This is my annual goal setting blog post where I share my biggest goals for the coming year. This annual review process is inspired by author Chris Guillebeau who has been publishing his annual reviews for several years. These are my 2017 goals.

Previous Post: 2016 Year in Review

I love planning and dreaming about the future. It’s fun to think of the cool things you can accomplish. It’s great to set these goals and put strong efforts toward achieving them. On the other hand, the most important parts of my past year were completely unpredictable when planning. It’s a goal in and of itself to maintain the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

I like to give a general theme to each year, something I learned from Ramit Sethi. I’m calling 2017 The Year Of Leverage. This is the year I want to swing for the fences and set a few lead dominos in motion.

This is the fourth year I have published my annual review and goals for the upcoming year. If you are curious about how I have honed the process, here are the yearly reviews for 2013, 2014, 2015, and the goals setting posts for 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

I try to find goals in all different areas of life and not just focus on the work or financial goals. I’ve stolen some designations from Tony Robbins: physical, emotional, relationships, time, financial, work, and spirituality; and added a couple more of my own: adventure and education.

There are different types of goals and new years resolutions. One is the project goal or finite achievement goal compared to habit goals. There are short, medium, and long term goals. Your yearly goals should fit in to your five year, ten year, and life goals. Some goals are easily measurable, and other are more subjective. All of the goals I am including are directly measurable or have measurable components (and may result in other unmeasurable benefits).

This year I will be incorporating a few specific values, as well as the standardized, measurable goals. The values are: Community, Storytelling, Big Wins, Quests, Routines, Energy, and Masculinity.

It might be risky to share goals publicly. Some folks say that if you share your goals publicly then you risk humiliation when you do not achieve them, thereby forcing you to complete them.  On the other hand, in his TED talk, Derek Sivers says you are more likely to achieve your goals if you keep them to yourself! So because I am sharing these with you, I need you to get on my case if I am not working my butt off towards these!

What makes a good goal? The S.M.A.R.T. acronym is a great way to assess your quality of your goals:
S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic

T – Timely, tangible, trackable

My friend Nik Wood always says” How will you know when you have won?” Nobody but you is giving you the finish lines in your life – figure them out before you start.

2017 Goals:

Work

1. Give a TED talk
2. Run the “Adventurous Entrepreneurs” paid community and mastermind
3. Choose a publisher to publish Conductors: Orchestrate the Next Big Thing
4. Host first fully paid Adventure Quest
5. Find long term adventure travel sponsors

Physical

1. Learn about body building and get “8 pack abs” at 8% body fat
2. Win one road bike race

Spiritual

1. Focus on Lucid dreaming – 50% of nights, and 2 X one month of consecutive nights
2. Read the Bible and Koran in full
3. Executive producer of Magic, Miracles, and Manifestation Podcast (12 episodes+)
4. Complete 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training

Relationships

1. Write and publish thoughts on fatherhood and family relationships (at least 2000 words/month)
2. Connect with 100 thought leaders for genius conference

Education

1. Read 60 + books (scaled back from previous years)
2. NLP training
3. Voice Lessons (12+ lessons)

Emotional

1. Implement a morning routine for energy management.

Time

1. Spend one hour/day+ with my son Axel
2. Find a business partner! To allow both of us will focus on our strengths.

Financial

1. Earn a 6 figure income, 80% of which is based on monthly fees for the adventure community and personal coaching
2. Donate $2000 to charity, $500 of which will go to #3
3. Start an Adventure Grant

Adventure

1. Finish my quest to live on every continent (South Africa in June, Argentina or Ecuador in November)
2. Make a backroads adventure biking documentary in Europe and Africa
3. Go on Safari

Long Term Goals:

1. Host an annual conference to solve global problems like Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative
2. Start a business to help entrepreneurs connect with ideas and collaborators effectively
3. Trek through the Sahara and recreate Paolo Coelho’s Alchemist and make a documentary
4. Own a professional cycling team
5. Bridge the gap between science and spirituality