Goals for 2012

Given that a black belt is just a white belt that didn't quit it's time methinks for our annual goals list. I've got a scientifically validated system for achieving them but I can't put it down yet 'cause it's in a book I'm intending to publish in 2012 so you'll have to wait.

One portion of the program though is putting your reputation on the line which is what happens when you wade in on here and tell all and sundry what it is you intend to achieve next year.

A useful exercise to do in case you're not feeling motivated is the following. Multiply your age by the days in a year. In my case that's 18,615. Subtract that from 27,010 which is your average life expectancy. That means I only have 8,395 days left of my life. (and how many do you want to waste watching television?) which usually fires me up to get some stuff done.

Last year for example I was on Deadliest Warrior, built Krav up, released my book, began writing a column for a local newspaper, sold paintings, kept the tattoo shop open, taught a bunch of seminars, began working on a smart phone app, building a new website, interviewed for magazines, met Kelly McCann (and tattooed him), trained SWAT teams in VIP protection, moved to the Lake (and some other stuff I can't remember)

So, for this years list i.e. 2012 I intend to...

1. Get my new website out

2. Get How to be Your Own Bodyguard" into Print on demand

3. Be in a movie

4. Get my smartphone app on the market

5. Open another tattoo studio down at the beach.

6. Release two more books

7. Sign on with a speaker's bureau for public speaking gigs

8. Teach a seminar at the Crucible

9. Teach five more SWAT teams

10. Build Krav up 40 active students.


What are yours? And yes, I'll check in at the six month and nine month marks to track your performance...

Nick

As I took part in last years goals list and did update at the first quarter, I think I will explain why I didn't post anymore and what happened:

I updated my list on April 1st, everything was going well until a week later when I received a phone call that changed my life, my eldest son was found dead on my ex wifes sofa, 24 years old and fit as a fiddle. To say the world was turned upside down was well, an understatement. I struggled over the coming weeks obviously, funerals are expensive and when you are self employed, money doesn't come in if you don't work and I couldn't, I would have killed someone either through the rage I felt inside or my not doing my job properly. It took months to get back to work proper, probably around July time, as well as this, I decided to take my two youngest kids on a month long holiday in August to France and Egypt, to try and get them and me back into life and also during all of this, I was having a horrendous time with my second eldest son who was really struggling with the grief of losing his older brother and went pretty much off the rails big time.

In September, we got the two youngest kids into a new school, my ex went on a holiday to Turkey to get away from it all and I felt like we had turned a corner, but three days after this, my second eldest, died in a car crash. Fucking deja vu. I can't even begin to explain what that was like, having to ring his mother when she was away and tell her that she had lost another one, telling the two little ones that their second eldest brother was dead, the list is endless.

There is so much more to say about this and I intend to write it all down, maybe that will be my goal for the coming year.

All the best

Nick

Thanks for sharing Nick.

It's been a horror year for you mate. I cannot understand the pain in losing a child let alone 2 of them and I sympathise with you.

It's probably going to be a tough ride for you for a while so if you can get support from somewhere it might make things easier.

All the best to you and I hope you have a good Xmas and New Years however I know things will never be the same in your life.

I have a few little goals

1. begin buskin

2. become confident enough on the guitar to play in front of people

3. teach myself the violin

4. begin training again, I've had two years off any sort of martial arts training

5. Clear my debts. I don't have ay loans but my credit card is suffering, so I'l be pumping a lot into that

6. Finish that book I was writing

The most important one is basically get myself out of this funk. I have bee very apathetic this year and its kiling me..... if anyone knows a good way to get yourself motivated then share the joy



Nick mate I'm really sorry to hear of your loss, I dont know what else I can say to you mate,

1. Further sort out my training,more trial and error to see what i can and can't do

2. Get loads of practice with my leatherwork,and produce sheaths of a sellable standard (as well as experimenting with some new designs)

3.i start a further youth work qualification in march,having completed ny first one in october.I also volunteer as a information,advice,and guidance worker for my local youth service...and plan to become more involved in that.

