Well I'm 65 so I suppose new goals are in order

As you can appreciate, I have no memories of the event but I was told it was a very cold wintry day and I came into the world with two black eyes — I‘ve always wondered if those shiners were because I was fighting to get out or stay in. In any event, it was sixty-five years ago that I was born, and it does feel like a milestone. I’ve never been one for the number that we carry around with us each year, and other than a gauge of life experience, what does it really tell you? Truth be told, this perspective is partially influenced by good genes and my mother’s skin. I’ve been told it can be tricky to guess my age.

Be it a milestone or just another number, it does offer an opportunity to revisit my goals which as you know are the foundation for any good five-year plan — after all, there are still things to do, people to see, and places to go. Each of the following goals can stand alone, although I’ve a holistic approach, and each plays an important part in the overall result. These goals are to be:

Healthier; weirder; richer; more feral; and more unpredictable.

Although this may come across as glib, I feel they have merit and align with the path I want to walk. I will dig into them a little because I need to put “pen to paper” and build a plan that will take me through the next five years.

Healthier — All things considered, my body is healthy, barring those annoying aches that present themselves when I happen to fall playing hockey. This will continue to be a priority because with health everything is possible. As an aside, I recommend weight bearing activities as part of anything you may do. Regarding emotional and spiritual health, I’ve hit upon a few things I know are important — friends, long hikes in the forest, deep breaths when you realize it’s a beautiful day, and big spaces where I feel small (which counterintuitively offers great comfort). I am sporadic with my efforts around emotional and spiritual health so efforts to improve that will be part of the plan.

Weirder — This is a word that tends to be identified with being a little strange, and it may explain why I gravitate to that majestic and mystical animal, the unicorn. I like to think of weird as simply being different. Different is good — it allows you to avoid group think, allows you to entertain situations through a different lens, and offers opportunities to try new things you might not consider.

Richer — We should start with money which is always good to have around. I will continue to help people with their commercial problems so please reach out. I also want to expand my income streams and need to do a better job monetizing my blogging efforts, as well as get deeper into strategic investing. Regarding those things that make you richer that don’t involve money, I want to continue to enrich my character so when people speak of my epitaph they say, “He was a man of character and someone you could trust. And he was particularly funny.”

More feral — This is such a great word, and although the images of being wild and maybe even dangerous come with it, it conjures up something that will make for a very entertaining story. I am interpreting feral as simply being natural, removing the masks, and being truer to oneself. It’s an overused word, but this is referring to being authentic. I am a work in progress so this will be interesting and probably fun.

More unpredictable — This is simply a reminder to keep stretching my comfort zone and that this world has so many wonderful things to experience — never get too comfortable or content and as a result miss out on opportunities because it’s not what I am used to. When I don’t want to do something that’ s a signal that I should.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference”. *

There you have it, I’m a year older, and I have mapped out some goals or guiding principles for the next five years. Some of these will need some active planning behind them to move the needle but some are simply about embracing more and letting it be.

Thank you to everyone for the past and the present, and for what will be.

iamgpe

PS: I should point out I heard these goals from a hiking “influencer” and decided to embrace them after some tweaks. Why wouldn’t I embrace something that makes sense and I can build a solid plan around? It seems like progress to me.

*Robert Frost

Happy New Year — a word for your consideration

Pixaby — Tumisu

As we enter 2025, you can’t help but reflect on the last couple of years — 2023 was the first full year after the pandemic, and that was a dumpster fire as we made our way back to some sort of normalcy. With regard to 2024, I am not even sure how to define it but it did seem that nothing worked the way it used to; systems failed often, things that used to work didn’t, institutions were affectionately dropping the ball.

And that brings us to 2025.

I should mention I am not much of a futurist and my perspective is Canadian so here goes — politically there will be a shift to the right of centre in the near future as Canada goes to the polls; we are losing the geographic advantages of the GREAT WHITE NORTH with climate change and a warming arctic, more aggressive global trade policies and Canada’s declining position on the global stage. It seems that fires and floods are a regular occurrence for us; economic productivity is on the edge of decline, and there seems to be an underlying tone of concern and grievance. Just sounds like a “WTF scenario” to me.

