"There's something in your heart and it's in your eyes. It's the fire, inside you, it burns. You don't say 'good luck'. You say, 'don't give up.' The fire. Let it burn." - The Roots, The Fire
I did this last year and am happy with the results so let's do it again.
Broad Strategic Goals
In everything I do this year, the goal is to Provide Value. In my personal life, I will be more deliberate with my Kindness and Compassion. I will also Love Harder. Health and Wellness will be a priority. Professionally and creatively, I will embrace Breaking Some Eggs, Breaking Some Rules, and Challenging the Status Quo.
Health and Wellness
As I said last year,
Five years from now, I plan to visit a doctor for regular checkups four times a year, the dentist twice a year, and the eye doctor at least once a year. I will be staring down my 40th birthday and I plan to live a long, happy, and healthy life. That includes regular visits to smart medical practitioners.
Well, one year has passed since then and while this is true, the fact of the matter is, five years from now I will be 40 years old and I want to be much healthier than I am now. Of these things, the only thing I do consistently is see my eye doctor once a year.
This year, I'm focusing on two things with health and wellness. First, take full advantage of my really great employer provided health benefits and start my regular doctor and dentist visits. In January, I will find new medical and dental providers that I will be happy with and excited about partnering on my future well-being. The requirements are that they take advantage of the latest medical and dental knowledge and tools, are personable and compassionate, and convenient to visit (meaning close to home or work).
Second, embrace this whole Body Integration concept. One of the running themes in my reverb 10 posts was this desire to get my eating right, working out, personal care stuff all happening at the same time. I plan to do that this year beginning this coming week. I joined health month and daily mile and will use those to track my adhering to my simple goals—eating right, working out regularly, taking my vitamins, and following my morning rituals around mental focus. I want to be at a healthy BMI within the first 6 months of the year and then set new goals at that time.
Financial
I want Tiffany and I to be without any legacy debts that either of us bring into our union by the end of 2011. I want to have saved a considerable amount (still TBD) and I plan to have a small portfolio of personal investment in progressive companies and companies, projects or individuals that I have a vested interest in seeing do well.
I also want to significantly increase my charitable giving. I did that this year without missing the dollars. Let's do more of that.
Career
Provide value. Instill values. Showcase and Celebrate that value.
Me and my team will provide significant meaningful value to our guests and the Company. We will be passionate product managers, producers, and page owners who focus on creating the best guest experiences possible, plussing our existing experiences, and advocating for the right thing, always.
I will drive forward the values, goals, and mission that I believe are critical for our success. We will be data-driven, solution-oriented, efficient, and forward-thinking. We will not be bogged down by our legacy. We will transition fully from being order-takers to storytellers. We will push our areas of the business forward and take advantage of the smart work of the rest of the teams in our organization.
We will tell our own stories internally. We will celebrate the projects we are proud of, the ones that perform well, and showcase the value and the values we bring to the Company. We will not be sheepish about our success.
Creativity and Learning
This year, I want to renew my love affair with Los Angeles and California as a whole. Tiffany is here now with fresh eyes and I want to really expand my awareness of the city and state we call home by learning and experiencing much more of it. I did a lot of book learning about Los Angeles in 2010, now it's about going out and seeing more of it in action.
Creatively, I want to get more deliberate about what I write here and what I post around the web. Writing is my outlet but there are areas that I am passionate about that I don't spend as much time as I would like writing about. I want to write more about the relationship I have with music and pop culture and how it impacts and motivates me in my career and private life. I want to spend more time writing about black folks and technology. And I want to write some fiction this year.
This is scary and I'm just now thinking about this as I'm writing this but why not make it a goal - 6 short stories by the end of 2011.
Whoa.
Okay, I'm scared.
And thrilled.
Travel
This is the year of international travel. Trust. The honeymoon must be outside of the United States. Boom!
I also want to visit more of the northwestern U.S. and get to New York, the Yay Area and New Orleans as often as humanly and financially possible.
Friends and Family
I want to see my sister more. This ties in with trips to New York since that is now her home but that's real. I love the person she's become and want more time with that chick.
Now that Tiffany and I share the same space, I want to entertain more at home. The much talked about Supper Club should finally come to be this year and I can see rotating dinners with my folks at each other's homes.
Also, a weekly residency at The Library Bar with our classy drinking friends should be the right way to kick off the New Year.
So, the goal here is being in the same physical space with my favorite people on the planet on a regular, committed basis.
Love
In the abstract, the goal is to love harder. As we transition from the Long Distance thing to the See Each Other Every Day thing, I don't want to get complacent. I want to be excited and passionate and emotional and meaningful every day. Even though we've been together for nearly 2 and half years, this is really new for us and I want to enjoy it and take advantage of it to show to her and to myself that our love continues to grow and blossom and delight.
I also want us to find a space that better suits us in size and function.
Oh, and come May 14th, we'll be throwing the best damn party we can to celebrate that love. In New Orleans. With some of the best food and drink you will ever put in your face. And we'll help rebuild and renew the city.
Oh, and we'll get married, too.
Just that little thing.
The Mantra For The Year?
Move. Get up, get out, and do something!
Let's go!!