The Quick:
The Full:
So, we started the year off with a phenomenal MVMT brunch, where many of the members of the MVMT got together, and celebrated the death of the New Year’s Resolution, and the birth of the New Month’s Evolution, dubbed by many poets, the 30 Day Do It. Over 200 people from over 12 cities individually & collectively set goals as part of the 30 Day Do It MVMT.
I was one of them. My goal was to wake up at 6:30am for at least 20 f the remaining days in the month.
I began to trace the habits of highly successful people, and saw that a common trait is the ability to regularly wake up very early in the morning. I thought this was a difficult, but doable goal, being a new dad, and well, having a daughter (Purple Ray Kolker Brown), that wakes up that early in the morning too. I shared my goal with my partner, Sarah Kolker, and after much back and forth as to whether it was the right goal for the family (as waking up that early will for sure affect the people who rest beside you), we decided to move forward with it.
So again, my goal was to wake up at 6:30am for at least 20 f the remaining days in the month. Jullien Gordon, chief cultivator of the 30 Day Do It, even took some time out of his LIFE, to help me make a simple tracking calendar, which with all my investment in technOrganizing, would allow me to track my progress.
That was it. Simple right?
NO.
It was not simple.
It was hard.
Again, I say it was hard.
The first few days was a piece of cake. I ended my days a little early, and woke up without the need for an alarm clock. It was as if my body was working in my favor, and I was going to accomplish my goal! Then, around a week into the goal, I found myself waking up at 6:45am.
Now, here is a lesson in integrity. I could have, considering that I didn’t start a group, or that I didn’t have anyone watching over my shoulder, just counted that as a “DONE DAY!” I mean, 15 mins doesn’t matter too much right?
WRONG.
I decided to not count any days that I woke up even a minute after 6:30am, as I wanted to stick to my word. This helped for a few days, as I started to wake up even earlier, maybe sub-consciously, avoiding the terror of keeping in integrity, but still not reaching a goal. For progressive people, this is worst kind of slap in the face, as somewhere deep down inside, I believe we all hold on to this notion that if we do the “right thing,” the thing that is the most “honorable, and just,” that we’ll succeed by virtue of our virtuous decision to not take any “easy props.
Still, there were several days throughout the month, that I didn’t wake up at 6:30am, and couldn’t count the day as a complete success.
There were great days however.
Day where I would call friends, and share in the excitement of having been up so early. These were the days where I was able to truly benefit from the value of being up so early in the day. I had more energy. I was able to see the sunrise and commune with the moon, and best, I was able to contribute more as a new dad, helping the family in the mornings in ways my schedule doesn’t always provide time for. These days, and there were more than 12 of them, were extremely valuable, and very inspiring actually.
I work a lot, doing this kinda stuff.
Often burning the midnight oil to no rest at all, and this goal…
Well, this goal of waking up at 6:30am, gave me a good excuse to allow myself,
and the “workaholic, we don’t have much time left in the world” side of my chest
Rest a bit.
Rest.
And despite not accomplishing my goal, I did rest.
{via twitter} “Good morning… Up at 6:30am again, thanks to 30daydoit.com & Purple Ray. To commune w/ the Moon, first thing, does wonders for the body. 3:37 AM Jan 11th from HootSuite”
I kept counting my days.
Kept reminding myself of how many days were left in the month, and how many more times I would need to wake up before 6:30am.
Then, when I least expected it…
I hit a major ROADBLOCK.
Kolks, Purple & I drove from Philadelphia to New York to join our friends for a baby shower, ala Eder Muniz & Carly Fox (Congrats to them both!) We also came for a Sunday brunch at the home of wonderful Julia Ahumada Grob & Kahlil Almustafa.
It was an extremely cold ride, slowed down by very heavy traffic, but Sarah, Purple and I weathered it with some music from the Curious George soundtrack, singing “Upside Down // I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found //I’ll share this love I’ve found with everyone…” {music}
Yes, I’m a dad, and do things like that now.
Still, the weekend was going great!
>>FUN, PARTY, FOOD, PEOPLE, HUGS TO STRANGERS sharing in the celebration of LIFE
>>>PLAY, FUN, FOOD, PARTY, SERIOUS conversations with Julia, Kahlil, Aja Monet, Michael Cordero, Chelsea Gregory and friends about the opportunities, challenges, disappointments and successes of Barack Obama and his administration…
>> FOOD, FUN, PEOPLE, HUGS TO MORE STRANGERS… let write Barack A Letter.. #DEARBARACK, and then —>
The entire family was hit with the 24hr flu. It really should have been called the “24hr that turns into a 48hr slow everything down FLU.”
This, and the hrs that followed, was an experience in humility.
I was able to conjure enough strength to maintain some level of alertness and energy within the first few hours of it, and be a help to both my partner and daughter, albeit needing some help of Julia & Kahlil.
Still, the nights and days that followed, I was generally unable to help with anything, let alone contribute to finishing my 30 Day Do It.
So, although I successfully woke up at 6:30am for 17 days of the month, this tipped the scale, and well although my intention were in the right place…
I had a 30 Day Didn’t staring me in right in the FACE.
What do I with that?
- Was the root cause me not going through the full process? Not having a group?
- What it one of the myriads of excuses I could think of, reason, adopt into my life as “the reason” for not accomplishing the goal?