And this brings me to my word for consideration — a·dapt·a·bil·i·ty (/əˌdaptəˈbilədē/), a noun. It’s the quality of being able to adjust to new conditions or the capacity to be modified for a new use or purpose.

Change is in the air for 2025 and like it or not, you will need to deal with it; Adaptability is the quality that helps you navigate a dynamic and changing world. So how do you become adaptable? A big question for sure, with an answer bigger than this 500 word blog but I will offer some food for thought for becoming more adaptable — change your belief that there is a hard right or wrong, don’t believe there is such thing as a sacred cow, and it’s important to be curious about all things that are new. That will get you started as you define what adaptability means to yourself.

So that’s my word for 2025 — you may not like it or think it isn’t appropriate, and that is fair. All I can suggest is find something you can tether yourself to emotionally and intellectually as you manage through 2025. It is going to be a wild one, so buckle up. In the meantime, as I count the clock down to 2025, I will enjoy a fine Pinot Noir from California because I have such fond memories.

On the first day of 2025, I will include an early bike ride because I have some races to get ready for and I am still adapting to my new wheels.

iamgpe

Celebrate everything — a journey to success

A belated Merry Christmas to all, and I do hope Santa was good to you — and yes, I still believe in Santa Claus. It was a wonderful Christmas with stockings and presents and a fine prime rib cooked to perfection (See recipe below. My gift to you.)

In my daughter’s stocking, she received a cribbage board and a deck of playing cards — a game neither of us had played in many years. If you are not familiar with Cribbage (or Crib), the object is to score 121 points using various combinations of cards; these card combinations that add up to 15 or 31 get you two points when pegging and when counting, combinations of 15 get you two points and various combinations get you other points. All of this counting is recorded on a board with holes that takes you to the magic number of 121. The Internet will offer a much thorough overview.

Between the last present being opened and the first potato being peeled, we decided to play a game or two. It didn’t take long to remember the rules but counting efficiently took a little time — any given hand can result in points anywhere from 0 to 29, and depending on the hand, counting can get a little tricky.

As we started getting into the game I counted out, “15-2 and a pair is four”. As I went to peg my points out my daughter simply said, “fantastic”. The second time I counted out, “15-2, 15-4 and a run of 3 for 7” she piped in with, “Great.”

We played two games and whenever I counted there was a comment of celebration. A Pair of 2s and a Pair of 7s — “Great !” 15-2, 15-4, 15-6, 15-8 and three of a kind makes 14 — “Way to go!” I asked her why she was so enthusiastic when I scored such low points and she simply said, “I’m a cheerleader.” It was at that moment I knew what kind of leader she is, understood her success, and the reason for her promotions. We laughed every time she offered encouragement for my score, and we discussed the hand we just played as well as how we could have played the hand better. We had wonderful time reconnecting with a game we loved.

Afterwards it struck me how the game of cribbage, at least the way my daughter plays it, is a metaphor for achieving a goal. As you progress to any goal, generally speaking you need to know that there will be times where you don’t progress at all, many times you progress a little, and some times you progress considerably. Each is to be celebrated, reviewed, and built upon. It simply is how you go about achieving any goal.

They were close games, I can’t wait to play again.

iamgpe

*Best to use a Prime Rib with the bone and has rested till it is at room temperature. Liberally coat the meat with Kosher salt and let it stand for one hour. Finally, coat the meat with a Butter and Herb to Provence mixture and put it in a roasting pan. Pre-heat the oven to 500° F, and then using math, multiply the weight of the Prime Rib by 5 — this will be the cooking time. Once the oven is at 500° F put the pan in the oven for the required time plus one minute. When the timer goes off, turn the oven off and let the Prime Rib stay in the oven for two hours. Do not open the door for two hours. Don’t let anyone else open the door for two hours.

After two hours you may open the door. The Prime Rib will be cooked perfectly. Enjoy!