The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both.

Lao-Tzu
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Bangkok, Thailand

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5 things I want to do in 2010

1. Turn MinoMonsters into a profitable business

Having made the mistake last year of setting overly ambitious goals, and achieving none - i’ll set something I can easily do this time around. The development of my main project MinoMonsters is almost complete, and we’re approaching our open beta. I have some really ambitious ideas for where i can take the project, but simply breaking even, and being able to pay a full time salary off the website is a great first milestone.

2. Read more

This is something i’ve realised at the start of 2010. Having never been huge on reading, i’d rather focus on getting things done. But, I really like to focus on self-development, and bettering myself every day. What better way than reading? My aim is to read 2+ books a month, and not to just focus on non-fiction (which i always do) If you have any book suggestions, let me know!

In summary, a quote by Will Smith:

The idea that there are millions and billions of people who have lived before us, and they had problems and they solved them and they wrote it in a book somewhere - there is no new problem that we can have that we have to figure out by ourselves.

3. Get fitter

In 2009, I managed to gain a stone of muscle through a mixture of a high protein intake and workouts three times a week. However, I know how inefficient i am at doing this, I think I could get 500% better results simply by measuring the workouts fully, increasing my protein intake and lifting heavier.

Although, i’m taking the focus off muscle this year. 2010 is about endurance training. I have a page in my moleskine about ambitious things i want to achieve in my life. These include some pretty physical tasks, such as climbing Kilimanjaro, running a marathon and fighting a competitive kickboxing match. I’d love to try tackle one of these in 2010.

4. Start my personal brand

Throughout 2007 - 2008, I was a pretty avid blogger, and I loved it. Something made me fall out of the rhythm, and I haven’t really had much of a brand since. This year, I plan on getting myself back out there through blogging, speaking opportunities and all the networking I can get my hands on.

5. Begin Learning Mandarin

Language learning is something i’ve always dabbled with, but never thoroughly completed. I have basic French comprehension through school lessons, but what’s the use in that? It’s ineffective.

A friend and I have begun deconstructing Mandarin, where I hope to gain a basic understanding of structure and pronunciation - before finding a tutor to really help me develop.

Why Mandarin? Partly because it’s the most widely spoken language in the world, but mainly the fact that China is such an astronomical growth sector. They are debatably the leaders of the virtual goods market, with Tencent - a billion dollar social network/virtual goods company.

Friday, January 29, 2010 — 1 note   ()

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

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