MyPrincipledLife

Week 5 - Post 1 [Regrouping]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Wow! Let's see who relates to this...about 9 days ago, I spent the whole day working on my goals posting. I labored over what needed to be included in my goals, what goals to set, tried to keep it simple. I engaged in emotional warfare over the concept of spiritual goalsetting, finally coming up with an outlook that I was comfortable with. Whew! I did it! I finished my posting on Goals...

and then...

Meltdown. Too busy. Too little sleep. Lack of focus. Lack of intentionality. And no more posts. No Principle to address in week #4.

So my principle for week number 5 is this...Sometimes you get off track and have to regroup. There's no such thing as a straight line to success. Success is really just a continuous line of failures with constant re-direction back towards the desired end result. It's the failure to regroup and refocus that defines the failure [person], not the failure in execution.

11:38 PM. Time to wrap this up, clean up, and get to bed. Back on the horse again in the morning. Adequate sleep, Giving from a charitable heart, and attention to Goals.

Good night! See you again as the week progresses.

Week 3 - Post 4 [Goalsetting]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:01:00 +0000

Health and Spiritual Goals

Today I will be setting my Health and Spiritual goals. I am going to start by setting my long-term goals for two years out - and my medium-term goals for one year out, the end of this principled living/blogging experiment. So, this is what I'm shooting for by September 14, 2010. It's going to be fairly easy to come up with the objective goals, not so much with the subjective goals - how do you measure those anyway? Well, a little bit of research has just informed me that besides using numbers to measure things, one can also employ the use of "descriptive measures." There are two parts to using descriptive measures - a judge, and a list of factors. We'll see how this these can be used as I work through my goals below...

Health Goals
Before you can set meaningful long-term goals, you kinda need to know where you are at when you start. So here are some starting points with regard to my health:

Objective Measurements

Weight: 256.6#
Waist Measurement: 46.5" at the navel
Resting BP: 138/88 medicated
Resting HR: 67 bpm
RealAge: 53.5

I was in the best shape of my life in the summer of 1985, three years after high school graduation. I ran a mini triathlon that summer - 1.5 mile swim, 8 mile bike, 6 mile swim. I weighed 155 pounds (149 after I finished the triathlon). So, I know what it feels like to be in excellent condition, and what it feels like to not be in shape. Subjectively, I am going to measure myself by answering the following questions:
Subjective Measurements

Am I physically ready to run another mini? No
Am I physically ready to start the final 3 month training phase? No
Do I feel physically fit? No
Do I feel able to run around our block (< 1 mile)? No

Long-Term Goals, by summer of 2011

Am I physically ready to run another mini-triathlon? [Not ready to commit to that final 3 month training phase yet]
Am I physically ready to start the final 3 month training phase? Yes (26 years later, at the age of 47)
Weight: 165 pounds (90 pound loss)
Waist Measurement: 32" at the navel (14.5" loss)
Resting BP: 115/76 un-medicated
RealAge: 42 (11.5 year drop)

Medium-Term Goals, by September of 2010

Do I feel physically fit? Yes
Weight: 190 pounds (65.6 pound loss)
Waist Measurement: 36" at the navel (10.5" loss)
Resting BP: 120/80 medicated
Resting HR: 55 bpm
RealAge: 46 (7.5 year drop)

Short-Term Goals, by January 1, 2010

Do I feel able to run around our block? Yes
Weight: 235 pounds (21.6 pound loss)
Waist Measurement: 42"
RealAge: 50

To Dos

brush 2x/day
floss daily
stop talking/texting while driving
add a daily multi-vitamin
eat breakfast daily
add three servings of both fruits & vegetables daily
eat fish 1x/week
multiple servings of whole grains, pasta, cereal, rice daily
pay attention to portion and serving control
exercise 20-30 minutes at least 3x/week to get started

Concentrating on this list of To Dos will address specific areas in my RealAge assessment, and will promote weight loss, waist measurement decrease, and muscle mass increase.

