When I made the decision to stop having consulting employees, a big part of that was being able to be flat out gone for longer periods of time. In a tiny 4-5 person business, it’s challenging (but by no means impossible) for 2 of the team members (Erika & I) to simply disappear for a month at a time. We could have done it by adapting how the company worked, I know, but that’s a matter for that other blog post – this is about my Epic Life Quest, and here, the company change manifested itself in us being able to disappear for longer periods of time.
- Buy a Porsche 911 Targa – I’ve long had a love affair with the design of these, both old and new. I remember building Porsche 911 models as a kid, and fantasizing about the day I’d be able to buy one. For several years, I’d wanted to custom-order one with the exact paint color & leather I wanted, but one day Erika said out of nowhere, “Let’s just buy one off the lot. Get the experience right now instead of waiting, and it’ll be the same.” She was right. Completed July 2019. There are some tasks I put in here and go, yeah, this is epic, but THIS one, this one was EPIC, all caps.
- Weigh 190 pounds or less for 6 months straight – Until mid-2014, I yo-yo’d between 210 and 220. When I made it a life quest to stay under 200 for 6 months straight, I was able to pull it off. Guess that means I’ve gotta set the next goal.
Started July 22, 2018, scheduled to finish January 22, 2019. Broke 190 on Jan 2 after 3 weeks of fun & travel.Completed July 2019. - Half-point: fly into Telluride airport – Erika and I were obsessed with this short runway surrounded by cliffs and mountains. Completed August 2019.
- Half-point: fly in a hot air balloon – filed under “things I never even thought of doing, but the moment presented itself.” Completed August 2019.
- See Napa while grapes are on the vines – we fell in love with wine country when we did the company retreat there in 2016, but we’d only seen it off-season. We got the chance to pick grapes off the vine and taste ’em. We’ve come to the conclusion that winemaking is like yardwork, squared. Completed August 2019.
- Take Erika to Hawaii – she wanted to see volcanos, the beaches, and the islands where they shot LOST. We’re on a 14-day Hawaii cruise as I write this, and during the course of it, I also revised some of my Epic Life Quest goals. I’d always wanted to take a repositioning cruise, a cruise around the tip of Cape Horn, and a world cruise, gradually amping up my cruise lengths. On this Hawaiian one, we spent 4 days at sea going out, and 5 days coming back. I do love sea time, but the cruise ship motion out in the open ocean is a little over the top. I don’t get seasick, but the motion’s big enough that I don’t really covet this anymore. I think river cruises in Europe might be the next thing we go after, and we’re doing a big Norway cruise in 2020.
- Be gone for 2 months in one year – regular readers will know that vacations are really important to me, and that I’ve worked remotely for a long time. I gradually took it up a level: in 2019, I aimed to be gone for 2 months. For me, being “gone” means that I’m away from home, and I’m mostly on vacation. I still do work before Erika wakes up each morning – email, write, learn – but when I’m “gone,” I’m not available for client work (because I’m often in places with odd schedules or sketchy Internet.) In 2019, we did extended vacations in Iceland, Paris, Colorado, Napa, and Isle of Man, and this 2-week Hawaii cruise. (Not included in this task: yet another week in Mexico during the end of year holidays.)
Yeah, this level added up to 6 points, not 5, but since the last couple were really completed in tandem, it doesn’t feel like they should carry over to another level. Time to start fresh on the next level and get to hustlin’. Here’s what I’m working on next.