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Setting up 2012: Weekend of Coolness and Skulduggery Report

January 16, 2012 By 22 Comments

Adventure waits for each of us to let go of what we’ve come to know as normal, as comfortable, as secure. For The NonConformist Family, 2012 is the Year of Adventure – and our goals are about equipping ourselves to chase down that adventure. And yes, it’s a little bit daunting – just a little.  At the end of the day, though…

2012 will be our family’s break-out year. 

In our recent planning weekend (aka the Weekend of Coolness and Skulduggery), we were able to look back and reflect on a 2011 that was all about doing away with society’s expectations of what our family should be and do. We cracked our mold, blew up our life, and began putting the pieces back together.

2012 will be about creating a place of strength, a concrete, settled center out of which to strike forward. Weʼre building new routines, and setting new expectations. Weʼre putting together the framework and structure of our life – setting ourselves up for adventure.

Here’s a quick overview of our conclusions from our 2012 Weekend of Coolness and Skulduggery. For all the in-depth-ness visit this document.

Josh says:

“…The majority of last years craziness seemed to swirl around me breaking out of my ʻfactory presetsʼ. I’m just lately beginning to find my groove, and I’m looking forward to settling into that groove a little more this coming year. I’m beginning to make some serious headway financially (aka, lots of momentum). My primary goals for the year are financial (make 6 figures) and health related (hit my ideal weight).”

Sarah says:

“…Towards the end of 2011, I began to dig deeply into my own Calling. 2012 will be about me continuing to pursue coming into my own. 2012 holds a lot of change for me; a lot of ’rounding out’ into my true self. Most of my personal goals for the year are artistic and activity oriented. Essentially, I want to actually DO the things I wish I could do. Stuff like: creating stuff, learning about stuff, sweet outdoor sports stuff, Green/health/life stuff .”

Family Goals:

  • Refine our understanding of Pale0 lifestyle
  • Kick our fitness up a level
  • Take GREAT care of our home
  • Tinker with our weekly routine
  • Get the kiddos (and ourselves) into the community
  • Plan regular retreats for Josh and Sarah
  • Embrace minimalism (less stuff, but higher quality stuff)
  • Buy used as often as possible
  • Take a 1-2 month trip to Europe (June-ish)
  • Be FULLY engaged (work time, family time – esp. Josh)
  • Take GREAT care of our finances
  • Get out of debt.

Our Stop Doing List:

  • We’re stopping our weekly community group. This will open up space to engage more fully in our church community
  • We’re stopping our involvement with leading a monthly coffeehouse. This will open up much needed personal time for both Josh and Sarah.
  • We’re stopping unplanned/un-budgeted spending – in order to make serious headway on our financial goal

As you can see, the course of our year has been plotted. Plans are on paper, and we’re currently turning those plans into actionable, measurable steps. It’s going to be RAD!! Sar and I are so excited about this year – and we’re very, VERY excited to have you along for the journey.

 

 

Filed Under: Blog
  • http://twitter.com/JWFinCoaching Jonathan White

    Hey Josh sounds like you guys have a lot of great stuff planned for 2012! I absolutely LOVE how you and Sarah are so intentional about your year. You guys are such an encouragement to both my wife and I. Looking forward to all the great things you guys will accomplish in 2012. Let the adventure begin!

    • http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com Joshua Gordon

      Jonathan! Dude, it’s great to be back in the saddle again – and it’s even awesomer (more awesome?) to be walking through this year with you and your family. What’s on the horizon for you guys?

      • http://twitter.com/JWFinCoaching Jonathan White

        Where do I start? For business I want to add one new client a month, give 6-12 speeches on personal finance, develop some new products, and interview 52 people for a podcast project I’m working on. In addition we want to look into buying a home for our growing family and hanging out more with friends by trying to have a double date at least once a month. We will see how it all goes down but it is such a great feeling knowing that you are living your life with a plan and a purpose!

      • http://twitter.com/JWFinCoaching Jonathan White

        Where do I start? For business I want to add one new client a month, give 6-12 speeches on personal finance, develop some new products, and interview 52 people for a podcast project I’m working on. In addition we want to look into buying a home for our growing family and hanging out more with friends by trying to have a double date at least once a month. We will see how it all goes down but it is such a great feeling knowing that you are living your life with a plan and a purpose!

      • http://twitter.com/JWFinCoaching Jonathan White

        Where do I start? For business I want to add one new client a month,
        give 6-12 speeches on personal finance, develop some new products, and
        interview 52 people for a podcast project I’m working on. In addition we
        want to look into buying a home for our growing family and hanging out
        more with friends by trying to have a double date at least once a month.
        We will see how it all goes down but it is such a great feeling knowing that you are living your life with a plan and a purpose!