Spiritual Goals
I am thinking that numeric measurements aren't going to work here. I could measure how many times a week I read my Bible, or how often I pray, but those seem too "religious" to me. However, if one takes the view that spiritual well-being is defined by the state of a relationship, wouldn't it be valid to measure how often one interacts with the other as at least one indicator of relational health? Reading and praying do not, by themselves, define a healthy spiritual relationship, but you cannot have a healthy spiritual relationship with God without communicating with Him - i.e. reading His Word and praying (speaking AND listening). Communication is the lifeblood of relationship. Some subjective measurement must be paired with objective measurements, though, in order for the numbers to be meaningful...

Objective Measurements
Minutes spent reading spiritual material or the Bible daily or weekly: ~60 minutes/week
Minutes spent praying/meditating (dedicated time, not a running dialogue) - speaking to and listening to Him: <30 minutes/week
Hours spent in fellowship with other Believers: ~ 4 hours/week

Subjective Measurements
Do I feel connected enough to minister meaningfully to others? No
Do I have a sense of understanding of His will for my life? No
Do I feel connected to and in touch with God? No
Do I know that He cares for and loves me? Yes

Long-Term Goals: September 2011

Feel connected enough to minister to others in a meaningful manner
Have a sense of understanding of His will for my life

Medium-Term Goals: September 2010

Feel connected to and in touch with God
Reading: 30 minutes/day
Praying: 30 minutes/day
Fellowship: 10 hours/week

Short-Term Goals:

Know that He cares for and loves me, continued
Reading: 15 minutes/day
Praying: 15 minutes/day
Fellowship: 6 hours/week

I have to admit, I'm not doing very well with this spiritual section. For some reason I've become quite agitated. It has something to do with boiling this down to a series of numbers, I think. I asked my wife to help me figure what was upsetting me about this and we talked about it for awhile. I asked her, "What questions ratchet through your brain when someone asks you how things are going with your spouse? You answer with a sentence or two, but what are the criteria that you use to make your evaluation?" Like any good therapist, she didn't answer directly, but asked me what criteria I use myself when answering that question. "Well, I ask myself if we've been getting along, if we've been fighting. Or if we've been discussing real-life issues, working through tough stuff. Have we been affectionate?" "Sounds like the same criteria I use, too," she said.

So, what does that look like in a relationship with God?

"God, have we been fighting (have I been rebelling against You)?"
"God, have we been discussing real issues? Have You been helping me with stuff (Have I been listening to You)?"
"Have I been talking about You with others that love You?"
"Have we been intimate?"

Later...

Week 3 - Post 3 [Goalsetting]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:18:00 +0000

OK, time to start discussing the areas where I am going to set my first goals. Let's start with a list:

Health
Finances
Family
Business
Job
Spiritual

As I previously mentioned, I don't want to overwhelm myself. After too many years of too little sleep, I know that it doesn't take too much to smother my motivation. If I have to keep track of a whole bunch of things at once, things that I have to take action on, it's just way too easy for me - at this point in time - to stick with it all. So, I want to pick just a couple of high-impact areas that I can focus on to start with.

Health - Right now I carry around 260 pounds on a 5' 8" frame. One year ago I moved out of a house where we were subjected to toxic mold and low-level carbon monoxide poisoning for 6-11 years. My immune system is probably compromised. I have high blood pressure, controlled by medication. I could seriously stand to make some significant changes in my health. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep has been making a difference in my mental acuity and general alertness, especially in mid-afternoon, but I can't be satisfied with just that.

Finances - Not a strong area. A really poor money personality coupled with medical bills incurred trying to get my wife healthy (being a work-from-home mom all those years in that house, she's suffered significantly more detrimental effects than the rest of us) has left us pretty much broke. My wife and I have agreed that we need to get on Dave Ramsey's plan to get our finances in order. We've taken some mini-baby steps, but have yet to get going and commit to the plan.

