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Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it means power, and it means leisure, it means liberty. »» James Russell Lowell

Creating Long Term Goals

Posted on November 8, 2007
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I’ve been struggling with Z over the idea of long term goals and the concept that one must sacrifice some things in order to achieve greater things. Disc Golf was supposed to be a lesson in this but the girl simply refuses to practice and when she does so there’s not much I can do about it but watch her go through the motions, pretending. Frankly I can barely stand the stress and I end up blowing up at her about it. Since the goals we worked out together aren’t sticking, I’ve given her an assignment to come up with a long term goal all on her own, but she doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Thus, I’ve decided to make a list of my long term goals in order to giver her something to work off of.

In no particular order-

Lose 20% of my body weight - Although I’ve always detested exercise and eat pretty much crap food I’m only feeling the pain of being overweight recently. I’m seriously pushing 250 pounds at this point and that’s just too much weight for my non-athletic six foot frame. I thought the final straw would be my inability to ride the Fireball at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, but it turns out it was the pain in my legs and feet after a full day of disc golf.
Goal: Lose 50 pounds
By: June 2008
Compete in a Pro disc golf tournament - We started playing disc golf for Z, but I have found I really enjoy it. It seems to be the perfect blend of athleticism, brain puzzle, competitiveness and quirkiness for my demeanor. Right now I’m neither fit enough nor good enough to compete in any type of serious tournament. However, I am practicing and improving.
Goal: Play in a pro tournament
By: Summer 2009
Earn a full time salary from blogging - When I was in high school I decided I wanted to be a professional writer (since it seemed I’d never get to be Scooby Doo). I sold several stories and articles to various publications, so technically achieved the dream as I was paid for my work. However, I quickly realized that the type of writing I wanted to do was not a good career choice. My fiction was never solid enough to really compete in the open market and while my non-fiction seemed to be I couldn’t stand the idea of writing only (or mostly) on topics that were assigned to me. Blogging seems to be the answer. In September I brought in almost $500 from Philaahzophy, October netted me closer to $1000, and I’m on track to top that in November.
Goal: Earn $2500/month blogging
By: Undetermined date
Quit Smoking - I’ve been smoking for about 30 years now. I know I’m an addict and that irritates the hell out of me. ‘Nuff said.
Goal: Be smoke free
By: ASAP
Ride Every California Coaster - According to the Roller Coaster Database there are 74 coasters currently operating in California. Of those I’ve ridden 35, so I’m just over halfway there. Now that Z is becoming an enthusiast as well, this goal should be both fun and achievable.
Goal: Ride every roller coaster in California
By: Undetermined
Dismantle Government - The ultimate in long term goals, I like to think that every time someone reads this blog we get one tiny step closer to the reality of an anarchist society.
Goal: Freedom
By: My lifetime