4. get my bass playing back up to gigging standard,i've been invited to play in a new project which hopefully will involve some gigs at some point.

5. get SP dot com a bit more lively and "happening" (all ideas/suggestions welcome)

6.i have a considerable personal issue that i am hoping to resolve in the new year,one which could have a very positive impact on my life generally when resolved.Sorry to sound cagey,i will expand on this once it's sorted

Ade, is the site easily found through search engines?? maybe getting its ratings up inthat area is the way to go? also link exchange with other sites?? maybe have a video tuturial section? i love this site has it is but always nice to improve

I re-tagged and re-submitted info to search engines a couple of months ago Jamie.A links exchange and maybe a page of links might be an idea ,and a video tutorial section is definitely worth looking into,cheers mate!

I appreciate if this is wait for the book territory but how do you approach the goals you set?

Some of the goals you guys have set seem massive and then you add massive ones on top of that!

It seems a bit much,do you break it down into smaller chunks,monthly goals? Weekly,daily even?

What would that breakdown look like?

I really want to set goals for this year,just not 100% sure how to do it?

I just done the math,15,695 days left on planet earth,time to pull my finger out.

Buster

Nick sorry to hear bout your loss,i lost my sis in November,im glad 2011 is over.

Buster wrote:

I really want to set goals for this year,just not 100% sure how to do it?

I just done the math,15,695 days left on planet earth,time to pull my finger out.

You know the exact day you're gonna die? Can i try that?

You can indeed

Nick Hughes wrote:
A useful exercise to do in case you're not feeling motivated is the following. Multiply your age by the days in a year. In my case that's 18,615. Subtract that from 27,010 which is your average life expectancy. That means I only have 8,395 days left of my life. (and how many do you want to waste watching television?) which usually fires me up to get some stuff done.
Nick

Peter wrote:You can indeed

Nick Hughes wrote:
A useful exercise to do in case you're not feeling motivated is the following. Multiply your age by the days in a year. In my case that's 18,615. Subtract that from 27,010 which is your average life expectancy. That means I only have 8,395 days left of my life. (and how many do you want to waste watching television?) which usually fires me up to get some stuff done.
Nick

ahh,

Hey Buster,

I haven't got the trademark stuff back yet but I can give you some guidelines.

Make the goal very specific. If you say I want more money then 1 pound more than last year and you've achieved your goal. It's better to say I want to earn 15% more than last year for example. The clearer you can define your target the easier it is to hit.

Another important detail is write them down.

Next, make them concise

Finally make them positive. I.e. I want to lose 15lbs isn't as effective as I will weigh 13 stone for example.

Another great trick is to write them on sticky notes and put them down the side of your bathroom mirror so you're forced to see them every day. When you've achieved one put a big check mark on it and move it somewhere else.

Nick

PS: I won't generally do more than ten a year and four of them are crucial.

Hope that helps mate.

Ade wrote:1. Further sort out my training,more trial and error to see what i can and can't do

2. Get loads of practice with my leatherwork,and produce sheaths of a sellable standard (as well as experimenting with some new designs)

3.i start a further youth work qualification in march,having completed ny first one in october.I also volunteer as a information,advice,and guidance worker for my local youth service...and plan to become more involved in that.

4. get my bass playing back up to gigging standard,i've been invited to play in a new project which hopefully will involve some gigs at some point.

5. get SP dot com a bit more lively and "happening" (all ideas/suggestions welcome)

6.i have a considerable personal issue that i am hoping to resolve in the new year,one which could have a very positive impact on my life generally when resolved.Sorry to sound cagey,i will expand on this once it's sorted

Well,i make us about a quarter of the way into 2012....so how's it going?

1. not much progress here,might need wrist surgery before i can return to any hard training...but opportunities have come up locally to train with some fairly serious MMA guys,and a world record concrete smashing Karati-man

2.Getting there,i can post pictures of some of my work in a separate thread if anyone's interested.