Family - I have some great daughters and a wonderful wife. They deserve a better dad and husband. I'm also a brother (with two younger brothers), a son, son-in-law, and brother-in-law. Extended family gets even less of my time and attention than my immediate family, who don't get much themselves.

Business - I own an independent software development company. We do web application development directly for our own customers, as a subcontractor for another design and web development company, and we are also developing our own software as a service product to put on the market. Without goals, this company will continue to languish in mediocrity. Financially, this business is probably the best bet for our family's future.

Job - I have a great job as an Application Systems Development Supervisor for a Fortune 500 company. I am compensated well, with decent benefits. I have a great team. We have great projects to work on. We're keeping busy and delivering well for our internal customers. I do know that I have to continue to perform well there in order to progress and provide value to the company, but things are going quite well right now.

Spiritual - My spiritual life is hard to evaluate. What are the criteria that define a healthy spiritual life? I have deeply held convictions and I rely on God to get me through. I don't subscribe to a lot of "religious" practices. I don't feel a need to read my Bible every day or go to church every available opportunity in order to be "closer to God." He's a big part of my life, but I do have to admit to not putting as much effort - in a non-religious manner - into the relationship as I could. More attention here could do me well - could help me become a better, more centered and self-assured, me.

Since this whole deal is about living a principled life, let's approach this from a principled point-of-view. What do you hear every time you fly? "If the oxygen masks drop from the ceiling, put yours on first. You can't help those around you unless you help yourself first." With that in mind, which of these should I approach first?

[pause]

Okay, I just finished consulting my wife, who confirmed my own thoughts; start with Health and Spiritual for now. Finances and Business are probably next...Financial goals will kind of take care of themselves when we get to the Ramsey stuff. Business goals will be necessary next so I can get us really moving in a productive direction.

Tomorrow, let's talk about what goals I'm going to set for my Health and Spiritual well-being.

Week 3 - Post 2 [Goalsetting]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I am not an expert on goalsetting. Here's what I do know, though:

Goals provide direction, and without them, it's easy to not go anywhere
Goals should be specific
Goals should be realistic
Goals should require stretching
Short-Term goals are more like a To-Do list
Medium-Term goals are like milestones or mile markers
Long-Term goals are visionary goals - end result oriented
Missed goals don't correlate to failure, but failing to reset and adjust does
Goals should be reviewed daily
An Overly complex and lengthy list of goals spells DOOM (K.I.S.S.!)
Sharing goals with someone else creates accountability

What am I missing? Let me know...

Week 3 - Post 1 [Goalsetting]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:31:00 +0000

This will be an interesting week. I have a problem with Goalsetting. I used to set goals, but somewhere along the line I became gunshy of setting goals. When I was in high school and college I set goals all the time...and was fairly successful in reaching my goals. I was an athlete in high school (basketball, football, track, martial arts), active in choir and band, and was a high achiever academically. All these activities involved setting goals, practicing to improve, and having my performance judged and/or evaluated. After high school, I got into bodybuilding and general weight lifting (no goals there), and continued martial arts training.

As I progressed through my college years, things changed. I stopped achieving as easily as I previously had. I got involved in a network marketing business that taught goalsetting as an integral part of success. After some early success, results started coming more slowly. Academic success became more elusive as well - 4 different majors before I finally graduated with a nearly worthless degree in Community and Corporate Fitness after 5 years. I got married shortly after college and my wife and I have been struggling to "make it" ever since. We continued working (and not working) our network marketing business for another 12 years or so and never did achieve the levels of success that we had dreamed of.

And there's even more to this little psycho-drama, but after years of what I saw as dramatic failure, never quite measuring up to the standards that I had set for myself, I got to the point where I really quit setting goals. Why set any kind of standard that I could commit to, and then fail at? Something in my brain told me that it would be easier on everyone if I just quit committing to things. How could I disappoint my wife and kids if I never told them that I was going to really do something...I'd had enough of that.

