2018 Goals With a Glob of Trello

Sitting in the abode with two cats perched on the ledge of chairs, it was thought of a great moment to finally tap my goals into the internet. During the times of old English, when thee was spoken instead of you, writers and poets alike claimed print gave infinite life to their muses and lover(s).

In the midst of the digital age, print is slowly dying, and the interwebs is where writer’s words will last. Yes, this is the very reason I am posting my goals on the internet.

I have also stowed all my goals on a Trello board. A picture is below for your enjoyment:

In a basic sense, I first title my list with the specific goal that I want to obtain. For example, see Double my Networth as the title of that particular list in the photo above. Each list comes with a “Why” card.  When clicked, the why card will display text that details why I want to achieve this goal. Low motivation could call for a visit from the why card, and then I feel rekindled. Some of my goals have milestones, which are written on separate cards under the list of the corresponding goal. Buy a house with Chris is a summer milestone.

Enough about Trello, please allow me to direct you to my goals for 2018:

Financial Goals

Part of the motivation behind this goal is negative. Mother and father fought a lot over their finances; I will do anything to avoid having my future children repeat the same disaster experience.

Positivity needs to flow into this world. As an international educator living in China, I can see that only the wealthy families have access to a western education. Why is there always a dollar sign attached to opportunities? My financial goals will hopefully eliminate this problem. I plan to use my funds to open an international school for children in need.

And most importantly, I will try to be a giver to everyone, and make my financial choices based on God’s will.

The why is labeled, but what about the steps and milestones to bring the why to fruition? This year, I would like to doubling my networth is within grasp. This goal should be accomplished by making wise and risky stock investments. Padding the risk are my long term investments, which should bring balance to my portfolio. Check out my recommendations for investments in 2018 in this article.

Before the end of summer, I will purchase an investment property with my little brother. Real estate should be able to generate a steady drip of income, after all expenses are paid.

Tracking goals is paramount, unless the goal is flapping in the wind. Rooting a goal occurs when it is obtainable, measureable, and tracked. Just because a goal is measureable does not mean we, as goal setters, always do a great job of tracking it.

Finances can be tracked in a myriad of ways. Check out the excel spread sheet I use to track my measureable financial goals.

Fitness

 Stress is unavoidable. Thus stated, strategies can and should be implemented to curb stress. Pushing a body to its physical limitations presents itself as a healthy opportunity. Most importantly, I hope to inspire others to become physically fit, so they, too, can live healthier, happier lives.

The bar set for fitness is high. The goal is to gain 177 pounds of lean muscle mass, and have a resting heart rate of 55 bpm. Activities such as jogging with my girlfriend, and going to the gym on a frequent basis should get me to this goal; now I’ve just got to get off my skinny butt and get to the gym! The measurements are in place, but how can these goals be tracked? Take a look at the apps that I use to track my fitness progress.

 Reading

 Reading impacts our brains, and as an English teacher, and someone who worries about the reliability of his memory, I think it is imperative that I read (a lot). For me, reading is like a medication. My memory needs to be medicated.

Read this article if you want to learn more about my reading goals, and how I plan to track my progress here.

Create a living, breathing, heart pumping BLOG!

 Gosh, I forgot this goal! It is surprising that sometimes our intuition guides us instead of our task lists; creating a blog has been one of my goals for awhile.

A confession lingers before I can proceed: I am not very confident. I, always believe I am wrong, constantly I wallow and waffle insecurity. As a result, my spoken communication is weak. Battling yourself on a daily basis is not fun; visit the Annex if you’d like a peak at my stories that have scarred my soul and made me this way. Though I have made tremendous progress in my confidence too!

Stories are also another reason I would love to create a blog. My goal is to spread a message, to share information, that will hopefully be utilized, all with the purpose of increase my ability to write and communicate well. Its like a triple whammy, if that exists.

All goals, in my opinion, should start with “Why.” Move outwards from why to how can a goal be tracked, and then the measure part of it will naturally follow.

I hope you enjoyed this entry. Another dose given to readers, and another 5000 has been saved in my account!

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Book Review- Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge Part 1 of 2.

Note: this review may seem like I am judging a pastor. My intention is not to judge, but rather to point out that Batterson should tread carefully, as a minuscule  part of his book is delivering a message that is misaligned with scripture.

Words can be powerful; Mark Batterson’s Draw the Circle devotional is no exception. His novel has reached many readers, and he glorifies God for this success within his devotional. Glorifying our heavenly father is not the focus of this entry; instead, I want to unpack the section “Amazing Things.”

Day 3, Coined “Amazing Things,” really deflated me. In fact, it might even be dangerous for Christians to read this section of Batterson’s book. Here’s the meat:

In Day 3, Batterson says the Holy Spirit called on him to pray at D8–an airline gateway. It is during this section where Mark mentions that praying was such a deeply ingrained routine, but he had to miss his ritual prayer because of a work commitment (a perfectly biblical reason to miss prayer for; Jesus healed on the Sabbath). Despite missing work, Mark felt he “knew the Lord was testing him” in an airport gate, with people around. He claims God tests him, and speaks to him, asking him to pray. Batterson to hit his knees in the airport at gate D8, a public space.

Did God truly will Mark Batterson to pray in public? Or was it Mark Batterson’s prayer habit that came before God’s will? In other words, did Mark’s habitual human like instinct drive him to hit his knees, or was it God?

And moreover, please allow me a moment to cite scripture on why Christians are discouraged from praying in public:

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Matthew 6 5:8).

Congregating under the roof of a church is different from hitting your knees in the gate at an airport. Congregating is not related to praying in public; congregating is done in private, inside a church, with other members of the same faith. God does not want us to pray in public; in fact, Christians are encouraged to keep their prayer private. Praying in public does not garner extra favor from our heavenly Father.

Maybe Mark Batterson will read this entry, I will pray that his eyes graze over it. My intention is to help Batterson grow, just as his words in Draw the Circle have rekindled my prayer.

In fact, it is my duty as a Christian to call out faulty logic. Again, please turn to the Bible for evidence to support this duty bestowed on me by God:

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1)

There you have it, evidence suggesting Christians have a duty to report other Christians for misalignment.

Did this book rekindle my prayer? Perhaps. Read part 2 of the review here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Reading Goals

I read 10 books last year… As an English teacher, this number is pathetic.

Like any teacher should, I reflected on my past year, and realized that reading was one area of weakness. How can I be a strong English teacher if I don’t read and write on a frequent basis? How am I to inspire a love of reading into our students if I don’t mimic (and perhaps find) passion?

Developing as professionals is necessary, so I decided to commit to a goal of reading 40 bucks this year. There are strategies one can embed into their goal setting to set themselves up for success. Here’s some of the strategies we implemented:

Progress for goals must be tracked. Systems are in place. Inspiration to “Google Drive” or “Cloud” our reading progress is boiling.  Though I decided that using an excel spreadsheet to track books was unnesseary. Instead, I created a Trello card with a list of books. On the topic the Cloud, read how we made 1000 bucks from Microsoft’s developing Cloud.

Back on topic, my current reading list is below. It will be updated periodically and maintained on Trello:

Book selection varies, it is not based on what I enjoy reading, but rather, it is a list recommended by friends. I strongly believe there is value in forcing yourself to read works that you do not enjoy. .

Esepranza’s Rising will be tough to get through. Another hard book for us was Walk Two Moons, what a slug!

There you have it, readers. Thanks for getting this far in our article detailing our goals for 2018. Writing will become habitualized. And in order to improve on a habit, I will read vicariously.