11 of My New Year's Resolutions for 2009

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11 of My New Year's Resolutions for 2009
Posted Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 12:00:00 PM

Seems like a fitting December 31st post. And there's no better way to stay accountable like publicizing these things. Here are my New Year's resolutions for 2009, in no particular order.

Take 11 Points big. I have every intention to take this website and turn it into something more. I love doing it, my readership has been consistently growing and everyone I speak with thinks I'm on to something here. So in 2009, I'm going to do something to take this blog big.
Have that big viral video. In just over two years of making viral videos (first just for Panda Smash and now for Break), we've had some pretty nice hits. Our Real Life Mario Kart video has been viewed more than 3 million times across the Internet. We had a several videos this year go for at least three-quarters of a million views.

But we've never had the huge viral hit... the one that literally takes over the Internet for a couple of days that everyone watches. The one that hits tens of millions of views, gets press coverage, becomes a part of the online lexicon.

This year I want to take everything I've learned so far about this medium... partner that with even more creativity and effort than before... and channel it all into having that huge viral hit.
Go to the gym in the mornings. I did a decent job getting to the gym this year. Decent. But I'm not a morning person. Never have been. And as my social life has gotten busier and my work life often takes me late into the night, it's made getting to the gym on a nightly basis more and more difficult.

So it's time for me to finally reorganize my schedule a little bit and, as part of the maturation process, start waking up a bit earlier so I can do my working out in the morning.

And it's not like I have to wake up at 4:45 am or something to do it. I roll into work at about 10 every day. I think I can handle this.
Finish my screenplay. Somehow, between my full-time job and this blog, I've still found writing time and creative energy to bang out almost an entire screenplay this year. In 2009, I want to finish it, workshop it, revise it, polish it, improve it... and see what I can do with it.
Be more up front with people. I am an only child. This comes with some pros and cons. One con: Deathly fear of confrontation. In 2008, that manifested itself into me not being up front enough with several people (most frequently girls I was dating), which ended up leading to more problems and dramatic situations than they should have. So I'm not going to do that anymore.

As a corollary, I am also going to be more up front with door-to-door salesmen and people in mall kiosks. For some reason I have a problem saying no to both of those types. I'm not going to entertain them anymore.
Make more videos. Spending the year working with Break was fantastic, but it led to me channeling all of my efforts into making videos at work. I didn't make any new Sam's House of Knowledge episodes or anything else random just for fun. In 2009, I need to get back to my roots... and I also need to be even more aggressive pushing my ideas forward at work.
Turn 30 properly. So, yeah, in August I turn 30 years old. And I would like to do it in a proper way... which means without freaking out and with my life in the place I'd like it to be. That last part is vague by design... I'd rather not get TOO deep into my wild hopes, dreams and insecurities here... but suffice to say I've got it all laid out very clearly in my head.
Find a way to maintain relationships with family and friends in other cities even as I get busier and busier. In 2008, as I got much busier (socially and career-wise) here, I felt some of my relationships with family and friends in other cities slip. In the upcoming year, I need to make sure not to get so absorbed in my life here that I neglect the people who don't deserve to be neglected.

As for the people who DO deserve it... yeah, I'm probably neglecting them already.
Take a class. I feel like it's time to get some kind of new skill. Whether it's a career-related class (like a directing class or other filmmaking class) or something for fun (wine appreciation, glass blowing, horseback riding)... I'd like to start learning again.
Take another large step forward career-wise. In 2008 I took a large step forward career-wise, moving into an original content producing job at a major website and moving from not blogging to starting a blog that's starting to gain some steam.

In 2009, I'm going to take another large step forward. Much of what's above on this list will help me do that... but it's going to take a lot of networking, off-hours work and focus to make it happen.
Do my laundry. Eh. At least this way I can guarantee I'll keep one of these resolutions.