3.Storming along! Getting lots of experience,and starting a level 3 course in youth work practicce in April (level 3 equates to somewhere inbetween 3 A-levels and a degree)

4.Let's just say...i rock!

5.Need a bit of help with this one,so get some threads going fella!

6. Feeling really positive about this,well on the well to resolving the issue...and it's having a very promising effect on other areas of my life

so like i said...how's it going?

1. Get my new website out

2. Get How to be Your Own Bodyguard" into Print on demand

3. Be in a movie

4. Get my smartphone app on the market

5. Open another tattoo studio down at the beach.

6. Release two more books

7. Sign on with a speaker's bureau for public speaking gigs

8. Teach a seminar at the Crucible

9. Teach five more SWAT teams

10. Build Krav up 40 active students.

1: It's poised and almost ready to launch...just trying to figure out how to have certain pages forward to other URLs and host some pics etc.

2. Also poised ready to go. Awaiting an ISBN number (found out I need a different one for the print version)

3. Met my choreographer mate recently and it still looks like I'm on track at some point. I need to get a head shot done and into the right hands but figure it can wait till next I'm in LA

4. Also, very nearly ready to go...final tweak and some spare cash and it will be up.

5. That actually got pushed till next year due to a lease issue but may happen this year after all. I'll know more in a week or two.

6. This may or may not happen. Depends on some meetings about other projects here in the next couple of weeks.

7. Haven't done this yet but wasn't planning it until next book is out anyway

8. This should happen. Going to see Kelly this week so I should be able to firm up a date.

9. Got one more definite lined up in May. Haven't promoted this at all so I'm happy with the 3 gigs I've got so far.

10. Krav is now up to 28 so only 12 more and I've cracked it. Some stuff is happening soon that will make that a reality.

Nick

PS: I did get a new sheila...wasn't part of the plan and might derail a few goals above but she's definitely worth it. Makes all the old ones pale into insignifance.

Just to confirm Nick, that's just ONE new sheila?

Nick

Ade wrote:1. not much progress here,might need wrist surgery before i can return to any hard training...but opportunities have come up locally to train with some fairly serious MMA guys,and a world record concrete smashing Karati-man

Just seen my consultant and had some feedback from an MRI scan.
The good news is that i don't need more surgery

The not so good news is that open palm style strikes are a no-no,i have a lesion on the back of my wrist from an old fracture that acts as a"stop" when i flex my wrist back,preventing it bending more than about two third of the way back.I also have some wrist bones at the base of the thumb joints that are misplaced that come together to form a solid stop limiting movement as well

So punching should be ok ,i'm told,as long as i don't get it wrong and damage the Ti screw that holds my little finger together

Not ideal news,but could've been worse.I'm being positive about it

Well here's a bit about what I'm doing

1) started attending sessions and folk music courses singing in that group regulary, still not 100% happy with my voice but its getting better

2) Got a violin for crimbo started playing it by ear and going is slow (still working mostly on guiitar) but got a bit of a knack for it

3) Busked once, made 4.50 and spend that on parking and a cup of coffee cos it was freezing. Whle having said coffee noticed a very ernist looking Policeman move past the shop seemingly looking for someone.... lol hope it wasn't me.

Am working on a busking set by drilling about half an hours worth of songs and will 'Perform' in the next couple of weeks

4) Took a loan out and paid my credit card off completely and then cancled it.... the loan payments are heavy but in 20 months I should have paid it off.

5) Not done much writing on my main project (well any really) but have toyed with the idea of releasing it in shorter clumps on Amazon self publishing. I need to think of a name for it and the series that I'd make from it. I have enough Material written for two shortish novells

Ade wrote:3.Storming along! Getting lots of experience,and starting a level 3 course in youth work practice in April (level 3 equates to somewhere inbetween 3 A-levels and a degree)

The course i mentioned starts next week

...and i'm quite excited about it,i seem to have accidentally wondered into a career path that i have a natural aptitude for (or so i'm told)




...things may be slowly on the up