Dear Readers, here are my goals and resolutions for 2011.
The list is long, and the funny thing is, I have another 5 goals to achieve which I’ve left off the official list. There’s just so much I want to do in 2011 that it’s important to write things down so I can revisit them every month to evaluate my progress. I’ll be bookmarking this post and checking back regularly for sure.
I’m under no illusion that I’ll be able to achieve everything on the list, but I will certainly try. A lot of the goals and resolutions below are doable if I adjust my lifestyle accordingly. In fact, practically everything on the list is something I really want to do, hence maybe I will be able to achieve them all!
GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011
BLOGGING / INTERNET Goals and Resolutions for 2011
* Maintain and grow Yakezie.com into one of the largest networks on the web. By the end of the year, we aim to generate $100,000 a month in revenue for all Members. Stretch goal, but a possibility for sure. We will host at least 6 Scholarships and award at least 18 Yakezie Scholarship winners. Yakezie.com will also build out its Lifestyle Vertical with 10 new Lifestyle Members and plenty of content.
It’s 2020 now and Financial Samurai is one of the largest personal finance sites in the world with over 1 million visitors a month! Revenue is fantastic too!
* Make you believe that I blog full-time. In other words, readers of Financial Samurai will be treated to consistent (2-4 posts), quality content every week of the year. Readers will forget that I work 55-60 hours a week running another business because the quality of the site will remain high. Comments and e-mails will be responded to, guest posts will be welcomed, product reviews and giveaways will be conducted. Like eating the most scrumptious chocolate cake, you’ll develop an urge to keep coming back for more without gaining any weight.
* Fly just under the radar. It’s very tempting to brag about financial achievements with a personal finance blog after a certain point, and that’s something I don’t want to do. I realize times are still tough for many, and I find it inappropriate to share specific financial successes without the proper balance of financial failures. There are a host of other PF bloggers who publish their net worth progress regularly. Check them out and encourage them.
I don’t want credit for anything that comes out of Yakezie.com either. The site is for the Members and I’m careful not to impose my style and voice on the Network because I have a very strong personality that’s not suited for everyone. I want readers of Financial Samurai to read the content for what it is and to have no preconceived prejudices if possible. If Yakezie.com or Financial Samurai gets picked up by larger media outlet, great, thank you! However, I don’t plan on seeking attention. Everything I do will be guided by one word: fun. If the interview or project or whatever isn’t fun, I just won’t do it.
Offline, I want people to see me as just another regular person who looks less senior than his job title would indicate and is very financially mediocre. You know the scene in The Matrix where the ship is trying to avoid the attention of the Sentinels? My goal is similar to that – to disappear while being present. 11-year old Moose, worth $3,000 will help me stay invisible.
* Read a book on better writing. I flow write, which is to say that I just write everything down that goes through my head and then go back and edit for punctuation and grammar. However, in the entire year that I’ve been writing, not once have I picked up a book on how to improve my writing. Since this is a blog and not a New York Times article, I’m not so worried about beautiful writing. Furthermore, I don’t have an Editor to make anything pop. That said, I would like to incorporate a couple new writing techniques for 2011.
PERSONAL FINANCES Goals and Resolutions for 2011
* Take more financial risks. I’ve never been much of a financial risk taker partially because I’m easily satisfied with whatever I make, and partially because I’m too chicken to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although things have recovered, it was disconcerting to observe so much wealth destruction in 2008. I need to buy more growth stocks.
The pain of losing $100,000 is at least 2X the pleasure of making $100,000. I haven’t decided whether to open up a new trading account to punt the market with, or buy another vacation or rental property.
Maybe I could turn $100,000 into a million bucks and surpass one of my goals from last year? Or maybe I’ll lose $50,000 of it and become an alcoholic for a week. I’m looking to invest in another private company, so if you know of any promising ones out there who need capital, let me know.