Thing is, it's really true that the only failure is the guy that quits trying and just gives up. What kind of a man chickens out and gives up? Not really gives up, but just won't commit to anything anymore.

So, time to make some goals. This week is going to be quite a change, and very scary, too. I'll have to share my goals with my family and hold myself accountable to them to do what it takes to accomplish those goals. More thoughts on the dynamics of goalsetting as the week progresses! :-)

Week 2 - Day 7 [Charity]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:03:00 +0000

Well, it's been a bit since my last post. Sorry about that...a bit under the weather and just haven't been up to posting. Sleep (or lack of decent sleep) has been part of that. After my short Thursday night so I could get out to my meeting in Fargo, I started developing some sinus issues and just haven't slept well since, even though I've had the chance to get 7-8 hours a night. Last night was better, but I still feel pretty bad this morning.

So, to bring you up to speed on my Giving thoughts, my wife and I have decided to go ahead and give away 10% of our take-home income. From here we'll progress to 10% of our gross income and then beyond as we feel led. We have 3 main causes that we want to support and have supported sporadically in the past. Here's how our Giving breaks down:

1.8% to Cause #1
1.8% to Cause #2
6.4% to Cause #3 - our local church

I know I still have Sowing & Reaping to discuss with you and I'll be sure to work that into future posts.

Gotta run now. Have a great day!

Week 2 - Day 4 [Charity]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Responsible Giving
This is an interesting topic tonight. I'm going to try to describe the tightrope that I perceive is stretched out before me. If I am going to step out in faith and Believe that God will honor my attempts at Giving, how much is enough or too much to give? What would be responsible? Irresponsible? Does it matter? Won't God honor whatever amount I give and make sure that I have enough?

After a lot of thought about this, here's what I'm coming up with...there are two factors to consider: Faith and Stewardship. If you take the perspective that everything belongs to God, and whatever we have is just on loan from Him, then you can make two conclusions: 1) We'd better be good stewards of what we have because it doesn't really belong to us, and 2) If we do manage His resources well, He'll make sure that we're taken care of. So what does it mean to "manage His resources well"? What do we have to do to be good stewards?

Even though I totally believe that God honors generous Giving, I don't believe He honors irresponsibly generous Giving, because the heart isn't in the right place. This thought might be arguable, but I think that no matter what your financial condition is, whether you have enough to pay your bills or not, God will honor your Giving if you thoughtfully, prayerfully, intentionally Give 10% of whatever you earn to what you believe are thoughtful causes. There are only 2 percentages of giving that are presented in the Bible - 10% and 100%. I'm dead certain that 100% giving, as the widow gave at the temple, is only asked of anyone in extremely rare circumstances. In fact, I think the widow was led to give all that she had in order to provide an object lesson for us. So, the rest of us have been given the 10% figure to work with. While I certainly couldn't argue with anyone that starts with 3% and adds a percent a year with a plan to reach 10%, I do Believe that God will honor anyone that starts with 10%, even if the math doesn't make sense with their current situation.

Sorry if this seems a little disjointed tonight. It is getting late and while my sleep habits have been working out great this week, tonight is going to be an exception. To bed shortly (hopefully before midnight), and then up at 4:00 AM and off to a meeting in Fargo, 3 hours away. In summary anyway...Stewardship comes in the form of being intentional about Giving and sticking with 10% for now if your finances are in rough shape. Faith comes in the form of Believing that God will honor your intention to follow His will and trusting that He will make sure that you have enough.

Tomorrow is payday and time to put what I've been writing about this week into action. My wife is accompanying me on my trip and we'll have plenty of time to work on our plan for Giving.

k - enough for tonight.

Week 2 - Day 3 [Charity]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:43:00 +0000

Intentional Giving vs. Spontaneous Giving

If I am any kind of a Giver, it's a Spontaneous Giver. I like the feeling I get when I give on the spur of the moment, when the opportunity presents itself. Cool! Satisfaction reigning supreme!!

