Things to do for 2014

I don't believe in goals as stated in by other blog journal entry Goal Are Stupid however I do think you should always improve yourself and have a theme like "I want to learn how to speak klingon". Anyway here are some of my themes for 2014.

1. I want to make myself a better man.

Started my degrees in Freemasonry. I need to finish this by the end of the year. For each degree there is a proficiency exam and I am currently studying the Entered Apprentice one, after completion and testing I will be able to advance to Fellow Craft. Once completed I will continue on to the Master Mason Degree.

2. I want to learn conversational Spanish.

Got the Pimsleur intro to Spanish audio files to listen while driving. Learning a Language is difficult because it is very taxing. It really takes a lot of concentration. I plan on at least knowing and having a few conversations by the end of the year.

3. I want to give more to charity.

For this I am working through my Freemasonry to work with the St Baldricks charity and with any brother in distress.

4. I want to learn how to use my new camera without it being on Auto.

I might try to take a class or do some online research. I am really trying to take my camera with me more and see what I can do.

5. Finally I want to get back to nature more.

This means Hiking and Camping are on my radar this year, I plan to have to get a new tent by Christmas.

What are your themes this year? Please post them below.

Why Bitcoin is Exploding.

So what is Bitcoin? This video has been around awhile gives you the basics of the overall system.

Some background on where it all started. In November 2008, a paper was posted on the internet under the name Satoshi Nakamoto titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.

A year later the first open source software came into existence with Mr. Nakamoto creating the first block of bitcoins ever (known as the "genesis block"), which had a reward of 50 bitcoins or “BTC”.

However in 2009 although you could solve these “cryptopuzzles” in the chain and be rewarded with bitcoins they were useless. If no one wants to trade a bitcoin for a physical item it only exists in a computer.

With any bartering system there needs to be a perceived value of the item to give it purchasing power. In 2011 there was a bitcoin forum where a user gave someone 10,000 bitcoins to buy a pizza for him. That amount of bitcoins at today’s rate would be around 4.5 Million Dollars.

If bitcoins are valuable, it is only because they are useful and limited in supply. There can only be 21 million total bitcoins mined and will take until the year 2033 to finish mining all the blocks.

In the last year the amount of bitcoin accepted business has multiplied, http://www.shopify.com/ has 70,000 merchants all waiting to accept you’re newly purchased or mined bitcoins. There is now even an ATM in Canada that can accept money for bitcoins.

Since more merchants are using bitcoin and more people are fearful of governments or banks the amount of users in the bitcoin community has exploded this year. A bitcoin that cost 23$ in January is now 420$ and rising.

So you are saying I can’t afford to buy a bitcoin at 420$. That’s ok because you can purchase and use micro bitcoins. a bitcoin goes from 1btc to 7 digits out  in the case of uBTC .0000001.

Any variable is available to buy or sell. This is why no matter what a bitcoin is currently worth the amount of the transaction can be adjusted to fit the need. 

Bitcoins should be seen like a high risk asset, and you should never store money that you cannot afford to lose with Bitcoin. If you receive payments with Bitcoin, many service providers can convert them to your local currency.

You can directly explore the system in action and setup your first wallet by visiting http://Blockchain.info 

Once you have a wallet you can get your first mico bitcoin on http://www.bitvisitor.com

Or If you want to just buy a bitcoin or a fraction of one you can visit Coinbase. https://coinbase.com

If you liked this story you can send me a micro transaction to My Blockchain Wallet
1Nh436mcRQwWq2VP7r1mkTp1ckAWvSvqhr

Goals Are Stupid

Setting goals sounds like what you need to do to be successful, it is what every HR Manager will ask you in any interview. What is your 5 year goal? 10 year goal? Guess what. I have never achieved any goal I told those people in those interviews.

I told many people that I would have a Project Managers Certification over the last 5 years. I am allowed to sit and take the test at any time. I haven’t because.

• I get to do the job everyday anyway.
• No one asks me to see my certificate before they do the job I ask them to.
• It won’t make me a better person, it will only be a bragging point and no one likes a braggart.

Goals, in an extreme, mean you aren’t happy until you achieve your goal. Then what? OMG! I didn’t make my 5 year goal mark. My life is going nowhere. I got passed over for promotion. I will never be a success.

Remember that a goal is only achieved once. Even when you finally achieve your dream goal you will see that goals are only the seeds that grow into problems. A goal is fleeting. You get there, you feel happy for a second, and then the worries begin again.

If I set a goal to get a job at a specific company and do, I would get the gratification of achieving a small goal but then the other things set in. Am I good enough to keep this job? Am I wearing the correct attire? Now I am worried I will lose it. Or I have to kiss ass to my boss. Or I have to impress my colleagues. And I go to bed stressed on bad days.

Write down your goals. If you don’t have any, make some up. Now cross them out. Replace each goal with a theme. 

Yes a Theme.

You can build your days around your themes. I want to learn more. I want to be healthy. I want to be good to people. I want to help people feel good about themselves. I want to be creative. I want to choose me.

Guess what? When you are focused on the now and working towards your daily theme everything else falls into place. Because you studied more or wrote more or chose to be nicer to people, you get chosen to be the one people want to be around.

You have the attitude of gratitude. Grateful that you are working in a place you want to be at, doing something you enjoy because you are working your theme of making your day better.

Whenever I see a person in football get a touchdown or tackle and act like they have never done it before, and have finally achieved that goal I feed sad for them. Because that joy is fleeting and they may never get that again. But when I see someone doing the same thing over and over and getting better each time I know that they have a theme that drives them.

An important theme for me is to every day focus on how I am treating people and am I getting out of my fears. For me, I know that works. Works for what? Who cares. It just works. Whatever your theme is, check it throughout the day – Ask: am I living by my theme?

When you see that a theme can create a life whereas a goal can create a moment you will know that the theme will set you apart.