Related: Why It’s Easier Getting Rich Off Real Estate Than Stocks
* Get rid of excess and maintain living expenses. I’m keenly aware of lifestyle inflation. This is the problem with hanging out with wealthier people. I’m joining an expensive tennis club and now I’m getting pitched to join this resorts vacation program which costs $130,000 and “only” $10,000 a year for 10 days in any one of their “400 multi-million dollar residences” around the world. That’s the cheap package! If I want 30 days of usage a year, it costs $300,000 and $30,000 a year to join. At least they give you 70% equity. Ummm, no. Stop spending money like Snoop Dogg and simplify life. Break free from things and reduce, reduce, reduce.
One of the greatest challenges will be to remain frugal, but not cheap with friends who are wealthy. The strategy I’ve come up with is to simply spend money on them so they have nothing to say about the way I live. Coffee, lunch, tennis balls, golf balls, dinner whatever… they’re all on me rich buddy. Please, just don’t call me cheap.
* Save at least 60% of my gross income after maxing out my 401K. This goal will be on my list every year until I retire. Everything is pretty much automated as I save one paycheck and 90%+ of my year end bonus if I receive one. If for one instance I feel that saving this amount crimps my lifestyle, I will allow myself to spend more by saving only 50%. Thankfully, good personal finance is quite basic and logical, which is why I try and write about all the fun things around personal finances instead. Hope you guys feel the same way about personal finance, so we can address some more interesting topics this year.
LIFESTYLE Goals and Resolutions for 2011
* Dress better. I dress very simply because I love to feel warm and comfortable. I used to always equate fancy clothes with being cold and uncomfortable. As I looked into tailored clothes more closely, I discovered a whole host of beautiful materials which keeps one warm and looking sharp at the same time. Several months ago, I went to a tailor and added a couple of well knit blazers, two suits, and seven dress shirts to my wardrobe, yet I’ve hardly worn any of the items except for the shirts! I haven’t even put on one of the suits yet to my dismay. The entire ensemble wasn’t cheap and I’m not planning on letting that money go to waste. I’m just too casual in the way I dress, which may be borderline inappropriate. The goal is to dress well and come across as someone who doesn’t have much if that’s possible. Every week, I will wear my blazers at least once and wear each suite at least twice a month.
* Take guitar and/or singing lessons at least once. I will find some good references and get some lessons by golly! After some encouraging comments from readers, I proceeded to record a couple more songs that day, when I only recorded 3 other songs all year: Landslide and First Day of My Life. Each song took at least 2 hours to get right and record because of so many strumming/finger picking and singing mess-ups. However, it is immensely gratifying to practice like crazy to record a final product which you find good enough. Guitar is an outlet that allows me to smile, cry, and do something completely different from the day-to-day norm. Guitar also helps me cope with boredom when it’s raining and I can’t go out and play. As a matter of fact, blogging also acts as the same way this winter! Aim to record 5 songs.
* Enter at least four tennis tournaments with the goal of winning one. Part of the reason why I failed to achieve my tennis tournament win goal is because I only entered two of them! Like dating, winning a tournament is also a numbers game. The more I enter, the more chances I have to win. In order for me to win, I need to stay healthy and fit. As such, I will stretch at least twice a week, do yoga once a week at home for 20 minutes, stay under 165 pounds, and lift weights at least twice a month. I hate working out with a passion, but I love to play sports and stretch, so that’s what I’m tilting my physical routine towards.
* Trend towards vegetarianism. The diversity of food I eat is mind boggling and often times unhealthy. Just last week I had Korean BBQ, Peruvian Ceb(v)iche, dry-aged prime rib, Singaporean Chili crab, Toro Sashimi, In N’ Out Burger, Burrito Mojada, Roti Prata, Shabu Shabu and Indian Mee Goreng! A lot of the diversity is because I love all types of food and I live in a city which allows for such pleasures. Furthermore, I often take clients out for meals and try to keep things flavorful, which often means unhealthy. As a result, I plan on making one day a week on average an all vegetarian day.
