Ah… Christmas, as the song goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

As my girlfriend and I drove from parents house to parents house and back yesterday, something struck me. Now for those that know me, you know I have no problems conjuring up a political squabble from time to time. This time I will mix a little bit of religion in the mix. Did anyone else notice that EVERYTHING was closed yesterday? Seriously, even Wal-Mart (the devil in disquise) was closed yesterday. Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? In a country where we are no longer allowed to utter the word’s “Merry Christmas” in fear of being reprimanded, every single business was closed on Christmas day.

Why?

Why is it that in a country where nativity scenes breach the boundaries of the seperation of church and state all businesses were closed on Christmas? Why is that in a country that was founded on Christianity, are those same Christians being suppressed to the point of not being able to say “Merry Christmas” because it might offend other religions, yet, everything was closed on Christmas? Why is that the big box retailers have taken “Christ” completely out of “Christ”mas, again because it is not politically correct, but they rely on Christmas sales to guide their profits for the year?

All of these things kind of just struck me at once, and I needed a place to vent my frustrations. After talking about it with my girlfriend, she said to me that it sounds like another goal for this year just made itself apparent. I need to work on my own faith.

After growing up in the church and understanding enough to build the foundation of my morals and beliefs, I, like most teenagers, strayed away in search of answers. During my four years in the Marine Corps I got a bit closer to the big man upstairs, but never really latched back on to the “every Sunday church-going experience.” In recent years I’m maintained the same level of belief. I know there is a greater being, a creator, a “god,” but for some reason have not been able to call him, “God.”

Therefore, in light of my disgust for the politically correct, I will make it a priority to find the answers that I need to grow stronger in my faith of Christianity.

Merry Christmas

So, why will 2008 be any different? If you have not read Tony Robins – Lessons in Mastery, I highly encourage you to do so. He talks about an idea called CANEI, which stands for Constant and Never Ending Improvement. That concept motivated me to start this blog.

Men’s Health wrote an article this month about how to make goals more effective, and thus, more attainable. Thus, this blog serves two purposes: it lets me put my improvement goals in writing, and by making them public, it allows for others to hold me accountable. To recap their three step approach:

1. Put it in writing
2. Make it specific, realistic, and measurable
3. Put a date on it

That being said, I will outline my goals for 2008, adding as many specifics as possible. My goals, as well as the posting in this blog, will cover several topics all wrapping around the central idea of personal development. If you read this I ask that you help me attain these goals by challenging me, and holding me accountable.

Business:

• Identify and join two organization boards by June 31.
• Acquire and retain 20 clients on set monthly retainer by August 31.
• Speak at a minimum of 12 events by December 31.

Personal:

• Workout 3x/week resulting in desired weight of 190 lbs and 32” waist by March 31.
• Take a ‘real’ vacation to Hawaii, by July 31.
• Increase vocabulary. I’m not exactly sure how to measure this, but the following goal is a step in the right direction.
• Read two books monthly – one business book and one personal development book.

Financial

• Reduce total debt by 25% by December 31.
• Improve credit score by 50 points by June 31.
• Quit using credit cards completely January 1.

There they are. As of December 24, 2007 those are my goals for 2008. I know more will come into play, and I know I have others that aren’t measurable. I will blog about all of them, but these will be my starting points for the new year.

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“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” – Benjamin E. Hayes

What does that mean? Lately – it has bothered me a lot. For those of you who read my blog, you know that I have previously written about success and what it is to me. I did that to try and find my inner peace… that which makes me happy. It worked for a while, but I’m starting to slip again.

I don’t really know why, but I guess a lot of things are bothering me lately. When I was in the Marine Corps, everything was defined. I knew where I was going to be everyday. I knew what I was going to do. I knew the task at hand, and my only job was to ensure it got done. I felt like I had a purpose in life.

July of last year – all that changed. I got out of the Marine Corps and came back home to Indiana, where I started my own business. This was a total 180. I went from having everything defined for me to having absolutely no guidance or direction at all. Not the easiest thing in the world to do. Then there was the event earlier this year that caused me to have 100% freedom. That was an even bigger shock.

So here I am in this big world…. Lost! I have no clue what’s next. All I know is that I have been fortunate enough to start and successfully run a business for the last 2 years. The problem with that is now I have people whose salary depends on me… and at 23 that’s a scary thought. That is the only certainty I have.

My family is not close knit at all. I mean – we celebrate the holidays together, but its nothing really of any substance. For the last 5 years I was attached to a family that was very close knit, and I loved being around them during the holidays. This is the first time since I still lived at home that that is not the case. I guess a part of me feels alone now in that regard. I look forward to the day I start my own family.

Well – this definitely didn’t end up where I thought it was going to go. I guess I’m not as secure with everything as I thought I was. I still struggle to find that balance of responsibility and fun. I’m always doing too much of one and not enough of the other. Soo…. I will continue to look for that which completes me. I need to know that I made a difference in this world. I won’t rest until that is the case. I think I’m going to start working harder on my goal to build a youth organization to help kids achieve their dreams.