WTF is THAT? Spontaneous giving, in the absence of disciplined, planned, Intentional Giving, is just plain SELFISH. And if it's not motivated by self-interest and self-satisfaction, it's probably motivated by guilt. I give - when I can - first because I like the feeling I get, and second because I feel guilty that I'm not giving as much as I think I should. Well, in my opinion there's only one way to really Give...and that's by figuring out how much you think you should give - or how much you think God wants you to give - RESPONSIBLY (more on that tomorrow), and making a plan to give that much and then sticking to it. Bummer. How boring is that? I can't imagine that I'm going to get that "buzz" when my giving dollars are electronically sucked out of my checking account every payday before I even get to see it or feel it. However, what I can imagine is that at the end of the year when I am pulling my figures together for my taxes, I'll feel quite happy enough to see the total amounts that went to the causes that I Believe in. And remember, it's about happiness, not pleasure.

What is kinda exciting though, is that once a fairly disciplined approach to Giving has been established for awhile, an additional sum of money can be set aside to accumulate into a Spontaneous Giving fund - cash that can be disbursed at will as opportunities arise. And there's the rush...but now it's not guilt-driven or entirely selfishly motivated. The funds for the Spontaneous Giving were planned for, prayed over, and ready waiting in reserve for the moment to arrive.

And THAT dear friends, is the difference between giving and Giving (IMHO).

Week 2 - Day 2 [Charity]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:11:00 +0000

Charity. Generosity. Giving. Nice idea. Nice people are charitable. Generous people give money to others, to projects and to institutions. Charity makes things possible that we all enjoy - the zoo; the symphony; our pastors, priests, rabbis and other clerics. I've always thought of myself as a nice person, a generous person. I'm not so sure that is true. I think I look out for myself first, and almost exclusively...I think. I figured out how much I've given away this past year. Something around 2.5% of my take-home pay. Pathetic.

The reason I've always thought of myself as generous is because I feel like giving money away or spending money on other people when I have plenty, like when I've just been paid, before I pay my bills. In reality, however, I hardly ever act on those feelings, and once the bills are paid and there really isn't much left, then I hoard it for myself. And I'm even more stingy with my time. I work hard at my job and I work extra in the evenings doing freelance web development jobs, so I tell myself that I just don't have enough time to share any with others.

So what does charity have to do with living a successful life? I Believe that I am always short money and short time because I do not freely give of my time and money. And constantly feeling like I don't have enough time or money certainly doesn't feel like I'm living a successful life. Now, I fully understand that there's more to balancing my budget than just wantonly giving away money, but I'm guessing that my attitude of scarcity is adversely affecting my ability to manage my life successfully.

Issues I'll tackle as the week progresses:

Sowing & Reaping
Intentional Giving vs. Spontaneous Giving
Giving when it hurts (or when it's scary)

Week 1 - Day 7 [Sleep]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:56:00 +0000

One week down. My time is coming to a close this Sunday night as it is 11:44 PM and I want to be in bed and asleep by midnight in order to get my 7 hours in before my alarm wakes me at 7:00 AM. I've been pretty happy with the results of implementing the principle of getting adequate sleep so far. I'm moving from just believing that it is a good idea to really Believing (see my post on capital letters) that it is a good idea. I'm definitely committed for the next 51 weeks.

I'll have to take a poll of my family to see if they've noticed any changes so far. Maybe not. But that's OK, because as I've posted before, I don't expect to see significant results from this for a few more weeks or months, when I've been able to add to what I call my sleep reserves. I will keep you posted along the way how I'm doing with getting adequate sleep and what kind of results I notice.