* Rediscover golf. When the downturn hit, I decided to give up golf and just focus on tennis. I couldn’t break a 10 handicap (got down to 10.1 and ricocheted higher) and I felt golf just took too long and was too expensive. It’s a shame because all of 2007 and most of 2008 I was enthralled with the game. I got some second hand Mizuno MP-50 irons that just felt so buttery. I found my driving swing again, and could regularly smack it at least 260 yard on a flat hole. Most importantly, my father has also rediscovered golf in retirement, so I’d love to spent my free time on the course with him.
* Remember my dreams. There once was a time where I would dream frequently and remember many of them. I’d fly across the city, go on crazy adventures, and meet interesting people. Perhaps one of the downsides of getting up early and quickly is that the “kick” happens too quickly. It’s in those snoozing waking hours where one seems to remember most of their dreams, and I simply don’t snooze at all because I wake up automatically by 6:15am. We sleep about 1/4th to 1/3rd of our lives. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could be awake in our dreams? If you haven’t watched the movie Inception, please go watch it twice. It’s now my favorite movie. I’ll be doing a lot of research on increasing my unconscious memories.
* Take all six weeks of vacation. 2010 was the first year I did and boy did it feel great! I’m also glad to see the world didn’t fall apart while I was away, which is a silly notion I used to have. I plan on continuing my path of visiting one or two new foreign countries a year so I can visit 60 before I die. I’m shooting to travel to Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Peru (went as a kid and don’t remember), Australia, New Zealand, Greece, or the Galapagos Islands this year. If you have any thoughts on where I should go, or recommendations of what I should do, please let me know!
* See my parents four times instead of the usual one or two times a year. My parents are globetrotters and they are hard to track down sometimes. We will use Skype more often and check in at least once every two weeks. One of the reasons why I started this site is so that my parents can check in on me, any time, wherever they are. They can read some of my thoughts, and comment whenever they want and I will respond. Mom and dad, if you are reading this, come visit me at least twice a year please. Thanks! There is no other resolution more important than this one.
GOOD LUCK with your goals and resolutions for 2011
I’ve made sure that everything on my list is measurable in some sort of way so that in one year, I can look back and see whether I succeeded or failed. I’ve already booked a trip to see my parents this February and I’m excited to get going on every single one of my goals. Feel free to share your goals and resolutions for 2011 as well!
Best of health and best of fortitude. What are your goals and resolutions for 2011?
Update 2021
It’s been over 12 years since I started Financial Samurai and I’m actually earning a good passive and active income stream online now. The top 1% of all posts on Financial Samurai generates 31% of all traffic and revenue.
I never thought I’d be able to quit my job in 2012 just three years after starting Financial Samurai. But by starting one financial crisis day in 2009, Financial Samurai now makes more than $200,000 a year. If you enjoy writing, creating, connecting with people online, and enjoying more freedom, see how you can set up a WordPress blog in 15 minutes with Bluehost.
You never know where the journey will take you. I was able to travel to Cambodia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam for four weeks while running my online business. Starting a website is the best lifestyle move I’ve ever made, and it could be for you too!
For more resources check out my:
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Sam – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”
Hi Sam
I always like following your blog as it brings this light and enlightenment in my life.
Great goals you have for 2012. For sure which I will borrow especially on investmetns and savings which I was badly at in 2011. As for tennis and Golf we are at it together.
As for the places to visit you may want to think of Masaai Mara in Kenya if you into wildlife. Cheers mate!!
I love your goals for 2011. They don’t seem to hard to maintain as long as you work hard at them. Saving money for charity is great!
You may have not intended to do so, but I think you have managed to express the state of mind that a lot of people are in. The sense of wanting to help, but not knowing how or where, is something a lot of us are going through.
i like your most important resolution best, which is also mine. already have 5 trips scheduled to visit, and twice have them over. all the best with each one of them…
Thanks mate. Are your parents back in SEA? Too bad there aren’t more/any flights directly to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand! I would go constantly!
They are in the Midwest, USA . . . from a traveler’s perspective, a disadvantaged I have faced by living in the USA is the ability to “quickly” head over to another country. Canada and Mexico are the closest, and I have had enough of those….
Hey, great goals, Sam! I’d love to hear more about your trending towards being a vegetarian. I’ve heard people feel great once they make the switch, but I’d be too concerned about not getting enough protein. Good luck!
