Well folks, this is it. The end of a year. A time to reflect, re-align and re-motivate. Like many of you ambitious readers out there, I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking hard about what transpired in 2010–my successes, my failures, world events–you know, the deep stuff.
Before I get into my goals for 2011 (which I’m very excited to share), let’s take a brief but ruminative look at the last 365 days.
63 Flights. 31 Cities. 14 Countries.
Another exciting year of travel! Just last month, I visited my 55th country. I’ve still got a long way to go to hit 100, but I’m happy to have crossed the halfway mark. Here are the 14 countries I was fortunate enough to visit in 2010:
- Africa: Algeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola
- Oceania: New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Australia
- Asia: Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan
Some of my favorite 2010 travel experiences:
- Finding a cheap flight to Christchurch, New Zealand and meeting up with Colin Wright.
- Spending nine nights in Harare, Zimbabwe. Golfing, “vampire hunting” and visiting a chicken farm.
- Sandboarding in the Namibian desert.
- The cuisine in Singapore! Delectable.
2010 Goals: % Success
Unlike 2009, where I had only 7 goals, I put together a list of 27 goals for 2010. Let’s see how I did.
Completed Goals
1. Run a half-marathon.
2. Be able to fall into a push up from standing position, like Christian Bale in Batman Returns.
3. Cycle 100 miles in one day.
4. Hold breath for at least 3 minutes.
5. Redesign and rethink my vision as a blogger.
6. Write at least 15 guest posts for other bloggers.
7. Write at least 20 reviews for The Curry Project.
8. Read at least 15 more books on the Personal MBA reading list.
9. Put together a long-term goals/bucket list.
10. Hike the Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
11. Make at least $500 in supplemental income.
12. Reread I Will Teach You To Be Rich and restructure and optimize my finances.
13. Track all my expenses. To the penny.
14. Finish the 21-day No-Complaint Experiment
15. Score at least $15,000 on Jeopardy! using the Coryat method.
Uncompleted Goals
1. 1 mile in under 5:30.
*I got it down to 5:44. Will have to try this again next year.
2. 200 squats without stopping.
*Still don’t know how Joel Runyon pulled this off. I could only get to 165 before falling over.
3. 25 pull-ups without stopping.
*Couldn’t get past 17.
4. Be able to hold a gymnastics-inspired L-position for 30 seconds.
*Hilarious. Couldn’t even hold the position for 1 second. New appreciation for gymnasts.
5. Get at least 500 subscribers to this blog.
*As of today, Google FeedBurner is showing 490 subscribers. Didn’t quite get there!
6. Post consistently, at least once a week on Tuesdays. Sundays will be reserved for PMBA and case-study updates.
*Yikes. Fell off the bandwagon here, and actually went several weeks without posting, on more than one occasion.
7. Develop a cost-of-traveling blog widget.
*As I mapped out the idea, I realized it wasn’t worth pursuing, at least the way I had envisioned it.
8. Redesign nepalprints.com and find a cheaper host.
*I nixed the domain name altogether.
9. Sell 5 photography prints through nepalprints.com.
*Sold 2 prints, but not 5!
10. Get at least 50 subscribers to The Curry Project.
*Didn’t promote the site, but getting good organic traffic from Google.
11. Buy a keyboard.
*I moved in with a roommate who has a keyboard, so I didn’t need to buy one!
12. Score at least a 700 on a practice GMAT and then take the real thing.
*Decided that business school wasn’t for me. Big life choice.
Reflections
In 2009, I hit 5/7, or 71% of my goals. This year, I only completed 15/27, or 55% of my goals. Overall, I felt like I accomplished a lot, but I also know I didn’t push myself nearly as hard as I could have, especially with the fitness goals.
2011: Monthly Challenges + Quarterly/Annual Goals
Next year, I’ll be taking a new approach to goal-setting, one I think will not only be better for me, but much more fun for you. Influenced by guys like Leo Babuata and Steve Kamb, both who run monthly challenges on their respective websites, I decided to create a series of 12 monthly challenges for 2011. At the beginning of each quarter (starting tomorrow), I will outline challenges for three months at a time. Within each quarter, I will also being pursuing 3-month goals, as well as annual goals. Tomorrow you’ll get the first-quarter breakdown. Stay tuned!
By shortening the amount of time between goals, I’ll be in a better position to track metrics, focus, and hopefully round up a few of you to join me! They’re only a month long, how hard can it be?
That’s all, folks. If you happen to catch this post before your evening festivities, enjoy! If not, then HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks for sticking with me.
Looking at the goals you didn’t reach, a lot of them fall into a very specific set of muscle workouts. I actually think that’s great for you, because, as we age, there are just going to be goals we can’t reach. 165 squats is great, but is it really worth the time it takes for the extra 35? The point is that you worked hard and pushed yourself, which is what resolutions are for. So I say great job!
Thanks, Zack! Curious to hear what your 2011 goals entail. We’ll chat soon.
damn, i wouldn’t be disappointed with that list….but of course, one more reason to do even more next year
It’s been an awesome year Alan! Meeting you was definitely one of the highlights.
Good luck on the 200 squats! (we’re waiting!) and let me know if you’re gonna try Parkour…I might have to join in on the fun!
quite the busy and successful 2010! Curious to see how your goals you didn’t complete in 2010 will relate to those you set for yourself in 2011.