Resolutions

My wife and I have often set individual and family resolutions each year.  Generally, we have done well in achieving them but I have never personally written them down to hold myself accountable to them.

Last year, I had the goal of shooting a turkey, a boar & a deer.  I wasn't even able to go turkey hunting and the one deer that was shot on my hunting trip wasn't by me and it died somewhere in the forest and we weren't able to find it as we shot it right at sunset.  Of course, it snowed that night so no chance of finding it in the morning either.

So, here is to a year where I write my goals down and hopefully refer to it throughout the year...

I have two goals: I want to become more self-sufficient and more present with my children.

Self Sufficiency 

There are three parts to this as I have two in my professional pursuits and one hobby that I want to learn and develop this year.

• New Project at work 

Clearly I cannot say too much of this, but essentially I am wanting to help bring new business into the company I work for.  Being a consultant that knows how to manage an account is one thing, but to be a truly successful consultant, you have to have the ability to bring in new business.

I followed a prompting last Fall that has opened the door of opportunity that may lead to me being a key role in doing just this.  If this does come to be, clearly it will be a great addition to my resume and proof of ability to perform at the next level at work.  Both of these bring financial benefits that will assist my wife and I with our stability in the home by paying off debt or funding something more we have interest in.

• Investment Firm 

A friend and a brother-in-law of mine have begun discussing opening our own investment firm.  We don't have much to invest, but by investing in apps and over-sea development options, we can start earning enough to eventually be able to invest in companies here in the US.

This month, we are looking at opening the firm and potentially taking on our first investment.

• Blacksmithing

I have resolved to learn how to conduct my own blacksmithing in creating tools.  I want a hunting knife and I cannot find the simple, functional design I want as most knives are built for fashion over function these days, the few that do meet my requirements are over $100.  There are also several things my wife has that are either wearing out or she is making do without them that I can learn how to create.

With this in mind, I built my anvil on January 2nd and hope to have my forge completed in early January.  I have already collected some iron and brass parts to begin working - my first project will be a set of tongs.

Time with my children

Last year I did not go fishing once.  My son loves fishing and often requested it, but with my client work being predominately at night (my client is in Japan & Australia) I never made the time for it.  He is already 9 years old, half way gone from my home.  My daughter turns 8 this year, quickly approaching the same milestone.

I do not know how long I will live or how often I will be able to see them after this next decade is over.  I do not want to repeat this year.  My wife and I take them out for one-on-one dinners each month, but I want to start playing more games with them, going camping as a family - and spending more quality time with them.

We have already resolved to play games after dinner each Sunday night and share daily chores where we work together instead of just watching shows or movies.  I'm sure it won't occur every day, but as long as it is most of the days, I will be satisfied.