Goals and Theme Word for 2010

NOT A WHINER

I’ve been really intrigued by a meme making the rounds of the blogsphere concerning goals for the coming year and picking a theme word, rather than the usual New Year’s resolution.

Et tu, Brento?

Et tu, Brento?

As with all memes, they start with a blogger picking the topic of discussion (in this case, Tara Hunt at HPC) and was picked up by my friend, Tom LaRock ( blog | twitter) in his blog post, Why I Don’t Like Kevin Kline and Never Tag Him in Memes.

As in all memes, one blogger starts it off and then others are tagged, spreading the chain outward.  So Tom tagged several other good friends of mine, all of whom also chose to ignore me including: Brent Ozar (blog | twitter), Jeremiah Peschka (blog | twitter), Tim Ford (blog | twitter), and Jason Massie (blog | twitter) in their respective blog posts.  So here’s the chain of the mem a couple levels deep:

Where’s the love, I ask?

Oh, and just to whine a bit more – you can read some other good entries in this meme by Kendal Van Dyke here and Tim Mitchell here.

THEME WORD, I HAZ IT.

Not Nefarious.  Multifarious!

Not Nefarious. Multifarious!

I love it that so many of my friends are focusing not only on their technology skills and professional stature, but also on their family life and spiritual life.  I’ve long believed that specialization was for insects, but we – as human beings – are multifaceted and have manifold skills and traits that need to be cultivated.  There’s no reason an educated and urbane 21st century American can’t be physically fit, in tune with their family and significant other, able to write a cheesy line of verse, sing a few bars of a popular song, take a decent picture, repair a broken toaster, and do some on-line banking.  As others have said before me, our parents and grandparents had one career and one employer.  That’s not our lot in life.

So my theme word for 2010 is MULTIFARIOUS.

Pretty weird, eh?

When I first encountered the word multifarious, I thought of the word nefarious.  Nefarious means “bad or evil”, so I thought multifarious meant “lotsa bad or evil”.  In fact, they’re antonyms.  Multifarious, in its Latin roots, means “many” plus “goodies” while nefarious means “negative or not” plus “goodies”.

So if you can think of another word that means “having many different parts, elements, or forms; numerous and varied; greatly diverse or manifold”, then I want to use that one.  In the meantime, my theme word is multifarious because 2010 is my year of focusing on many elements, some long-neglected, in my life.

GOALS, HAZ DEM TOO.

Like many of the other folks I teased earlier, I have a variety of goals – some related to work (and therefore technology) and some not.

Every child needs a little 1-on-1. Even Little Critter by Mercer Mayer

Every child needs a little 1-on-1. Even Little Critter by Mercer Mayer

  • Personal Goals: In 2010, I’m working on some entirely non-technology goals because I frankly feel a little too much dehumanized by technology. I want to put some humanity back into my life.  So here are a few quick hit goals:
    • Fresh berries are very expensive, but berry bushes are not.  The strawberries are already in and blackberries are a goal this spring.  There’s something very primal about digging in the dirt that reconnects us with the earth and our agrarian roots.
    • I used to be a very accomplished Spanish guitarist – about 20 years ago.  Twenty years of abstention puts the ol’ guitar skills at zero.  I’m going to pick up the guitar and get at least three of those back.
    • I intend to master at least a half-dozen knots.  Knots?  Yes, knots – the kind you make with laces, rope, or twine.  Hey, I’ve got seven kids in the house and you never know when a half-hitch sheep-shank will come in handy to lash several of them to a chair, the stair rail, or in a moment of dire need, a toilet.
    • I intend to spend at least one weekend of one-on-one time with each of my kids and step-kids.  I don’t really believe in the concept of quality time, since as many learning moments come when dad bangs his thumb with a hammer as from any other so-called special time.  But in this unusually large family with distractions nearly every waking moment, I still want to set aside a little time under the label “Just Dad and Me”.
    • Zero consumer debt except for the mortgage. (Dave Ramsey is my hero!)
    • Somehow – some way – I want to get a worm-eye-view photo of any man wearing a kilt at the PASS 2010 Summit.  Strictly for blackmail purposes.  (Grant and Steve, you’re on notice!)
  • Diversification Goals: Here are a few goals for 2010 that relate to my livelihood, but are not part of my day job.
    • At least one major new book for this year.  I frequently gripe about the ROI of book writing these days.  However, there are still a few powerful topics to address.  So, with that in mind, I have one technology book ready to pitch and, believe it or not, one non-technology book.
    • Improve my personal productivity – somehow, someway.  Maybe more caffeine?
    • Revamp my personal website.  It’s visually rather dull at the moment.
    • I developed a lot of new personal skills in 2009, like wiring and electronics.  I’m continuing that because I’m also very close to filing my very first provisional patent (non-IT, believe it or not).  I’ll blog about that whole process in much greater details when the time is right.  But this is my biggest diversification goal for 2010.
    • Retool my presentation style to be story-driven, rather than bulletpoint-driven.  I felt like I’ve given some useful and informative presentations over the years.  But I can do better and I know it.  I’ve always been drawn to the old Southern tradition of story-telling and I’d like to bring that to life in my presentations.  That goal starts immediately since I have presentations almost every week and, while it might get easier with time, it’ll never go away as a goal.

So that’s a wrap for me.  I don’t have any specific goals about number of presentations, blogposts, or podcasts (though I want to do as much as I can).  Sure, I want to continue to actively present, blog, write, tweet, digg, scribble, podcast, and otherwise excrete goodness into both print and the Internet.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Why, yes, there is one other thing. It’s a meme, right?  So that means I need to tag a few others.  First, I want to beseech those already tagged to go ahead and share with us – Joe, Andy, Jason, and Michelle.  Please give us your wisdom!

Next, I’m going to tag a few friends in hopes of nudging them into another blog post, cause all of these folks are t’awesome but don’t blog enough:

Ok, team, bring the thunder.

Thanks,

-Kevin

-Twitter @kekline

Comments

  1. Very good, Kevin. I like them. And by the way, I can help you with the knots goal. Everyone should know about 5-6 knots. Once you’ve mastered those, you can pretty much count on them for most any situation.

    And thanks for the call out on my tag. Yes, I’ve got to do that. Tim Ford tagged me early on in this meme, and I really don’t have a good excuse. I just haven’t made time to blog anything this YEAR!

    But that’s going to change.

  2. LOL! I just realized that the goal to learn to tie knots is right beside the goal to spend more time with the kids!

    Coincidence?? Freudian slip?

  3. Actually Freudian would be the exact wrong word there. Sorry. But I did find it funny that the two were side by side.

  4. Well now you’ve gone and done it Now I’m going to be tagging you in all my posts and even worse….. wait for it…… wait for it…..

    Can you virtually present for EDMPASS on February 24th?

  5. I am not sure you want me to come with sweets! I have ummm “plumped” Jorge (@sqlchicken) up quite well 🙂 but if you are ok with the extra poundage I can send some tasty treats your way!

  6. Joe, that was no Freudial slip. I want to learn new knots so that I can lash the unruly kids into their cages at night. (grin)

    Colin, my calendar is currently open on the 24th. Since it’s close to Valentines’ Day, all I ask is a pretty box of chocolate made from that wonderful Alberta sand tar.

    Jessica, leave Jorge at home next time so that Colin and I can get the “plumpola” treatment. I’m not being selfish. Really. You’ll be helping your hubs slim down, after all. LOL!

    Thanks for the great comments!

    -Kev

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