I’ve been sharing my goals updates for a few months now. Sharing progress has kind of been an accountability thing for me. I know I’m going to share it every month and so I’ve got to keep it up.
- Lose 35 lbs. I’m down 29 pounds after my weigh in today. In January I worked on just exercising regularly. During February I focused on watching calories Monday – Friday AND Working out 5 times a week. Throughout March I became more conscious about what I eat on the weekends and making sure I do at least one “project” around my house on the weekends. I’m really excited about my progress here. I’ve got more energy and I find myself in a better overall mood. I also hit the golf ball further, hopefully the softball too. Downside: none of my clothes fit.
- Publish a book. Still editing, but moving further faster. This is mostly Allie’s department. She is GREAT at getting me to actually say what I mean. She’s excellent with words. Here’s a link to what I think of my wife. She’s awesome!
- Read 15 Books. I’ve finished 7 books. I’ve read:
- Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman: A really great book that calls believers to do more than just cheer for Jesus, but really follow Him. I highly recommend it.
- A Book You’ll Actually Read on Church Leadership by Mark Driscoll (Both interesting and helpful in thinking through specifically women in ministry)
- Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley (One of the best books I’ve read on preaching and teaching the Bible, if you are a communicator looking for a book to read that will instantly help your preaching/teaching then this is the book for you).
- Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne: This is an extremely helpful book on dealing with the ins and outs of building effective teams specifically within a church context. I’d recommend many of it’s insights to business leaders as well though. Larry Osborne is a great leader and pastor.
- Great by Choice by Jim Collins: I’m a big Jim Collins fan. He writes great stuff for business, but it is so well researched that I feel like he is unmasking some things that have been spoken about in the Bible. He recognizes much of this and knows that it has great application within church contexts.
- Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson: An interesting book on the iconic leader of Apple. Jobs was an innovator for sure and a huge success in business, but not so much as a human. You’ll find out Steve Jobs was everything you thought and more in terms of his technological and marketing abilities, but that he is severely lacking in the character department. SEVERELY!
- How The Mighty Fall by Jim Collins: See the Great by Choice explanation.
- Contribute 15% to my retirement account…Up to 10% now. Lest you think I’ve made the mistake of not saving for retirement. I do have a 403(b) and a Roth IRA. I stopped for a while to follow Dave Ramsey’s baby steps and we’ve recently gotten to the retirement section.
- Start my doctorate. STILL, Not Yet
- Study the book of Isaiah. Through Chapter 6.
- Increase my blog readership. In January my monthly readership was at 830, February hit 1023. My goal for March was 1500 and I had 1937! My goal for April is 2300. If I post I write strikes a chord with you please share it. It will be super helpful.
- Develop an iPhone App. No progress.
I’m excited about how far I’ve come. It’s April 2nd and I’m close to accomplishing many of my goals and coming this far this fast has given birth to other thoughts and goals I could accomplish. I’m not special. I’m just getting serious about improving myself. Anyone can do this. The biggest thing for me in this is learning to do it systematically and submitting my goals to Jesus and allowing Him to direct me in them.
Christ is all,
Jason
Rants, Raves, and Redemption 