Medals on my desk

I was talking to a marathoner at work, yesterday. I haven't run in so long, it was amazing to just go over what its like to put in more than 30 miles in a week. He's been complaining that the weather is muggy and its not fun to run with the smog and heat - and in the back of my mind I began to realize exactly where I am with my training.

When my wife left to India, I suspended triathlon training. Sold the bike. I haven't done more than a 5k run in like. Six months. What I have been doing, is playing World of Warcraft. And working.

I rescued my company from near-disaster, twice. I have made huge strides in our product development. I have a picture on my desk of a satellite view of Florida, and I hang the medals around it. My hole-in-one ball sits there to the right of it. Rescuing a company from financial disaster, averting a Chapter 11 bankruptcy or foreclosure, are things they don't give medals for. So there's nothing there to show for that...

What will I do this year? I am unsure. I've done well in the past few years, personally and professionally. But financially its been a slow train wreck. I would like to do more than just succeed. I want to start intergenerational wealth. I want to build a company and a product that become household names. Two deadlines.

The first , is August. Thats my deadline for the second phase of my research deliverable. Which is to say, I have to get out of phase one, and get to a place where I can see phase two.

The second, would be Mid June, and that would be the books. Both personal and private. I want my life straight. And I want the records I keep, straight. We have to get the books straight.

For the first goal, I am going to collect up my research and make a desk and keep it all there and then just force myself to go there. Maybe, what. Leave a trail of candy to it or something. Put a picture of some girl named Amber there. Whatever. Something that attracts me. A copy of the Iliad. Whatever.

For the second, I'm going to hire a maid and get a few good days work out of her. I used to have a person that did this for us, and then I taught her how to troubleshoot email problems and now she's working as a support technician. Before that we had a guy who was washing dishes in the lobby of the Georgia Power building. Now he's working for Cisco systems. So. I guess I will have my work cut out for me. I think she should probably +not+ dress like a French Maid.

It seems to me that the process of making lists, and sorting things - putting them in order, does more for me than calm me down and instantiate whatever it is that I am wanting to do. It changes my world, if only slightly. It feels to me like, whenever I have a list, here on my desk - I can start crossing things off the list. I love to do that. That will be a third thing to do.

I did it yesterday. I will likely never get a medal for playing world of warcraft. But I have successfully levelled to 70, built a level 19 'twink' and levelled my skills. I made a list for my raiding gear, for my first raids into Karazhan - which is kind of like a gearing ground for beginning raiders. Its fun to realize just how much you can solo, once you're level 70 in WoW. But its frustrating, too.

I guess there's a new phase of my life coming where just making the list isn't quite good enough. I think this next phase of my existence is going to be more about making it more than just a win. Although I really love a win. Its time to find the 'zone'. The place where winning comes more naturally, and where I can totally exceed the limits.

So. Simple goals. Today I make 4,000.00 . Just to see if I can do it. Should be simple enough. Tomorrow, I overcome a major technical issue with our product. I will alternate between tech, and finance, and then on Friday I will party like a savage.

And maybe later this year I will do Escape to Miami (we start on an island off the coast of Miami, and swim in to shore). Maybe right now, Triathlon, WoW all that stuff can take a back seat to research, and financials.

And when I make my first million I won't have a medal made up for it. Instead, I will have my desk organized, or maybe buy a new one. For some reason, the main thing I really want to do if I ever won the lottery or something - would be to get organized. To hunt down old friends. Digitize my files. Back them to cold storage. Make a DVD of my grandfathers old home movies. And put in new hardwood floors. Things like that.

And then, I guess I'd buy antiques. And maybe a new car or something - but one that has great mileage and can be easily maintained.

I saw a Lamborghini a few days ago, solid orange. License plate said "all bull" or something like that. I thought, nice - but, I'd rather have a Honda or something, more comfortable for the kids. Better mileage.

Or maybe a BMW. I have had a lot of those. Good cars. Another thing I really want to do is get the landscaping done. clear the azaleas. Border the vegetable garden. Fairly simple things. Whatever works.

Probably the last thing I would want to do if I hit it big would be to go on a big cruise, or go buy luxury items. I am fairly certain that if I became a millionaire I'd still be hunting down good deals. One thing.

It would be more than just another medal on my desk. It would be a new desk.