2023's Roadmap & Game Plan

Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies moving forward toward finding the answer. -- Denis Waitley

Insanity is continuing to do the same thing expecting different results. -- Albert Einstein

Some of my goals for 2023 entail:

- 10,000 followers on YT (aka finally making long-form videos 😳 (this will be a fear I'll have to overcome this year)

- becoming better at communicating; getting the point across; better at making sense

- obtaining that 6th pack of abs

Here we are, the third day of January. I'm feeling great because this isn't the third day of my run. I've been running on a consistent basis for the past two weeks, and beyond that if you allow for some days off. This consistency thing isn't easy, that's for sure. I've been posting low-effort videos right before bed and pressing snooze way too often. Oh, and not to mention today was the first day back to reading.

I'm doing my best to practice what I preach. My motivation is to become the best version of myself, to continue to level up as if it were a video game. If I want to have an impact and add value to those around me, I've got to prove it to myself before I can prove it to anyone else.

As for my goal of achieving 10,000 followers, this will mean overcoming my fears of putting my face behind a camera. Writing this blog will help with that. Actually, writing this blog will help with so many other things too. It's valuable content that can be repurposed. ex. long-form videos/text, short-form videos/text, and so much more.

How do I feel? Well, kind of scared to be honest because of all the things that could go wrong, wanting everything to go perfect. As well as all the comparing myself to other successful YouTubers in my head. But, what's allowing me to accept those risks and dive forward is to realize this is exactly what leveling up means. I'm going into this with only what I know. I realize that I don't know much about what it's going to take to achieve that and that's okay. Because I know that through figuring it out, I'm only gaining more experience. I'm only going to get better at it, I'm only going to keep leveling up.

The thought that's going on in my mind right now is: "how can I edit my videos as good as them and how do I pull myself together? So that I'm more willing to learn how to add text bubbles or even transitions to make the video look nice?"

Well, the realization is this. Who cares about all that, the only thing that matters where I'm at currently is not allowing that to be a crutch. Writing this right now, then reciting it in a video format, and then uploading it onto YT - bam, this is my first video, done. That's all, I don't need no fancy edits, titles, or transitions. All that matters is just starting now. I can work on enhancing all those other skills later. This is a work in progress. This is the training arc. This is the journey that everybody talks about. This is not the destination. The destination would not be as commendable without going through the journey and overcoming all the struggles that come with it. If you gave me 10,000 followers right now, I wouldn't even know what to do with it. I guess I'd still be here in the same spot, writing out this exact same blog and realizing that I just need to start. And just figure it out along the way.

Nothing worth pursuing is going to be easy.

This also leads me to my next goal of becoming better at communicating. All I know is that in the past, reading self-help books + exercising what I've learned is what helped me grow the most. I'm literally just going to go back to the basics of putting in 15 minutes a day of reading. Bonus, this will also allow for me to come up with new topics and ideas for content, I won't ever run out of things or ideas to share about. I'm also going to be reading fiction too. Something that I've always avoided because I felt it wouldn't add any value to me. But, I had a good friend bring up that it's not always about learning the content of what I'm reading. And that it's more so the way it could make me think, with the possibility of sparking new ideas or train of thoughts.

Here are some books that are on the top of my reading list right now:

- How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

- Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John C. Maxwell

- Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton

My last goal? All I’ve got to do are ab exercises daily right? Should be easy enough. I'll keep you guys updated on my consistency. May or may not share some progress pics along the way. This is what I'm most excited about. Because it's something I know that is SIMPLE enough to get, all I've got to do is start and stick to it.

Another one of my goals is to be able to dead hang for 3 minutes. Mini-games at amusement parks only call for 2 minutes, my highest score was 1:27. I've been holding off on this one for a long time now and so I'm going to crush it this year. For over the past 4 years, I've been telling myself all I've got to do is practice hanging daily. It's the one habit I've always fell off of --but not this year. I've actually achieved 2 minutes yesterday for the first time. So I'm off to a pretty decent start because I now know I am capable of it. How'd I do it? Well, a huge part of it was mental. I also learned that engaging my lats helped as well. Every few seconds, I would engage them for a few seconds. I would repeat this whenever I felt I needed to get my mind off of my grip weakening. I've also learned that what helps me is quietly counting in my mind as well. Starting from 30 seconds. And again starting over from 30 seconds trying to trick my mind that I'm almost done, until I hit my mark.

My game plan:

- continue trying for 2 minutes daily. (or at least do some form of exercise. even if it is only a mere one set of pull ups/other work out, the goal is to keep my body strengthened)

- pull up/chin up exercises for another 1-2 minutes after. doing anything to keep myself busy for a whole 3-4 minutes total

With that, I conclude this journal entry. Time to get busy.

--Holy fuck, I just hit 2 minutes again, after a 10 second break, I went straight to leg raises while in a "pulled up" position. I was doing the counting trick super fast as I was about to give up but I fucking did it!! (01/03/2023)