2010: A Daily Routine of Success

In order to achieve 12-16 hours worth of productivity this does not mean I must be working a job for all of those hours, but it does mean I have to be contributing to the actualization of what is on my goals list in order to be productive. This will call for a strict regiment of discipline, focus, and excellent time management.

In a perfect world I will set out to start my day at 6 am and hopefully go to sleep at 10 pm which would give me 8 hours to sleep and 2 extra hours of my time to be unproductive.

Included in my 12-16 hours of productivity daily include anything that involves my time achieving goals. So, if reading classical literature helps me produce better novels then that is seen as productive use of my time. Travelling to and from work would also be included in my time. Any and all research time counts as well. Basically, anything that wastes my time by not furthering my goals or making money is unacceptable and deemed unproductive.

I have just bought a stopwatch which will remain on my person's at all time. My goal will be to be productive a minimum of 12 hours. If I should fall behind that. I will require myself to make it up another day. Or perhaps I will keep a weekly time sheet and any hours over 12 I will consider rollover time to cover under achieving days. Or days I go on vacation. One can never tell what the upcoming year will provide in my randomness of life events. Prepare for the unpreparable. That's my philosophy.

Here are some things that I will have to do daily.

- Exercise (yoga, lifting weights, or cardio)

- one 30 minute Mandarin Lesson Daily

- Daily Blog entry.

- Some sort of writing (research, poetry, illustrations, or reading)

These are the four essential things that I MUST do everyday... No If's, and's, or but's.

2010: New Year's Eve Final List

This is the final list of goals I will hopefully achieve in the upcoming year. I plan on spending 12-16 hours a day being productive, 7 days a week ( with maybe a few lapses a month, but not too many). If I achieve this goal I should have no problem fulfilling all my goals. Thus, thrusting me into the realm of success. If by the end of 2010 I am not as successful as I wish then I will have no other option, but to give up, throw in the towel, and get on welfare. I do not see this happening as I am not one for charity.

So, without further delay here is my list of impossible possibilities.

- Get Driver's License

- Get a job

- Study my Mandarin Lessons everyday

- Exercise Daily

- Update Blog Daily

- Be productive 12-16 hours a day, 7 days a week.

- Get Passport

- Take World Exploring Seminar.

- Register UMC Studios as an LLC

- Have an art show in Chicago

- Have an art show in New York

X- Get more business cards

- Create "The 3 Goldie locks" series sculptures... ( top secret)

- Write and illustrate The Fortune Cookie Diaries

- Illustrate & Publish Where's My Sock

- Write Children's Novel The Never Ending Escalator Adventure

- Revise and Publish 3rd Shift Epiphanies: Chronicles of a Gas Attendant

X- Submit screen play to literary agency

X- Revise and publish second edition of Picasso's Marauders

- Write Top Secret Novel Trilogy (or at least the first installment)

- Write and illustrate Silverstein-esque large book of poetry for children

- Illustrate Mr. Morton's children's book Tommy the Toon from Brigadoon

- African mask back tattoo

- LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, either buy a ticket to begin my world tour or plan on moving to NYC

This is all I wish to accomplish this year. If I achieve these goals I will be overwhelmed with joy and happiness. May nothing detour me from these goals. May my mind fill with discipline and my body rise with energy.

I declare this my year. The Year of Determination... The Year of Success. The Year which any and all is possible. No more dreams and wishes. Only reality and aggressive pursuit of what I can righteously achieve.

2010 Creative goals:

- Revise Picasso's Marauders

- Write novel trilogy... Can't disclose any more info at the time ( top secret )

- Write and Illustrate Children's Book The Never Ending Escalator Adventure

- Illustrate children's book Where's my Sock?

- Illustrate Tommy the Toon from Brigadoon

- Write children's poetry book ( Silverstein style )

- Write and Illustrate The Fortune Cookie Diaries

- Revise 3rd Shift Epiphanies: Chronicles of a Gas Attendant

I think as far as writing goes that should keep me busy for 2010. My goal is to see how much I can write in one year. If I can stay on pace with what I did in 2009 I should be able to complete at least 50% of that. I want to at least complete everything except for possibly the second two novels in the trilogy. Since I know what the first is somewhat. I think this to be a realistic goal... Kind of.

2009 I wrote a screenplay in about ten days, but it took a month if you count from conception to the final draft. Then I wrote Picasso's Marauders in about a month with revisions, but honestly I know it needs a professional editor. So for now take it as is. It's the best I can do. I will get better. I just have to keep writing until I get to where I want to be much like my art. Although that took me twenty five years to get to where I want to be. So I am going to try and speed up my writing development by pumping out as many novels, poetry, and children's books as humanly possible.

