2019 – My Goals, Dreams, and Aspirations for “The Year of Change”

2019 - My Goals, Dreams, and Aspirations for "The Year of Change" #growth #goals #2019 #personaldevelopment #dreams
2018 was busy… We moved our fledgling dental office, MikedUp Blog kinda-sorta exploded (positively), I worked 3 jobs for a while, got too stressed out, then rebounded again, we took on a ton of debt (willingly), our business grew, and (most importantly) – we found out that my wife is pregnant (with #2)!! Whew… I’m tired just from typing out that sentence. While all of those things are amazing (except for the stress – but that ended up being positive in the end), I knew that 2019 would need to be different if I plan to keep up at this pace. So in this post, I will introduce you to my goals, dreams, and aspirations for 2019 – “The Year of Change” (YOC).

 

Why am I branding 2019 as the Year of Change?

 

Well, because of a few things. Some big announcements and some smaller ones – some of each are below with some others coming very very soon…

 

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I’ll make sure to update you all before anyone else, ok? Alright, sweet.

 

I’m going to keep my goals in a similar format this year as 2018’s, but I’m adding one major new category (fitness) that I’m honestly disappointed I didn’t include last year. And as you may infer – with the YOC comes a (you guessed it…) change in many of my goals for this year.

 

For starters, let me give you a general goal…

 

2019 - My Goals, Dreams, and Aspirations for "The Year of Change" #growth #goals #2019 #personaldevelopment #dreams

 

A ‘theme for the year’, you could say. Last year I employed what I like to call ‘The Shotgun Method’ to employment. My firing pin hit that shell and sent hundreds of stray pellets in all different directions. Translation: In 2018, I spent a ton of time working on projects that, “Could lead to big-time financial results…!! If ___”. Well, sometimes “if” happened and more often, it didn’t. And while I met amazing people and learned incredibly valuable things, the mountain of bills still gotta get paid.

 

Stated simply – In 2019, I’ll be working for compensation

 

Think: less ‘shotgun method’ more ‘sniper fire’.

 

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You’ll get to see how this overall theme manifests itself in the business/blog goals below. But don’t worry – there’s plenty more content down there! Aside from the obvious benefit I receive from outlining, publishing, and tracking my annual goals, I’m hoping that these can help you in some aspect of your life as well. If you get some inspiration or have a comment about one of my goals – please feel free to let us know in the comments below!

 

Without further adieu:

 

My 2019 Goals, Dreams, and Aspirations for “The Year of Change”

 

Family Goals

 

1- At a minimum: Take a monthly date with my wife

 

We literally went to the ballet yesterday… So we’re on the right track here (yes that was also with our daughter and my parents, but my wife and I did sit within hand-holding distance – i.e. the benchmark requirement for “date” status). We saw The Nutcracker, for those curious individuals out there (I see you, SC).

 

But getting back to the point, after the craziness that ended 2018 for our business and family (including a debilitating pregnancy – at least when it comes to leaving the house), our dating life took a hit. But as I tell our daughter, “If mommy and daddy never went on dates – you wouldn’t be here…”

 

And in the times that my wife and I have been able to steal away for an hour or more, it gives us the valuable chance to reconnect, relax, and simply enjoy each other’s company – which, frankly, enriches my soul. This goal is listed first for a reason, and I can’t wait to see what awesome experiences we can have together.

 

2- Prioritize focused family time

 

I’m constantly working on 3 things at once, fielding calls and holding meetings at all hours of the day, and constantly stressed out at the fact that my todo list grows throughout the day, rather than shrinks… All this to say: it’s difficult for me to turn my mind off.

 

So, does that fact become my default reality for 2019?

 

Negative!

 

Can I make changes moving forward?

 

Uh – 100%, yes I can!! (This is 2019, haven’t you heard? The “Year of Change”)

 

While this goal isn’t necessarily ‘measurable’ I’m going for more of a ‘know it when I see it’ as far as achievement. To spend more focused time with my family, I’ve set the following rules for myself:
  • No screens at the table (mealtime)
  • No phone/computer between 4:30-7:00

 

While there are other things I have done as well, eliminating the buzzing distraction that steals my attention has helped tremendously, and I can’t wait to see the effects in 2019!

 

3- Adventure together

 

We took Clara on a few plane trips last year, we’ve stayed nights in hotels (crazy radical, I know), and we’ve literally left our house with a backpack full of snacks, water, sunscreen, and a little cash and didn’t come back for hours (no cars, just our feet).

