Too often I focus on my mistakes and don’t allow myself to celebrate my successes. This post is different. Below are all of the successes I am celebrating this New Year’s Eve.
My Successes in 2011
- Became a published author
- Ran my first marathon
- Doubled my annual income
- Starred in a commercial
- Halved my expenses (this was key)
- Traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Panama, Belize, Mexico, Canada and France
- Found and somehow managed to keep a fantastic girl
- Moved away from the only place I had ever lived (Seattle) and became a beach bum in California
- Got bored, moved to Argentina and lived there for six of the best months I have ever had.
- Moved back to California to be a real person for a while (sort of)
- Vastly improved my sex life
- Coded my first web app in Ruby on Rails
- Summited Mt. Rainer
- Explored Easter Island
- Hung out with the Statue of Liberty
- Learned to fly a plane
- Stared into Niagara Falls
- Explored the Iguazu Falls
- Jumped off a cliff and went Hang Gliding
- Danced at Carnival in Rio
- Attended the 2011 World Series
- Smiled with a friend at Machu Picchu
- Walked on coals (well more like ran)
- Visited the Panama Canal
- Went to a polo game
- Went to Burning Man (for the 4th time)
- Had a book signing
- Met some of the coolest people in the world (Mattea, Daniel, Atara, Joseph, Morgan, John, Ryan, Nico, Vicky, Malena)
- Got an average of 9 hours of sleep a night
- Wrote close to 1,000 words a week
- Drank half of my body weight of water in ounces per day (180/2)
- Ate a diet of 70% vegetables (although not in Argentina :-p That was closer to 70% steak)
- Successfully doubled the amount of traffic to my employers website. (This was hundreds of millions of additional visitors)
- Read close to 40 books
- Worked out on average two days a week
- Broke my arm on a motorcycle (well actually it was when I fell off said motorcycle)
- Ate almost entirely organic
- Kept my total amount of possessions below 100 things
How The Hell Do You Have The Time To Do All Of This?
The better question is why don’t you have the time?
My transformation into this lifestyle started after reading a blog post a lot like this one. I cussed out the author, made some excuses of why I couldn’t do it and then changed my mind and went outside and started running. This made all of the difference.
Image what your life could be like if you dedicated to make living your dreams your absolute highest priority?
THIS IS YOUR LIFE! You are not going to have another chance! Right now, you are sitting on your butt somewhere and reading about my accomplishments. Instead, you should be creating your own.
We are each on the same rock, circling the same sun. I don’t have any more time each day than you do. We both only have seven days in a week.
The only difference between me and you is that I know exactly why I am here. I have a very clear purpose.
So What Can You Do Right Now to Make 2012 the Best Year You Have Ever Had?
Stand up. Right now. Stop reading this post and go outside. Run, run as far as you can. When you get tired, keep going, walk if you have to. The distance isn’t important, the state of mind is the important part. This is your life, there is no second round. This is all you get. What are you going to do in 2012 that you didn’t think was possible in 2011?
