Posted by Chris on Jul 6, 2010 in
Life At the beginning of each month I’m sharing about some plans I’ve made, with the hope it will hold me accountable. What are your plans this year?
1. Read the whole Bible. Progress was slow this past month. I’ve got a lot of catch up to do.
2. Run a full marathon. Still need create new fitness goals. I’m struggling to find motivation post-marathon.
3. Climb a 14,000′ Mountain. Although I hate to give up on any of my plans this year, I don’t see this as a financial possibility in 2010. 
4. Visit somewhere I’ve never been. See numero 3.
5. Find a full-time job. Got an interview coming up!
6. Take at least one graduate course. This is looking more and more likely.
7. Read 40 books. I’m somewhere in the 20s now. Right on track.
8. Volunteer at least 1 time a month. I volunteered a lot for my church community this past month. Good times.
9. Pay off all debt, except school loans. I’m pretty sure I can do this by the end of the month.
10. Share my faith regularly. Slowly having more and more opportunities for this. A key I’m learning is to be unbelievably counter-cultural.
11. Begin leading and/or hosting a regular gathering for skeptics and Christians to study the Bible. It takes a long time to build the relationships necessary for this one. I need to pray more regularly for it.
12. Write daily, including journaling, blogging and working on a book. Slacked off a bit this month, however I did revisit a book proposal I’ve been working on.
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010, Goals
Posted by Chris on Feb 18, 2010 in
Life If you’d known me before I started training for my marathon, you would have laughed at the idea. My only memory as a child of playing any sports was sitting down on a soccer field, while the rest of my team chased the ball. I have never been mistaken for “athletic.”
This is why you MUST run a marathon. For me, or at least, pre-marathon me, an accomplishment like this would have been impossible. I’m not saying “you can do anything if you just put your mind to it!” But I have come to believe that life isn’t worth living if you are not aiming at incredible, meaningful accomplishments; goals that are out of reach of the person you are today.
If you read this blog, I hope my story will encourage you to set BHAGs and accomplish them.
For my single friends, what if you stopped focusing on things like getting your career off the ground and finding the perfect someone, and set a goal like rebuilding a village in Haiti or writing that book you have in you.
For those who are parents, what if you set the goal of being so involved in your children’s life and schooling that every single student in your community graduates.
For those who are retirees, what if you decided to devote your time and energy into coaching young couples in marriage, and personally destroying our nations 50% divorce rate.
What is impossible for you? Why aren’t you doing it?
Tags: Goals, half marathon, marathon, running
Posted by Chris on Dec 1, 2009 in
Life One of my twelve goals for 2010 is to read 40 books. It’s kind of ridiculous, because I’m a pretty slow reader. But I’m operating on the same principle of my half marathon, if I make a plan and a schedule, I can do a lot of things.
I need a little help picking my 40 books. There are a lot of good books out there, but I want to focus on reading that helps me work toward my goals in church planting, ministry, and leadership. About half of them need to be on audiobook. At least one or two classics, a few biographies, and a handful of mindless novels.
Suggestions?
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010, Goals
Posted by Chris on Jan 4, 2009 in
Life 
It’s that time of year. By the time this post comes out, you have probably already taken a stab at your New Years resolution. Hopefully you’re succeeding at them.
What are your goals for 2009, and how do you plan to accomplish them? How did you arrive at your goals? For an example of some goals, check out my roommate Trevor’s big ideas for 2009. I’ve been doing a lot of goal setting work recently. Personally, I use Dan Miller’s breakdown of 7 areas of life:
1. Spiritual
2. Career
3. Financial
4. Social
5. Family
6. Physical
7. Personal Development
Using these seven areas, I set four benchmarks: immediately, three years, five years, and ten years. I like this because it allows me to think long term, dream big, but also think about immediate steps.
Dave Ferguson of Community Christian Church posted an interesting goal setting exercise here. Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week, doesn’t think that setting goals is risky or concrete enough, and he recommends what he calls dreamlining.
What are some of your goals for 2009?
Tags: accomplish, Dan Miller, Four Hour Work Week, Goals, New Years, resolution
