Back on October 10th, I posted this on An Invitation to Bucket. In it, I suggested that I would focus on 5 “buckets” going forward:
- Educational, which will include my MBa, Mandarin, French and even spiritual
- Joyful… which will include emotional, and inspirational
- Work and Service… including vocational, and social
- Physical… my health
- WEALTH… including material and financial
First, I suggest you might find it of value to read that post. The notion of buckets is particularly of value to me. From that, I developed my “five buckets statement” to be filled by 20022020 (my 60th birthday)… an application of Ikigai for me personally:
It is 20022020, and I am a master and lifelong student of the global body of work around character leadership and unity building. I have learned conversational Mandarin and French to bring that work more global. I have also engaged a deepened level of spiritual studies and practice through The Ruhi Institute, and more. I am living a life filled with love, song, dance, cartooning, writing, epic stories, archery and more of what and who I love. My #bestlittledogintheworld Panda is by my side in enjoying it all. I am teaching business leadership at College of the North Atlantic, in class and online; and doing my global work of Epic Engage™. I am loving it! I am 110K in weight (slim for my body structure) and benching same; healthy and strong. And, I am financially ready, willing and able to support special projects in which I deeply want to invest and contribute.
Since then (and if you want to follow the journey), I have written on:
The learnings and evolution continued on this sense of vision. Then, it heated up with this on GREAT Goal and the Hunt… whereupon I set my 90 Day Snapshots as building blocks for my vision. I do suggest a good read of that post.
Since then, I documented and developed on:
,,, further “sharpening the blades” on this path of commitment. To date, it has culminated in last week’s post on THE EPIC ENGAGE … wherein I asked “Who are you? Who do you want to be?”
So What?
All of this is to offer up a path upon which to reflect in possibly reading these posts, and to say that this morning I see them as a boarding of the plane, if you will. You see, yesterday was a day that started with intense challenge and yet a focus on getting up and at it. Through it all, I called upon Courage and Certitude, a deep sense of Faith and Trust in what I know… of me and my Commitment to my vision. I was not going small. By day’s end, much had changed… had been accomplished, and even re-evaluated. The getting at it had gotten me to it. It had revealed nuanced but important realizations. Yesterday was my pre-flight check, having spent the last few weeks boarding the plane.
What did it reveal? Well for SNAPSHOT 1: November 15, 2018 through February 12, 2019… 90 days…. it revealed success and otherwise.
- I am walking as a daily student of the practice of character, unity and spirit
- I am learning the first basics of conversational Mandarin and French
- I am continuing my education studies, completing my current course
- I am prayerfully engaged in my Ruhi studies, Books 1 through 7
- I am singing, writing and living daily, with my #bestlittledogintheworld Panda
- I have re-launched the new Epic Engage™ in January, with:
- Project Black Wing™ for launch January 1, 2019
- DELIVER™ sessions November 2018 and January 2019
- Thinking CAPS™ national chats December 2018, and January and February 2019
- NLAWS™ and Speakernet officially launched January 1, 2019
- new blog-comic strip called Aukwords™ launched in January 2019
- momondays St. John`s December 10, 2018
- Speakeasies™ starting in January 2019
- I am sharing epic stories, via video and momondays
- I have strong connections with the business development community, including:
- MBO
- Futurpreneur, and
- NLOWE
- I have successfully completed the Fall term, teaching business leadership at college
- have completed and constructed my 20022020 462-day W.E.A.L.T.H.™ Plan.
I am successfully on track and even ahead on most of these items (the blue). There is but one that is currently “woeful”.
- I have a 38 inch waist, eating “more than right”, walking daily
Actually, it is more “whoa-full”. I had to go whoa and realize that something was not quite right. The systems check has found an issue. Yet, that has changed in the last two weeks too. With the pre-diabetes warning of my doctor (a new piece of news as past tests have never show such a sign) and the promise that it can be thwarted in its advance… I am now eating so much better; so very much better. I am not on track with the snapshot goal, but I have found the track. Success!
THE BOTTOM LINE
I offer all of this to say that my pre-flight check and its revelations have demonstrated and reinforced to me that:
- having a clear and palpable vision is powerful
- having snapshot goals as building blocks towards that vision are equally so
- systems checks on the validity of both are vital… and are more productive than shaming.
As you get clear on your vision for 2019 (and I hope and suggest that you do), and identify your snapshot building block goals in getting there… please approach them and evaluate them not as pass or fail, but as learnings to help ready for flight. See the “glitches” as gifts. See them as teachers. For me, there have been real successes with the practice of character, unity and spirit, Mandarin and French, education studies, Ruhi studies, and singing, writing and living daily with my #bestlittledogintheworld Panda. In addition and over this Christmas Break that I have just started, it will see me finalizing on the new Epic Engage™ in January, and constructing my 20022020 W.E.A.L.T.H.™ Plan. These are successes for me. But so is my learning on health. There is no shame in learning, only strength. For me, what I have learned on that front is that I needed to get deeper on my sense of commitment. The pre-diabetes warning was just that. It has galvanized me, not shamed me. As an educator, I understand that tests are not meant to fail us but to teach us what we know and need to get better knowing. I am learning.
I wish you a year of vision, goals, learning and growing. I will share more in a few days.
Peace, passion and prosperity.
Barry Lewis Green, aka The Unity Guy