If all my writing goals are achieved I will be thoroughly impressed. I will have completed 3 adult novels, 1 children's novel, 1 large collection of children's poetry, 3 children's books, 2 poetry books, and 1 revised novel. That is 11 books in all. I don't think I am up to the challenge, but I will try.

It already feels like I am out of time and the year has yet to begin. I never understood why I am so ambitious. Especially towards things that seem to have no benefit, except only to cause myself stress and strain. Oh well, guess I just like being miserable. It could be worse... I could like watching American Idol, or be a Dancing with the Stars fanatic... Pointless... Worthless... I'd rather learn Mandarin.

Only two more days left and the madness begins.

More Goals for 2010

- Create the Electric Sculptures. (top secret) a his and her's for children

- write a collection of children's poetry ( Silverstein-esque)

- Write children's fantasy novel ( The Never Ever Ending Escalator Adventure)

- Illustrate Mr. Morton( like salt) children's story

- write and illustrate Where's my Sock?

- Revise and Publish 3rd Shift Epiphanies: Chronicles of a gas attendant.

I think this should be enough to keep me busy for a year. I think my goal is to work 12- 16 hours 5 days a week. Monday- Friday. This most likely will consist of eight hours of those days at a jobby type J.O.B. The other 40 8 hours will consist of me working on my own creative project goals with an hour of that dedicated to fitness and a half hour dedicated daily to learning Mandarin. If I can achieve all the goals set out for me this upcoming year I should be a spectacularly different person... In a good way. An awesome person that can conquer the world. If I can achieve 50% of what is going to be on this ultimate "to do" list. I will have no option ,but to be successful. And if not, my reward will be to go on the adventure of a life time exploring the world. Not a bad consolation prize. If I succeed and actually turn out to be successful then who knows what madness will ensue. As I am not one used to the riches of success. Maybe I will take a nap and eat a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. That sounds pretty awesome to me.

The Possible 2010 New Year List of Goals

1- Get Driver's License

2- Start Daily Mandarin Lessons again

3- Revise Picasso's Novel and submit final publication

4- Write Novel Trilogy ( can't be anymore specific do to secrecy sworn)

5- maintain daily blog entries

6- Get a crappy job for the year

7- Get Passport

8- Make plans to leave the country and explore the world by october 2010.

9- Art show in New York

10- Art Show in Chicago

11- Submit Screen play to Literary Agency

12- Take World Explorer training class (top secret)

That is it for right now... More will be added and final list will be submitted for January 1st, 2010

Merry Christmas

It's been awhile. Not that anybody has noticed, but things have been a brewing and I ain't talking about eggnog and cookies.

Having made it through one of the worst years of my life, possibly the worst decade of my life I am ready for yet another new beginning.

Of the worst events to happen this year in my life include losing my AWESOME gas station job in hopes of higher employment, only to lose my potential job and being accused of being a convicted felon amongst other things. I also almost had a dog die on me while house sitting as of no fault of my own. Completely lost my faith as an artist finally giving up entirely on a life long career and dream. Found myself in debts that I did not accrue causing a bank account to implode upon itself. I was robbed at gun point my a fully authentic replica AK-47 while visiting friends in Savannah. The punks made off with my wallet luckily containing my birth certificate, social security card, atm card, and business debt card. They also took my McDonald's as well. I lost the opportunity of living in a condo and had to move back in my mom and her boyfriend in the middle of nowhere. I had numerous art deals gone wrong causing my major financial woes and losses of said pieces do to deliquent buyers (who basically own pieces without paying me). My website has been off for 8 months, but I am glad to say will be back up as of the new year.

Now, for the good that has come out of all this calamity. There mus be some good right? That is what I am always looking for since apparently my life is cursed with horrible luck.

Since I have given up on art, or rather art has given up on me. Then again maybe the feelings are mutual. We can agree on that. I have been pursuing the word. During the month of November I participated NANOWRIMO , which consists of writing at least a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Mine was almost 70,000 in 25 days. It is called Picasso's Marauders and is available on Amazon.com or on the links page of my website. I will also begin writing a second novel which I will tell you about later.

In the next couple of days I will be developing my plan my for the new year. They are not going to be resolutions because I do not believe in making a list of things I plan on resolving, but rather making a list of goals I plan on achieving. The list will be long and ambitious and I plan on doing all that is on the list. 2010 will be my year. Finally. The year of Marcus. The year of the Urban Monk. The year of the creative, ambitious, goal oriented blitzkrieg. So be prepared... Circle the wagons... I've licked my wounds. Picked my boot straps up... Got my head held high... I am reaching past the sky, beyond the stars, and am going to shine hotter and brighter than the sun...

It is time...