Day 1 | About
I am a fan of New Years. I like the time of reflection naturally built into the fold of the year, I like that hope springs in the depths of many people, and think naming areas of personal betterment is a great thing to do. This year, perhaps more than any other, I have goals. I will be using the month of January to directly name these goals, publish these goals, and hopefully inspire you to do the same.
I had this sort of epiphany recently; it was as obvious as a black/white revelation, where I realized this: the only difference between those that do and those that don't is the contraction. All of us have the opportunity to pursue our dreams, and whether we do so or not is up to us. Those that do typically have: a.) routine, b.) discipline, and c.) dedication. Those that don't have some combination of laziness, defeatist attitude, and lack of vision. In nearly all my endeavors, for way too long, I've been a part of the later. I've worked jobs I don't like to barely get by. I've half-heartedly pursued my dreams, yet complained and been frustrated when they didn't come to fruition. I've allowed the actions of others to dictate my own happiness and well-being. This stops today. Today, January 2, 2018, I am consciously and confidently taking control of my own life. I now self-identify as a doer. I am one of those that pursues their dreams.
I've spent the last 2-3 months (maybe since September) planning for this day. I am of the opinion that the difference between doers and don't-ers is not so much a difference in desire as it is a difference in know-how. There are a lot of people that simply do not know how to make their dreams become realities. An example of this comes through my podcast, Beyond the Classroom: life lessons with Mr. B. I remember the exact day I thought I should do it. My wife and I were driving to Chicago, and I brought the idea up. She agreed, and was supportive. From that point to when it launched was about 8-months. This wasn't laziness nearly as much as it was a lack of knowledge. I had content, a name, a graphic. I read a blog on how to set it up, but could not figure out how to get it to the world. Finally, after a chance encounter at church, a friend of mine suggested I sit down with her husband. He'd faced problems similar to mine. So I reached out to Troy, and we had coffee last February, and worked out how to get B.Y.C. up and running. (Thank you Troy. You can listen to his podcast here.)
We met on February 20, 2017, and my brother was in town that day. When he picked me up, I was feeling great. This thing that had literarily stumped me for 8-months was taken care of, fixed in an afternoon, and my podcast was submitted to iTunes. It took an hour. Since that day, close to 900 people have listened. I've gotten much better at adding content, and have even met with someone else to show them how to set up their own podcast.
Was I lazy? Not so much. I was with problem, but not solution. 2/20/17 was a big day for me. I think recording a podcast is fun and amazing. I cannot believe that you can talk into a microphone, upload it to your computer, hit 'publish' and anyone in the world is able to listen instantly. Amazing. It was also a big day for me because I learned that if I get stuck, I can ask for help. Troy and Lis were very willing to give me a hand. As are many others, if only we voice our need. More than that, though, I realized that all steps and actions are like this one. A problem (situation, thing) arises, and you meet it head on. Then you do the same with the next thing. Life is (y)ours for the taking, and it is up to me to make things happen.
The next things for me this year are as follows:
- Weight - sub 200
- Sex and Algebra to the World
- 10,000 listens to B.Y.C.
- Jan/Feb - new blog series
These things will get more airplay later this week, but for now I'll end here. We all get one life to live. What we do with that life impacts our happiness. When we grow old and reflect upon our time spent on this beautiful earth, that reflection will be determined by the actions we took each day. How we chose to live. This series is dedicated to naming dreams and desires and taking the steps to make them happen.