As far as a great writing book, check out On Writing Well. It was recently recommended to me by one of my freelance editors and it is GREAT! I highly recommend it.
Here’s to a great 2011!
Will check out the book, thanks for the tip! After going 3 days out of the past 10 not eating any meat, I do feel better already. I feel less bloated and lighter.
Have a great time at your wedding and best of luck for 2011!
I was also going to recommend On Writing Well :)
OK, will check it out! thnx for the recommendation.
Interesting goals… all the best with them!
Thailand, Vietnam…South-East Asia… definitely don’t retire without visiting these places and spending some time with the people and culture! :)
Yep, I’ve actually been all over SEA. Only places I missed were Vietnam and Cambodia. Cheers
Your Yakezie goals definitely support my blog goals. We’ll rock 2011!
You must be in the tech field if you list dressing better as a goal. I know my company tends to dress very casual (jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, etc.) unless we have customers in the building.
Good luck on all these wide-ranging goals. I can’t wait to see how you progress!
Thanks Kay Lynn! I think if we just stay the course with the Yakezie, we’ll do well.
I could be in tech, but then again, maybe not! :) Good luck with your own goals!
I definitely don’t want to let my personality get in the way, but I do want to let my determination guide the team forward.
I appreciate all you’ve done as the Yakezie Forum Leader! Will send you a shoutout in the Monday, Jan 3 Yakezie post.
Regarding vegetarianism, curious to know your thoughts on this. If vegetarianism is considered healthy, how come you still see a lot of unhealthy vegetarians?
Those are some pretty lofty goals, Sam. Do you record your music at a professional studio or at home? You can save a lot of dough by doing it all at home.
All the best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
Howdy my fellow musician. I record everything in the high tech studio called my 2nd bedroom using GarageBand for Mac and a Snowball microphone! Fun and free. Landslide’s sound game out well, but the other one I donno, kinda distant and crackly.
Sam everything I get to your blog I’m at least 20 comments in. I’m thankful if any of my posts ever hit 20 comments. One of resolutions will definitely revolve around the fact that my blog needs to become more interactive.
I really enjoyed the personal touch to your list. As you plan on traveling a lot this year and as do I, maybe we could meet for a beer at some random destination in the world lol.
That’s because I’m not one of your go to blogs you read, but that’s OK! I’m working on it.
All ya gotta do is respond to your comments. And after you do for a while, then you’ll get a reputation for being a blogger who interacts. Pretty easy!
Maybe we’ll have a beer in Peru! You’ll have to tell me about all your travel goals and such. Cheers, Sam
I respond to all comments! I just need to write posts that are conducive to more comments.
I come here all of the time. I just don’t surf blogs on a daily basis. I need to make it a daily habit to surf my fave blogs.
Cool. What is your definition of a post that is conducive to comments though?
Perhaps one where people are enticed to leave their thoughts. This would mean that it’s either thought-provoking or gets people interested some how.
But, why wouldnt all bloggers want to write thought-provoking posts that are interested unless they don’t want readers and comments?
Why would a blogger want to write insipid, boring posts? I don’t get it, honestly.
Impressed by how you made these goals so specific, seeming to follow a SMART approach to goals setting. Great stuff, and you’re hitting different areas of life here.
Have to say, I’m typically quite the goal oriented person, but this year I’ve been procrastinating my goals for the new year. But I can’t, and your post has given my that reminder and extra push. So thanks for that!
Thanks man. I’m actually following the SAM rule of Specific, Actionable, Measurable, given I am Sam and you can’t spell SMART without SAM!
Look forward to reading yours!
Nice goals!
With regards to remembering your dreams – check out books on lucid dreaming. Go for the most serious one you can find (not a popular pop-psychology one) and get stuck in. Taking marginally more control of your dreams can help improve creativity and problem solving abilities. It can also mean having consistently amazing dreams where you can fly – or whatever takes your fancy!