So, what's up for week #2? The principle I institute this coming week can be described in many ways. It can be called charity, giving, generosity, or sowing and reaping. I've been challenged to test this principle (more on that later), so I guess there's no better time than the present. Please bear with me over the course of the week as I lay out exactly what this means to me and how I think it works.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome. How does the principle of the week work out in your own life? What questions do you have about the principle of the week? Let me know and we can walk through some of these things together over the course of the coming year.

Good night!

Capital Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 04:44:00 +0000

Throughout my posts you will notice that I use capital letters to denote two different meanings of the same word. For example, being a follower of Christ, I identify two different uses of the word "church." The first is the generic church:

"I went to church."
"I think church was good today."
"What church do you go to?"

The second definition is Christ's Church - that group of believers that He calls his own. Not to be confused with the United Methodist Church, or the Catholic Church, or the Lutheran Church. The reference is to all of Christ's followers - past, present and future - not just a denomination or particular congregation. I refer to this as the capital-C Church.

Another such word is "believe." "I believe that I live in the United States." "I believe that I live in a great city." That belief can be either objective or subjective. Capital-B Belief, however, refers to the type of belief where I have something at great risk in believing it. The automobile driver Believes that his car will stop at the stop light when he brakes. The martial arts practitioner Believes he can break the boards. Commitment is involved in Believing something. No commitment is required to just believe something.

In reference to the Christian faith, some people believe in Christ, and others Believe in Christ. The difference is commitment and if anything is put at risk. Trust is required. I am of the opinion that the words of John 3:16 should read, "... that whoever Believes in him shall not perish..."

And that is what I mean when I use words with capital letters that are not normally capitalized.

Week 1 - Day 6 [Sleep]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:17:00 +0000

Short post tonight. I have less than 15 minutes to get to bed in time to make 7 hours before my alarm goes off at 7:30!

It's been a rough day on the emotional front. Definitely better able to manage it with sleep. I didn't sleep well at all last night - up 2 times to go to the bathroom with a sick stomach - and had to get up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning to get my 14 year old to work by 7:00. But I did get a nice 2 hour nap once I got back home.

Closing in on the end of my first week and it's about time to pick out my next principle to implement...more on that tomorrow!

Week 1 - Day 4 [Sleep]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:24:00 +0000

Rough night last night. Met up with an old classmate on Facebook that I hadn't talked to for years. We chatted for a bit but I had to sign off and get to bed to keep my commitment to the sleep principle - wish I could have chatted longer, but will certainly get a chance later I'm sure. Talk to you soon Dale! I did get laid down at 11:00 (with a 6:30 wake up time - 7.0-7.5 hours of sleep). Unfortunately, nature woke me up at 5:30 and after a brief bathroom visit, found that I couldn't get back to sleep. But the 6.5 hours I got were better than the 4-5 hours I normally would have gotten had I stayed up until midnight or 1:00.

This does bring up an issue that I need to deal with, and keeping my sleep commitment is bringing it out right now...and that is my experiential short-sightedness - the emotional response where I behave as if whatever I'm experiencing will never happen again so I'd better get all that I can. Stereotypical situation - Endless Shrimp at Red Lobster! I will eat shrimp as if God will never let me eat shrimp again. That is an emotionally immature response to a pleasurable situation, and the consequence is usually undesirable stomach pains and GI distress in the hours that follow. Not to mention the hundreds (if not thousands) of unnecessary Calories.

Learning to keep commitments where my pleasure may be limited - eating shrimp or chatting with a friend - with the realization that God will probably allow me to partake again at some point in the future, will ultimately lead to real happiness. Isn't that part of living a truly successful life - pursuing happiness rather than pleasure?

good night.

Week 1 - Day 3 - evening

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:35:00 +0000

Hey! Still not sleepy in the middle of the afternoon! I know, I know...it's only been two days and I've certainly had two days or more in a row that I didn't get sleepy in the afternoon before, even on days that I haven't had much sleep to work on. And it didn't hurt that my wife showed up at work between picking up kids after school and visited for 15 minutes, or the half hour that I spent chatting with one of my very best friends at the end of the day.

