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FinishYear

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 16

FinishYear April 22, 2012 • Comments

Week 16 of FinishYear is done and done! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

On every Sunday in April, we’ve been sharing a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
We announced this week that we’re holding the next Quitter Conference in Nashville on September 21-22! This goal is back on and you will not believe some of the surprises we’re rolling out for this conference. The last one sold out, if you’ve got a dream you want to jump start, make sure you sign up.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I might do a longer review later, but if not, definitely check out, Imagine: How Creativity Works. It’s my fourth book and I am loving it.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
The half marathon is next Saturday! I ran this week and am feeling inspired by my little sister Molly. She just ran a full marathon in Madrid, Spain!

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
Time to jump back on this one. I have a solid outline now and have some momentum.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Zero cards. Having a hard time being consistent with this one.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
Still going strong on this one.

That’s how I did.

How was your week?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 15

FinishYear April 15, 2012 • Comments

Week 15 of FinishYear is over! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

On every Sunday in April, we’ve been sharing a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
I’ll be updating this one on April 17!

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I’m in the middle of book number 4 right now, Imagine: How Creativity Works. I’m meeting with my friends Chris and Austin on Tuesday morning for breakfast to review the chapters we read. Knowing I made a commitment to those guys has really helped me stay on track.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Ran only two times this week, so that’s about a C-. I’m headed to California this week and will need to figure out where to run when I’m there or race day is going to be tough.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
One more week of heavy travel and then I’ll jump back on this one. I can write blog posts in 30 minute chunks here and there but have a hard time getting into the flow of writing the book without a lot of running room.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Zero cards, but I have four people that I need to write one to this week. Two people I spoke for at events and two of my team members.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
Continuing to knock this one out. Wrote two times this week.

That’s how I did.

How was your week?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

How to close the gap between ordinary and extraordinary.

FinishYear/ Quitter April 9, 2012 • Comments

We usually think the distance between ordinary and extraordinary is a thousand miles.

When we survey where we currently stand and where we’d like to land, the journey feels massive.

The gulf between who we are and who we want to be seems impossible.

The distance between what is and what could be seems overwhelming.

It’s not though. It’s a lot smaller than you think.

And two cups of yogurt reminded me of that recently.

Keep Reading —›

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 14

FinishYear April 8, 2012 • Comments

Week 14 of FinishYear is over! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

On every Sunday in April, we’ve been sharing e a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
I’ll be updating this one on April 16!

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I’m reading book number 4 right now, Imagine: How Creativity Works and it is awesome! Best of all, I’m reading it with 2 friends so I have some accountability.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Ran three times this week, including an 11 mile run yesterday. I averaged 9:33 which would put me at my goal, but my left knee started hurting at mile 10. We’ll see how race day goes!

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
Didn’t get a whole lot done on the book this week because of vacation and the next two weeks will be tough. I’m speaking 6 times this week and then going to California for four days the week after that. I have an idea on finding some writing time though, I’ll let you know if it works.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Zero cards, second week in a row.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I’m in Proverbs 22. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.

That’s my week.

How was your week?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 13

FinishYear April 1, 2012 • Comments

Week 13 of FinishYear is done! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

On every Sunday in March, we’ve been sharing e a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
More info on this goal is coming April 16!

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
I started book number 4. I’m still working through Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, but I went ahead and started another book. I realized Nouwen wasn’t the type of author you could fly through as part of a list.

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Ran three times this week. We’re going to Disney this week, so I’ll have to do most of my runs on the back half of the week.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
I have a deadline for the manuscript now. It’s due June 1! That will be here before I know it, so I’m starting to really crank up the hustle on this one.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Zero cards written this week, but I’m pretty sure I smiled more at people. So maybe that counts somehow.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I’m in Proverbs 21. Can’t believe I’m two-thirds done with this one!

That’s my week.

How was your week?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?

Does the world need your dream?

FinishYear/ Quitter March 26, 2012 • Comments

Every dreamer is afraid that the world doesn’t really need whatever it is they are working on.

I’m afraid of that right now as I write my book.

The fear is that your dream will prove to be about as necessary to the world as the items in the Sky Mall catalog. (Does anyone need a showerhead that has a built-in neon light to change the color of the water? No, no they don’t.)

But let me give you a quick response to this fear that has helped me continue marching through the project I’m engaged in right now.

Does the world need your dream?

Maybe. Maybe not. But that doesn’t matter yet. Why?

Because you need it.

The book you’re writing is extremely critical to you.

The dream you’re growing is wildly necessary for you.

The question of whether the world needs it is moot. You need it. To do it. To complete it. To wrestle the demon of doubt and know that you made it through.

“Does the world need your dream?” is the wrong question to ask first. The right question is “Do I need this dream?” And if the answer is “yes,” and it should be if you’re working on the right thing, then keep working.

What do you need to start working on your dream?

FinishYear/ Quitter March 12, 2012 • Comments

Most of us spend most of our lives trying to earn enough money to one day buy back the soul we lost along the way.

But those years are unfortunately never for sale again.

Choose wisely how you invest the years of your life.

Want to chase a dream but think you need money first? Think again. You’ve already got the most important resource there is: time.

Don’t wait until you’re 80, and wake up with a bank full of opportunity but no years left to spend it on.

Start dreaming today.

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 10

FinishYear March 11, 2012 • Comments

Week 10, done and done! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during March, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
We’re hard at work at a fun announcement about this goal. Stay tuned.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
This one is a slow go. Have you ever read Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son? There’s so much in each sentence that you can’t really speed through it. (Which is not a bad thing.)

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
I ran three times this week and completed my 9 mile run. I was able to complete the 9 miles with an average speed of 9:31 so I think I’m in good shape for this one.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
Best week I’ve had as far as the book is concerned. I’ll probably tweet more about this later this week, but I found the 4 words I’ve been looking for in the book. It took me a while to get there, but I finally did.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Wrote 0 cards this week. No progress here.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I’m in the middle of Proverbs 18 and still really enjoying this goal.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?