Some great thinkers in history are thought to have used their dreams to work on entire musical pieces and conceptualise a range of things. The discrepancy between real/awake time and dream time is huge. Some people can work for what seems like hours in a dream and it can be merely a few minutes!
I haven’t experienced any of this yet because it needs to be worked on a lot to come into effect. But it’s a cool and interesting thing to have as a resolution!
Happy New Year!
Adam
Adam, thanks for the tips on dreaming! I will research lucid dreaming thoroughly this weekend as it’s supposed to rain.
It really would be amazing to create while dreaming and remember everything! Cheers, Sam
Good luck on your resolutions, Sam. I think it’s very honorable of you to inspire us while being considerate not to come across as bragging. I think it’s the best strategy. Those who truly have, have no need to flaunt.
As for my own personal resolutions…
* I like the dream resolution! I’ve had varying success with this, and maybe if I put more effort and concentration into this, I’ll be able to achieve a stable lucid dream. Other than that…
* I’d like to diversify myself personally, perhaps pick up a music instrument as well and start doing more various outdoor activities, since I do enjoy them a lot whenever I do them.
* My girlfriend loves pop culture, me not so much, but I’ll try to understand that world a bit more.
* I’ve never been successful with waking up early unless forced to, but now with the blogging there’s extra motivation to do so:
* I want to keep building up the blog and make Invest It Wisely a site where people enjoy participating and coming back. To do so, I’ll have to be a bit more serious about writing instead of just writing whenever I feel like it.
Hope you have a great New Year’s!
Thanks Kevin! I think the more comments and e-mails you get that relates to your blog, the more you’ll naturally want to get up ASAP b/c you’re so excited to read what your readers and others are saying. Same goes for Twitter I think.
I think you’ll enjoy music! It’s a natural extension of left brain and writing. Whatever the case may be good luck and thanks for all your support this year! Best, Sam
The more detailed your list is, the easier it is to measure success at the end of the year. You’ve got THE list Sam. I don’t know why I never got into this level of detail on my end, maybe because i focus on high level goals. I should reconsider as one accomplishes more when the goals are within 1 year time frame. All the best for 2011, I hope you will hit the overwhelming majority of your goals!
Big picture is DEFINITELY important, b/c that trends into a way of life. However, I think once you get the big picture stuff down, then you can drill down to the details b/c you’re beginning to live the lifestyle you want!
Cheers mate and good luck with yours too!
Wow, great goals Sam!
I’m going to go a different route this year, and try more of a holistic approach toward my goals in 2011.
I find that if I think about something I no longer like (workouts) from different angles, I can convert an negative to a positive. For example, I use to hate to drive on long vacation drives. But now I drive at night so the kids sleep through the trip, while I listen to an exciting audio-book. That way, I don’t start to nod off as I did in prior years (very dangerous). Now the driving time for the trip is now one of my favorite parts of the vacation… who would have guessed!
Wow, I know we have some similar taste in music and movies, but really you are on an entirely different plain of existence that I am by an even greater amount than I imagined…
Thanks for sharing your life through your blogging this past year, I’m starting to realize that perhaps I’ve been a little complacent with my own life. I don’t have a driven peer group to motivate me onward and upward. I don’t know if I can make much of a change in my life now… but I bet I can for my kids!
Thanks for opening the door and showing us around!
Best to you too, and here’s to a great 2011!!!
That’s awesome about night driving and allowing your kids to sleep while you have some you time to listen to your favorite audiobooks! Genius! Glad you don’t get sleepy either and that you look forward to driving at night b/c of those books!
Not sure what you mean by different plain of existence, as we’re all on the same plane imo. That is wonderful you’ve got your kids to work on making their lives the best possible!
Cheers, Sam
By plain, I mean level. Many of the topics and life examples you bring to the table via your blog, I’ve never experienced or even heard of before!
Some of the topics are eye openers! I think it’s good for people to hear stories like the one about your friend that wants to be a photographer, but is trapped (sort of) by golden handcuffs, etc.
Just saying thanks for sharing!
Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I guess some different different types of stories and perspectives from other sites is good. I should have more of then in 2011 for sure!