 

The one constant with all of those…? We had a blast! … Together!!!

 

I want to duplicate, replicate, and find more adventures we can take together because everyone has fun, we learn things, and we grow together as a family.

 

No recording of this one, but I’m constantly pitching adventure ideas to the Mrs. Dr. and when she’s not pregnant, she does the same ????

 

4- Pray together daily

 

We accomplish this activity during evening meal time and before bed. The thing that gets me the most is that now Clara will interrupt me (stay with me here, hardliners…) and say something like, “Daddy. Can we pray to make sure Momma and Poppa get home safe?”

 

Melts my heart and is good for the soul…? Yeah – sign me up for more of that.

 

Personal Development Goals

 

5- Read 1 book per quarter

 

I failed with this last year (only 2 books read is embarrassing), but this year I’m going with short stories and/or children’s books… jkjk…

 

I’m already into my first book for the year and I WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL. Many reports and posts to follow.

 

6- Continue networking both online and in real life

 

Aside from the ability to read so many great blogs, interacting with the ‘blogging community’ has been such a rewarding activity for me. I’ve collaborated on projects, we’ve helped to grow each other’s blogs, and (dare I say) I’ve made a few really good online friends… Yeah – crazy, I know. I place great value in many of the connections I’ve made as a result of starting this site.

 

Taking things back to real life, I have been calling on our network more these days to help advance our business and to set up a few of the big changes we have coming in early 2019 (I’m teasing this quite a bit here, so apologies – but if you’re interested, the announcement is forthcoming).

 

The point here is to establish and nurture relationships with good people who see the world in a similar way that we do. While our beliefs may differ on many societal or political issues, I am inherently drawn in by people with drive and a hunger to make a dent in the world. In 2019, I want to meet more of those people.

 

Fitness Goals

 

7- 50 Daily push-ups

 

This is something I’ve done daily for the past 3-4 months and I think I’m actually seeing some results here… I’ll typically do this post-shower and pre-shave to get that pump going before standing in front of the mirror for 3 or so minutes. (I’m only partially joking here).

 

I’ve considered upping this to 100 daily pushups, but I’m thinking that a baseline of 18,250 push-ups for the year (50 daily) is a good place to start. Plus, I have a history of overcommitting and then becoming stressed out at the self-imposed criteria I “have to” hold myself to.

 

Not this year – I’m good with 50.

 

8- Never miss a Monday workout

 

The self-imposed never miss a Monday workout is something I’ve held myself to for the past few years. It is honestly a life-changer and I’ve chronicled many of the reasons why in the link above, but stated simply – you set yourself up for a great week by crushing your Monday.

 

I’ve had vacations, sicknesses, holidays, launched businesses, childbirth (not me – my wife) where I did push-ups and leg raises on the hospital floor, and time changes all try to hold me back from missing a Monday, but I have succeeded, I am succeeding, and I will succeed in the future. (Pro tip – make sure your spouse/sig-other is on board for maximum effectiveness… Have I mentioned that I married a saint??)

 

9- Get after it at least 3 times each week

 

Sure, my goal is 5 knock-down drag-out workouts each week, but if I can only get one great one on Monday and 2 other good ones throughout the week, I’ll still chalk that up as a victory. Life brings with it ebbs and flows and while some weeks will be better than others (in many respects), as long as I’m working out 3 times a week (minimum) – I’m still improving. And that’s what matters.

 

Dental Business Goals

 

10- Grow our annual collections by 10%

 

Last year we came in at 8.7%

 

While we’ve grown our business revenue significantly in the first 1.5 years, there is still plenty of room to improve moving forward. We have implemented many new programs and tactics in our office to try and get more customers in the door and to “wow” them once they’re here.

 

Many of our marketing efforts started taking hold in Q4 of 2018, and I’m excited to build on that momentum moving into this year.

 

11- Continue to find new ways to help in our community

 

We were having a harmless conversation with one of our (awesome) patients back in October. It turns out that this patient runs a charitable organization in our community that holds multiple events throughout the year. For our office, we started with helping to sponsor their food drive leading up to Thanksgiving.

 

And in the debrief following that event, the patient (organizer) asked us if we’d be willing to host a giving tree in our office leading up to the Christmas season.  Essentially, we’d have a Christmas tree with tags listing a local child’s name and 4-6 items they have requested as Christmas presents. We were stoked to be able to do this!