      • http://twitter.com/JWFinCoaching Jonathan White

        Where do I start? For business I want to add one new client a month,
        give 6-12 speeches on personal finance, develop some new products, and
        interview 52 people for a podcast project I’m working on. In addition we
        want to look into buying a home for our growing family and hanging out
        more with friends by trying to have a double date at least once a month.
        We will see how it all goes down but it is such a great feeling knowing that you are living your life with a plan and a purpose!

      • http://twitter.com/JWFinCoaching Jonathan White

        Where do I start? For business I want to add one new client a month,
        give 6-12 speeches on personal finance, develop some new products, and
        interview 52 people for a podcast project I’m working on. In addition we
        want to look into buying a home for our growing family and hanging out
        more with friends by trying to have a double date at least once a month.
        We will see how it all goes down but it is such a great feeling knowing
        that you are living your life with a plan and a purpose!

  • http://bradmoorecoaching.com Brad Moore

    Cool, Josh. Have you already started doing the minimalist thing? Kelli and I started it about 2 months ago and it’s been a really neat adventure. We have thrown away stuff, sold stuff on Craigslist, and given away stuff. Taking pics too so I can write on it one day!
    Interestingly, the more we get rid of stuff……the more we WANT to get rid of.  Have a great 2012!

    • http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com Joshua Gordon

      Brad, we’re neck deep into minimalism for sure. In our explorations of minimalist living, we’ve discovered that we’re great at the first half of it (‘having less stuff’). This year, we’re focussing on the second half: ‘having higher quality stuff’. 

      That’s our new priority.

  • http://www.ontargetcoach.com/ Brent Pittman

    Dig having a stop doing list. You just can’t keep adding more sand without taking something out of the bucket. Rock out 2012! 

    • http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com Joshua Gordon

      You got it, man. Rock out in 2012? CHECK.

      This years stop-doing list was a tough one – because we’re axing a couple things that we truly enjoyed, but weren’t contributing to our long term goals. It was a challenging decision. 

      That being said, we’ve got lots of peace about it – and really, isn’t that what’s most important? A sense of personal peace?

  • http://theherohandbook.com/ Matt Langdon (@theherocc)

    Europe in June/July sounds good to me :)

    • http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com Joshua Gordon

      Sweet. We’re working on our Michigan trip plans (and WILL skype you soon), and beginning to sock money away for Europe!

      PS: you and Karen and Vienna were highlighted in episode 6 of the NCF podcast… should be live in a couple weeks!

  • http://restoryinglife.com/ joe at restoryinglife.com

    I appreciate your sharing. I’ve done much of the same in my own life … both reflecting on 2011 and my goals, as well as 2012 and where I want to be as I enter 2013.

    I am curious, you seem to focus on a more detailed setting of specific goals. I’ve also been reading a lot lately on the idea of developing habits over goals. Have you considered habits, and if so, why have you chosen a goal approach over a habit based one?

    • http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com Joshua Gordon

      Interesting observation, Joe. A big part of this year IS going to be developing habits, for sure, and the first part of our year will be an exploration of which habits to pick up. In short, I believe our goals aren’t really achievable without the implementation of some habits. 

      We’re definitely going to make a habit of getting up early(er) in the mornings, for the simple reason that we feel more ‘in control’ of our day when we do. We’re also going to be making family fitness a habit (regular walks and jogs). We’re also going to be experimenting with weekly habits (ie: Monday’s are household errand days. Tuesdays and Fridays are grocery days, etc…)

      Can you link up to some of the articles you’re referring to? I’d love to read ‘em!

      • http://restoryinglife.com/ joe at restoryinglife.com

        Jeff Goins has been one of the most outspoken on it. While some of it came from his newsletter (I’ll forward that to your email), here are a couple of his posts: http://goinswriter.com/writing-resolutions & http://goinswriter.com/no-plan (with a link at the end to a guest post on zenhabits)

        Speaking of zenhabits, that’s another place with these posts: http://zenhabits.net/100-days & http://zenhabits.net/conscious

  • http://www.the-intimate-couple.com/ Carrie Gordon

    We’re proud of you, Josh and Sarah! You’re being intentional rather than living by default… an inspiration to all of us!

    • http://www.thenonconformistfamily.com Joshua Gordon

      Hey Mom – apparently you and Dad did an awesome job with your kids… and you owe me a guest post, right?

  • http://www.outstandinglandings.com/ Victoria Jones

    This is awesome! Way to live intentionally – write it down, make it relevant, and live it. Super stoked you’re keeping time for your artistic pursuits!

  • http://rise365.com Michael Good

    I like it, Josh. Sounds like you had a productive weekend. I like the embrace minimalism, this is something Claudia and I are doing as well. Life is simpler with less stuff.

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  • Jeff Elliotson

    cooooooooooooool