Hello 2013

Today is the first day of a new year, and, I don’t know about you, but 2012 is leaving with mixed emotions.  We saw one son get married to a lovely young lady, one graduate with his AA degree, and another move in with his boyfriend.  We also saw the passing of Teri’s mother and the end of friendships we had had for a few years.  The good was great and the bad was tragic.  We survived and in some areas we thrived while in others we crashed in emotional numbness.

For me personally, it was a year of great change moving in exciting directions.  Some of the highlights include moving Sarah and the 8-year old into our home, quitting my steady job for the ebb and flow of a writer’s life, and the publishing of my first short story, Circle of Justice.  The Mess that Is Me has seen its traffic more than triple in the last three months and I have been able to participate in some great writing experiences and blog hops and tags.  I became more organized as a writer, even without the office I keep losing, and more focused in my projects.  Some of these were goals I had set, such as chasing after the dream of being a writer.  Others, however, were thrust upon me because Life decided my routine needed to be shaken up. 

I believe strongly that it’s important to set goals.  If you don’t have an idea where you’re going, then you really aren’t going anywhere.  However, it’s equally important to be flexible on your journey.  Those who stubbornly refuse to bend when Life tries to blow them in another direction will break under the pressure.  I have learned that it is necessary to have a destination to travel toward, but I never mark it with a permanent marker.  Instead, I use a pencil with a fresh eraser.  I don’t want to miss the best because I was fixated on the good.

So, knowing that Life may cause me to make some changes to my well-thought out goals for 2013, I have, nevertheless, written some down in order to determine which direction I am going to be traveling at the beginning of this fresh New Year.  I share them with you here, so that together at the end of the year, we can see how well I did.

Manuscripts Published

There will be, at the least, four books published in 2013 ~ Reaping the Harvest, which is in the hands of my editors-in-residence now, Losing Faith, an erotic novel, Surrender, the first in the Society of Thorns erotic series, and Hey, Four Eyes!, a collection of essays based on my growing up years.  I also have a collection of Christmas essays for November entitled, Holiday Hindsight.

Marketing

The goal here is to become better equipped of marketing myself.  This will include a new web page and more interaction with other bloggers as well as investing some money into new strategies.

Worry Less, Enjoy More

This covers everything.  I’m not going to worry about finances as much as I did in 2012 and enjoy the simple things in life more.  I’m not going to worry about those who do not wish to be in my life anymore for whatever reasons, and cherish those who do.  I’m not going to worry about what I can’t control and focus more on what I can.

Personal Health

This will include physical, emotional, and mental goals.  By the end of the year, I wish to be more fit, stronger in patience and quietness, and to have stretched my mind by learning something new, such as the guitar or what a socket wrench is.

Those are my goals for 2013 and I’m determined to make them happen.  

How about you?  What are your goals for the upcoming year?  Share them with me and let’s help each other reach our dreams this year.

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