.  I’m going to go back to posting my own articles.  If a Trust 30 prompt looks interesting, I’ll post my thoughts.  Otherwise, we’re back to business as usual.

See you every Tuesday and Friday…

The Prompt:

Abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life, obey thy heart. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down your top three dreams. Now write down what’s holding you back from them.

(Author: Michael Rad)

The Post:

Oh good, another chance at self-evaluation (Can you tell I’m being sarcastic?).

Okay, here goes.  What are my three top dreams and what is holding me back from achieving/living them:

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The Prompt:

A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

My favorite quote of all time is Alan Kay: ‘In order to predict the future, you have to invent it.’ I am all about inventing the future. Decide what you want the future to be and make it happen. Because you can. Write about your future now.

(Author: Cindy Gallop)

The Post:

Religious and thought leaders for eons have been telling us that the way to happiness is to live in the present.  How many times have you heard that the past only exists in memories and the future is promised to no one?  Today is a gift.  That’s why they call it the present.  Sage advice, right?

I’m not so sure.  I have personally always been future focused.  I haven’t necessarily neglected the present (actually, sometimes I have), but I’ve always thought about what I can do today to have the type of life I want tomorrow.

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The Prompt:

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name;—— the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?

Write about that moment. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind’s eye and write about that moment in your future.

(Author: Bridget Pilloud)

The Post:

I have this unexplainable need to do things that most other people don’t do.  I’ve thought often about this and I’ve never fully understood why I am that way.  As I’ve grown older, I’ve largely stopped trying to explain it and instead have just accepted that that is who I am.

I like the idea of blazing my own path.  I also like Emerson’s romanticized ideal of the individual.  We should all strive to become the fully realized beings we were born to be.  Even so, it is unlikely that any of us are ever going to strike out in a direction that no one before us has ever gone.

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The Prompt:

Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take a moment, step back from your concerns, and focus on one thing: You have one life to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted. Sounds simple, but when you really focus on it, let it seep into your consciousness, you realize you only have about 100 years to get every single thing you’ve ever wanted to do. No second chances. This is your only shot. Suddenly, this means you should have started yesterday. No more waiting for permission or resources to start. Today is the day you make the rest of your life happen. Write down one thing you’ve always wanted to do and how you will achieve that goal. Don’t be afraid to be very specific in how you’ll achieve it: once you start achieving, your goals will get bigger and your capability to meet them will grow.

(Author: Colin Wright)

The Post:

Today’s prompt reminds me of a story I read several years ago about a 15-year old boy named John Goddard.  The boy had been listening to his father and his father’s friends complain about how fast life was going by and how they regretted not doing more with their lives.  Goddard realized that the average person goes through life without ever accomplishing the really big things they’d like to do.  As a result, they end up living a life filled with regret.  Goddard vowed to spend his time on Earth living a life of accomplishment, with no regret.

Goddard created a list of 127 goals he wanted to achieve before he died.  Today, we would call such a list a “bucket list.”  Accomplishing every goal on his list became the driving force in Goddard’s life.  He is now 86 years old and has accomplished 110 of the 127 goals he set for himself.*  These accomplished goals include studying primitive cultures in the Congo, Brazil, and Australia; climbing Mt. Everest, Mt. Ranier, and Mt. Vesuvius; exploring the Nile, Amazon, and Yangtze Rivers; and much more.

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The Prompt:

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don’t let anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we’re horrible at forecasting how we’ll really feel 10 or 20 years from now – once we’ve gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, “That’s not what I thought it would be,” and ask, “What now?” Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is only a virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest and ask, “What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?” They’re always there, but you’ve got to choose to see them.

(Author: Jonathan Fields)

The Post:

Several years ago I had an idea.  I was still working my corporate job at the time and was envious of people who somehow found a way to not only get out of the company grind, but also found a way to have the freedom to enjoy their lives.  Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if I could figure out a way to earn a living, but also have the freedom to do what I want with my time.

Fast forward 15 or so years and I’m living that dream.  Problem is, it isn’t quite the dream I thought it would be.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, but it’s not as great as I thought it would be.

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