I consider myself a minimalist. I do my best when my life isn’t cluttered. However, if you look at all the things I have own, all the things stacked in my closet and my garage overflowing with crap, you would have a hard time agreeing with me.
So the big question now is, can I purge the material possessions from my life and reduce the number of things I own to just 100?
I’ll be following the few rules that were outlined by David Bruno when he started his own 100 thing challenge.
Things not included:
I think I can do this and I have a few reasons for wanting to do so:
Packrat Tendency
I really don’t know all the things that I own. I have containers full of electronic parts and broken components that I’ve held onto with the hope of one day fixing them or using them in some spontaneously inspired project in the future. For most of these things, those days never come and the collection just continues to grow and collects dust. I have clothes that no longer fit right or that never have. I look forward to inventorying it all, keeping only the essential and donating/selling what I don’t keep around.
Financial Freedom
I currently am working on freeing myself of all types of debt. I don’t have a lot but starting Reno Collective and Lively Labs in the last couple months required everything to be bootstrapped. I never took any loans or funding from banks but rather used two credit cards and income from web development projects.
Clarity
Most people are more productive and even happier when their environment is sparse or supportive. I find I am most productive at work and most relaxed at home when both places are clear of clutter and distractions. Physical clutter is mental clutter and I don’t need any of it.
Why?
While there are certainly a good number of items that I will rely on, the things I enjoy most are the experiences I have with the people that I love here in Reno and hopefully abroad.
So much has happened in the last couple months of 2009.
In chronological order from September through today:
Now those were all in past tense. The future holds a lot of opportunities and excitement.
For the near future of 2010, I have the following goals and/or plans so far:
I am very excited for what the new year has to offer. By no means, do I intend to limit myself to the list above, nor do I think I can anticipate what will happen in the months to come but I embrace it just the same.
I came across this list for personal planning from Raol De Jongh, aka the Urban Ninja. Reflect on the items below and think about how these items may play into your goals for the future. What things drive your personal satisfaction and what things deter you from meeting your goals?
Hope you have a happy new year!
2009 is wrapping up but it comes with some very exciting news. I’m very pleased to announce that Lively Labs is now open for business.
The core team consists of myself, Ed Adkins, and Chelsea Otakan and we will be providing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) development and consulting using Salesforce.com, the Force.com platform, WordPress and the iPhone.
You can read more at Lively Labs: The Adventure Begins.
Our first product, Basejump, which I’ve talked a little bit about here will be available this month on Salesforce.com’s AppExchange and the Basecamp+Salesforce developer toolkit will be released to the developer community to allow for others to create their own integrations between the two applications.
“You see this goblet?” asks Achaan Chaa, the Thai meditation master. “For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”
- Mark Epstein
Thoughts Without a Thinker
This past weekend I completed my first-ever century cycling ride by participating in the Tour De Nez. Steve James convinced me to do the ride and I’m glad I stuck with it. We were a little disappointed in the turn out, less than 30 riders showed up combined for the full 100-mile century and the metric century rides. I love to support local events like this but I’ve competed in other athletic events with much lower registration fees that seemed much more put together. I wasn’t bothered by the lack of traffic control as it was a course that covered a lot of ground and obviously ~$30,000 to take care of traffic for 20 riders would have been a huge waste of money. After talking with some other riders who had ridden in years past, the century has always been a little shaky. I had a blast though and thank you to all the volunteers that were setup throughout the valley with aide stations, you were lifesavers!
The route took us out from downtown Reno, out through Washoe Valley and into Carson City. After crossing the city, we took Highway 50 up to Spooner Summit where we were greeted with a quick lunch stop. From Spooner Lake Park, we made our way up 28 to Incline Village in Tahoe, up and over Mt. Rose Highway to return to Reno.
What’s next? Well, I want to keep up with the distance riding and start working on climbing techniques so I can start climbing longer hills smarter, rather than stronger. And of course, Steve is trying to get me to do the Death Ride…15,000 feet of climbing, anyone?
Like the morning sun your eyes will follow me
As you watch me wander, curse the powers that be
Cause all I want is here and now but its already been and gone
Our intentions always last that bit too long
- Full Moon by Black Ghosts
I started promoting Reno Ignite about a month ago and even with all the details I provided, the number one question I have been getting is “What is Reno Ignite?”
An Ignite event has two parts (three, when you count the beers):
Ignite Contest – Team-based contests in making things such as human-supporting popsicle stick bridges, far-flying paper airplanes, and life-preserving egg drop capsules. Here is a chance for everyone to flex their creative muscles.
Ignite Presentations – 20 slides, 15 seconds each, what will you say?
An Ignite event has two kinds of participants:
Speaker - Each speaker is given 20 slides and each one changes automatically after 15 seconds, giving them a total of 5 minutes on stage. These presentations can be educational, inspirational, or even comical. The speaker’s job is to teach, entertain, or inspire. This might seem like a daunting task but it’s not. If you have an interest in something and can give a presentation on it, odds are good that other people will also be interested. for speakers is now open.
Audience - While the opportunity to speak is available to everyone, you do not have to give a presentation to enjoy Ignite! Come join us for a few drinks and some great speakers. You can RSVP on our Facebook event or drop us a line on Twitter (@igniteReno).
While you may be a spectator, we encourage you to participate in the Ignite Contest that takes place before the presentations.
O’Reilly’s website also has a “What is Ignite” section, here is how they describe it:
Started by Brady Forrest, Technology Evangelist for O’Reilly Media, and Bre Pettis of Etsy.com, formerly of MAKE Magazine, Ignite was inspired by Pecha Kucha Nights, where speakers are given 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds, giving each speaker 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame. The first Ignite took place in Seattle in 2006, and since then the event has become an international phenomenon, with gatherings in Helsinki, Finland; Paris, France; New York, New York; and many other locations.
Ignite has two parts: the Ignite contest, where people make things, and Ignite talks, where presenters get 20 slides and five minutes to make their point. You can opt to only have talks, but the contest is fun and can serve as a great warm-up for the talks.
We hope to see you at our first event on February 7th March 7th, 2009 at Se7en on West.
Ignite Reno #1
Saturday, February 7th, 6:00pm
Saturday, March 7th, 6:00pm
Se7en on West at the West Street Market
As always you can stay in the loop by visiting IgniteReno.com or following us on Twitter: @ignitereno
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where…” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Stop and reflect. Do you know where you are going?
It’s been just over 4 weeks for my 30 day slow-carb experiment, with one more day to go. Overall, I have not been able to stick to the diet religiously but have used its basic principles (such as not drinking my calories and avoiding simple carbs) for nearly every single meal.
The original claim was “lose 20 pounds in 30 days”. I know this has not happened, but again, I did not follow it to a tee. However, I know that I ate healthier in the last month that I ever have in my life and have been cycling for at least 5 hours a week. I took pictures of myself before I started this 30 day experiment and I’m curious to see if there is a difference. Whether or not I share those photos is something I’ll have to think about.
I also got to try Wii Fit yesterday. It was awesome. Nintendo is brilliant. I think it has some real potential, if not for losing weight, then for increasing your balance, helping posture, and having a good time while you’re at it. Apparently the Wii balance board measured my BMI to be 23%, which is normal for my height/age, however based on my balance, it determined my Wii Fit age to be 36!! I was still getting used to how the board detects shifting weight and balance so I think I’ll have to redo that part.
I will be doing a full experiment recap after tomorrow but until then here are shots of some things I have been eating.