- Was it unexpectedly being sick?
- Was it not taking into consideration that I was going to be traveling between three times zones, and should be more aware of the affects this has on the body?
- Was my training off?
- Was it intentional sabotage, so that you’d all have a tangible example of what it looks like when very productive person doesn’t complete their 30 Day Do It goal?
What?
Well… there’s always music for inspiration and answers.
I Get Up, I Get Down {music}.
I still have Something to Believe {music}.
and I keep Going {music}.
there’s nothing but the Here Now {music}
Today, as I embark upon my next 30 Day Do It, here’s an assessment of what I did and didn’t do, as it relates to the 30 Day Do It program.
—
Here’s what I did:
- I did Set a Goal
- I did Create a Google Doc to track my Progress
- I did Told a few friends, Sarah Kolker, Jullien Gordon & James Bartlett about my 30DayDoit
- I did set it in motion.
Here’s what I didn’t do:
- I didn’t complete the 30DayDoIt worksheet (I took the process for Granted, and didn’t answer all 8 questions completely)
- I didn’t find or start a Group (meaning, I had no group to be accountable too, or get motivated from)
- I didn’t clearly articulate the value of the goal (other than saying vaguely that “the top athletes, organizers and executives in the world wake up early.)
- I didn’t clear establish pioneers who have done this, or do this now, and so I had no person in mind, when trying to conjure additional strength and motivation for the goal
- I didn’t establish a cost myself (I allowed someone else to establish a cost, that really wasn’t high enough for me)
- I didn’t communicate to the people that this affected, considering that I didn’t complete the worksheet
- I didn’t have a clear picture for what it would look like having completed the goal
- I didn’t align the goal with my passions (for ex., I didn’t write every time I woke up, or listen to music, and so the motivation began to dwindle)
- I didn’t create a day of celebration, so there was no way to celebrate the goal, had I successfully completed it
- I didn’t ask for support from my peer group, when I thought I might not be able to finish
- I didn’t take into consideration the affect travel, and potential illness might have on my Goal (meaning, I didn’t plan well enough to keep it in motion, in the event that I hit a roadblock. i.e. asking someone to help me wake up early if I’m ill or schedule my flights in such a way where I could still get ample rest)
What did I learn?
- Use the Tools
- Let the Tools Help You Pick a Better Goal
- It’s Good to Have a Group
- Set a Better Cost (Tip the Scales)
- When you DON’T, take the first opportunity you have to DO something BETTER
- Don’t Fake the Funk
1. Use the Tools
The New Planning & Evaluation Worksheet, Entire Group Starter Kit, Monthly Sign In Sheet & New Group Sign In Sheet are all available here www.30daydoit.com (I could downloaded, printed and filled them out). I commit to always using the proper process from this point forward. The basics are really that important.
2. Let the Tools Help You Pick a Better Goal
My Goal (waking up at 6:30am for 20 out of 30 days in the month in January was a good goal. Still, given the reflection, if I wasn’t going to fully commit to that and the process I used to name it, then I should have picked a better goal.
3. It’s Good to Have a Group
Though generally, I do get a lot done by myself, I chose this 30 Day Do It as something I needed “help” with, but didn’t surround myself with the “help” I knew I needed.
4. Set a Better Cost (Tip the Scales)
Truth is, I love training people, and communicating information in such a way that a person gets it, and so offering up my time for FREE, to TRAIN someone I know, is probably not the best COST for not accomplishing my goal.
5. When you DON’T, take the first opportunity you have to DO something BETTER
I DID set a new 30 Day Do It, with a group this time. The Group is called the Culture Clashers, inspired by a group of participants in an event named Culture Clash 2010 (http://ow.ly/12iZZ), organized by Vanessa Nisperos, John Kim & Terry Marshall, with help from Cece Carpio, and a bunch of other folk.
I was invited to speak on a panel with Invincible – MC, Activist (www.emergencemusic.net) & Jeremiah Hosea – www.Earthdriver.org.
After the panel, we were asked to split into three groups, and discuss what “next steps” are needed to make sustainable Cultural Transformation & Production more accessible to the masses.
I facilitated the group, with permission of course, and as we found ourselves talking about “actions, actions, and more actions,” Vanessa Nisperos suggested we turn our breakout group into a 30 Day Do It. The group agreed, and we went to the website, downloaded the forms, and in 20 mins, started the 44th 30 Day Do It Group, the “Culture Clashers!”
This was a great opportunity to actually set some of our suggested actions into motion, and well, we all took it.
6. Don’t Fake the Funk
I’ve accomplished several goals in the last few years of my life, and truth is, I get a numerous amount of things DONE. Still, this month, this last 30 days, with the goal I chose, I didn’t, and well, instead of Faking the Funk (which some do), or Hiding the Failure (I see this much more often), I decided to not only SHARE this 30 Day Didn’t, but also CELEBRATE an opportunity to start my next 30 Day Do It!
Here’s the details of my goal, in case you want to through me some “get it done” good vibes.
Good Excuse Goal: Share my ideas on “Cultural Transformation, Production, and the Clashes / Opportunity that exist in the Process.”
30 Day Do it: Produce a Paper titled “Grow On: Cultivating Cultural Transformation”
If you’re interested in the full 30DayDoit, email me, and I’ll share it.
On to next….
-Grow
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