I fully expect that it'll be weeks or months before I recoup enough sleep to see a sustained difference in my physical, mental and emotional well-being. But the "work" required in making the necessary changes in my lifestyle to accommodate getting to bed on time happens now. And I'll take whatever near-term benefits present themselves, even if they're not really directly related...

Week 1 - Day 3 - morning

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:32:00 +0000

Two nights of getting to bed "on time." I actually think I even got to sleep "on time." And by "on time" I obviously mean getting to bed and to sleep within the 7 to 8 hour window prior to my alarm going off in the morning. However, this morning I found myself waking up spontaneously at about 5:30 AM - one hour before my expected waking time. And then, as usual, my mind takes off and I start to consciously process all of the stressors in my life. Which is probably a good time to employ some other principle-based techniques like meditation and prayer, maybe an early morning walk for exercise, or journalling (kinda like I'm doing now).

We'll see how the rest of the day goes with 6.5 hours of sleep. I guess that's way better than getting to bed at midnight or 1:00 and waking up at 5:30, so I should be pleased. I'll let you know how things turn out later on tonight before I turn in.

Week 1 - Day 1 [Sleep]

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:06:00 +0000

I'm looking forward to at least seven hours of sleep tonight. I was pretty sleepy at work this afternoon, and found it difficult to keep my eyes open for about an hour and a half between 2:30 and 4:00. However, I also am facing a couple of tests of my resolve already. First, I saw my wife for about 45 minutes after work at our youngest daughter's volleyball match, but then had a meeting and work to do at home this evening while she went to an open house at school for our second oldest daughter - she's just on her way home now at about 9:00 - and I want to spend some time with her.

And to top it off, there's a double header for Monday Night Football tonight!! It would be great to watch all of both games, but I am going to have to shut 'er down by 11:00 if I'm going to get up around 6:00 or 6:30. Anyway, I guess that's what the DVR is for! ;-)

My Principled Life - Day Zero

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Allen) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:43:00 +0000

I believe in life principles. I believe that successful people, either consciously or unconsciously, live their lives by certain principles. By and large, over time, I believe that these principles always prove themselves true. I also believe that these principles are always in play, and the results are directly relational to the side of the principle that is being played. The results are also always proportional to the degree of commitment to the application of the principle.

A physical principle for example purposes: the law of gravity. If you jump off a curb, you will NOT break the law of gravity. You will only confirm it. But the consequence is also insignificant. If you jump out of an airplane, the consequence is dramatic, and either positive or negative based upon whether or not you are wearing a parachute.

You see, I believe in principles. I just don't work very hard to make sure I'm on the right side of life principles that will pay significant dividends in my life for years to come. I believe in the principle of sowing and reaping - that what you sow in the form of giving (or tithing), will come back to you multiplied. But when push comes to shove, I think I have to keep all that I get in order to pay the bills and provide food, shelter and clothing for my family. But what am I denying my family by not leveraging the principle of sowing and reaping?

Tomorrow (actually later today after I wake up), I am going to embark upon a year-long journey. For the next 12 months, I am going to consciously apply a new life principle every week and blog about it. As the weeks progress, I will write not only about the new principle, but also how it's going with the principles already applied.

And now, at 12:30-ish A.M., I am committing to do my best to apply the following principle to my life:

Adequate sleep is foundational to a productive life.

Getting adequate sleep (7-9 hours per night) is required to allow one's body and mind to fully rejuvenate, heal, process the day's activities.

I do not get enough sleep, as this particular night is proving out...it is after 12:30 AM, and I have to get up at 6:00 AM to get ready for work. As a result, my body is whacked out, my emotions are on edge, my behavior is often adolescent in nature instead of mature. I must start this journey with something foundational to best set me up for success in the rest of my endeavors.

Comments and thoughts, please. Encouragement appreciated.

Thanks all,

Sam