 

Well, we loved the idea but were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to get many of our other patients to take tags, so we started with just a handful. The day that I posted an announcement on our Facebook page and we had our tree set up in the office, not only had all the tags been spoken for, but we had patients who hadn’t visited in months, non-patients, and people from all over reaching out to take tags. We had to go back to the patient (organizer) to request additional tags a handful of times… And let me tell you, it felt amazing to be able to help in our community with that event.

 

We will continue doing that each year and also look for more ways to help in our local area. It’s one of the great perks of small business ownership.

 

12- Establish our 401k and start saving for retirement (again)

 

So… I have a secret for you…

 

While we’ve been finding, preparing for, purchasing, and growing our business – we haven’t contributed toward retirement outside of what I’m required to do with my government job. It’s been the greatest, yet purposely self-inflicted financial regret of my last 2-ish years. That all ends in spring, 2019 when I’m aiming to have our company 401k established so that our whole Team can begin contributing toward our collective (and independent) futures.

 

Freelancing / Side-hustle Goals

 

13- Earn $20,000 from outside of my traditional job(s)

 

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Yeah, you read that right – $20k.

 

So, there’s a lot to unpack here and only so far I can go in the present moment. What I can say is that I’m pulling out all the stops to work on diversifying our income sources in 2019. I am working on adding a “Hire Mike” page to the site in efforts to gain clients in any of the following categories:
  • Freelance writing, editing, proofreading, etc.
  • Business consulting
  • Marketing / Social Media Management

 

Look for the new page coming soon, but for now, feel free to reach out via email if you are interested in any of these services. I am more than happy to discuss details or how I can help.

 

Aside from online business, I am also exploring brick and mortar opportunities. More to come on these efforts in just a couple short months…

 

Blogging Goals

 

14- Double blog traffic (pageviews, subscribers, Twitter followers)

 

2018 Basis: (PV – 100,061 / Subscribers – 142 / Twitter Fam – 1,475)

 

Method:

 

Write great stuff, talk intelligently on podcasts, be engaging and entertaining, and get my content in front of as many people as is humanly/husbandly/fatherly/reasonably possible.

 

Results and Discussion:

 

To follow…

 

15- Earn more than $1,200 for the year via the blog

 

I’ve been guest posting all over Gore’s creation, podcasting wherever they’ll let me talk, and giving quotes to any media outlet that’ll take the call, and while I’ve loved and appreciated every last one of those opportunities – it’s time to get paid.

 

So, in 2019, I am working on partnerships with brands, apps, and services that I think can help my readers the most. I’ll also be working to partner with other bloggers for collaborations to bring you great content from a variety of perspectives. And I’ve also got a few tricks up my sleeve that I don’t really want to disclose quite yet.

 

To track this number, I’m keeping a spreadsheet (who’s surprised there??) that I hope will fill up quickly. Stay tuned.

 

Altruistic Goals (helping others without any expectation of a return gesture)

 

Aside from helping different organizations and groups in our community through our business (mentioned above), here’s a little something extra:

 

16- ‘Clients’ acquired through the blog and in person with both financial and fitness goals

 

I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with a few folks who wanted to either get out of debt or increase their fitness levels. Most of these ‘clients’ have either been friends or coworkers and while we had meetings and budgets and workout plans were created – I set out helping with the explicit understanding that no money would change hands.

 

There are plenty of quotes and stories about one who has actually traveled the path and paid off about $8k in debt making $44k annually, but the fitness stories haven’t been written about quite yet. Nonetheless, I’ve saved a few quotes over time (this one was via text):

 

“This is the best I’ve felt in months. I need to workout and everything fits differently. Biggest arms have been ever (still small). More energy. Just feel good. Better form on squats. Push-ups still tough but better. Lunges are better. Clothes fit way differently and it’s only week 5!”

 

I mean, if that doesn’t make you feel good – you’re doing life wrong. I love seeing the results and the changed mindsets on the other side of achieving previously unattainable goals. And honestly, it gives me a great deal of joy to help out.

 


 

Reader’s Input

 

Do you set annual goals? Or even monthly, weekly, … daily?? I’m curious if you do and what your thoughts are. Also, what do you think of my crazy list? 16 is the highest number I’ve gone with, so we’ll see how that goes – but I am excited to get started. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and we’ll keep the discussion going!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

If you’re interested in discovering a better version of yourself – whether with fitness, finance, or family – then subscribe below to MikedUp Blog’s FREE newsletter and let’s improve together!
I’m glad you’re here. Thanks again and talk soon!
– Mike
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