WIN THE DAY

I recently read that one should not plan out their career, but rather focus on being great today to create more options in the future. I couldn't agree more.

Work

I have a lot of goals for 2013, but it all begins with today. WIN THE DAY. I am working on a new product for our company. I am in running the product development of a new product possibly the most important product for our company. This new product might be its own division or company in the future. The development is FAST/SLOW, meaning we sprint until we get to a product, then we carefully test, test, redevelop, test, redevelop, test, then market. During the testing period/redevelop/test, etc. I am also working on my immediate income producing projects at work. My goal/plan is to move full time as a manager of the new product once it comes to market, but for now I must WIN  THE DAY.

Road to Solo Entrepreneurship  

Outside of work, I have made a commitment to lean ruby on rails HTML5, JavaScript,  write a blog and an app. I have a challenge I am going to set for myself next year (more on that later). Did I mention I am taking CS classes at night?  The reason I am taking on the extra workload is the f act I have a lot of ideas that I want to turn into apps and/ software. Yes there is a lot on my plate, but I am the most successful when my time is limited. The only way to achieve this is to Dream Big and Implement small- WIN THE DAY.

My Challenge to Myself

I recently read a great post on Nathan Barry's blog, http://nathanbarry.com, and decided to use it as a format for my own challenge. Nathan has challenged himself to develop an app in 6 months which is producing 5,000/month income. My idea is to develop my first App this year, that is producing $2500 income. I am going to do this by solving a problem in a niche industry. I have the industry. I have the problem. Now I need to find a tech-co-founder or learn to code myself. I will update my blog throughout the year on the progress I am making on my APP.


WIN THE DAY

Balance.

The word for 2013 is "Balance".

My beautiful wife and myself have a day off consistently together for the first time in over 3 years which makes me very excited to share experiences with her!

I am currently building a new business unit for our company, finishing school, and trying to learn more and more about fluid power, as well as help my wife launch her own business, blog, and adventures...oh yeah, and lose 60 lbs.

My proposed weekly/daily schedule will look like this:

            Mon      Tue     Wed      Th      Fr     Sat     Sun

4 30    gym                                          gym
630     work       work    work    work  work gym   gym
                                                                       study
440     class        class    study    study  study study

730     done         done    done    done   done

900     bed         bed        bed        bed    bed


There is a saying I like to use a lot..."always looks good on paper"

We will see how this schedule goes, I will keep everyone updated throughout the year. Oh yea, I will be traveling up and  down the west coast once this product launches at work.

1440!

1440 ideas

1440 is a club. Everyone belongs to the 1440 club. One Thousand Four Hundred Forty Minutes in every day, success come to those who get the most of every minute.

APP: Need a tech co-founder

I am looking for a tech co-founder to discuss and eventually develop one of my ideas. This is a 50/50 partnership. Leave me your contact information to discuss!

Life is about building great things, big or small, but great. I want to start the process of developing a great product. I don't care if it falls flat on its face, but I want to do it.

I will raise the funds, handle the business, and handle the marketing. But I need the architect to bring the idea to life!

2013 Goals

This is the first time I have publicly set goals for a new year and I know everyone has heard this before, but I am going to stick to these GOALS!

Professionally
The Goal for this year is simple: Climb! The first year of a new position is where one learns the most about that position. With that said, I am determined to become the company expert in ISM (more on that later) and IQAN. I want to become the SSD expert for the Portland Branch. I intend to keep learning about hydraulics; particularly valves and pumps. I am going to watch and observe management so i will have foundation when that opportunity rises in the future. I will read the books the managers are reading, and will dress better than the managers dress.

I believe ISM can be a $5,000,000 piece of business in 3 years with 50% gross margins. I am going to be focused on this part of the business more than anything.

Education
The goal for my formal education is to raise the GPA. Currently my GPA is just north of 3.4, but I would like to bring it to 3.5+. My informal GPA will consist of reading, lectures, and joining organizations around the community.

Life
My wife and I have the same day off for the first time in three years and we intend to have fun! We are going to explore the Pacific Northwest. We plan on spending time with our family on weekend vacations. I all goes well ,we will be purchasing our first house as well as going on a trip for our 2nd anniversary; Maui!

My wife and I are going to post to our blogs weekly. I am committing to post to my blog by Saturday night.

I would like to learn O-C and create my first app for the apple store, with the goal of generating $500/ month.

Health

This is the year of HEALTH! My goal is to lose 60lbs this year. It is time to get in shape for a number of reasons, but the first and most important is my health; I want to be around for a long time! I plan on taking a protein supplement, cutting out simple carbs, and doing cardio 4 - 5x/ week. I will post my weight monthly starting today. 305lbs. ( I will update Jan 5th.)

1440
Everyone belongs to the 1440 club, one thousand four hundred and forty minutes in every day, those who use them most wisely are the most successful. I truly believe this an plan to make the most of 2013!

2012 Reviewed.

This is my first "end of the year" review, and even though I did not set specific goals, I did make progress in some areas of my life and regressed in others.

Professional

Professionally, 2012 progressed and ended in high fashion! Sonia is about ready to launch her website as well as her blog (stay tuned!). Her freelance work has increased from the previous year, and we are gearing up for her to leave her current job and focus on doing what she loves; Interior Design! I have been promoted at work to a full-time engineer while finishing my CE degree. My official title is, "Engineering Integrator", which is a combination of Sales Engineer, Application Engineer, and Programmer. The work is fun, exciting, and rewarding! I am currently working on projects for companies such as SPACE X, as well as leading the development of a new product for our company. This new product is the MOST IMPORTANT thing anyone is doing in our company (How I got to lead the project is for another post). I did not set goals for my career at the beginning of last year, but this progress certainly did exceed my expectations!

Educational

My Education is going as planned. I basically have a year left but will finish it over two years due to the new job. I am taking the "lagging" classes which are offered after 4:30, and I am only taking a class or two at a time; I will be taking grad classes simultaneously. After my undergrad I plan on working towards my MBA or ETM (Engineering and Technology Management) degree.

Life

This was our first year of marriage, and I must say it has been great! One thing we did not do was travel so this will be on our list for 2013. We have decided to stay in Portland and are beginning to look for areas to buy our first house; summer of 2013. We did not spend nearly enough time exploring the Pacific Northwest and will be making an effort to do so next year. One thing that I have failed at is getting back into shape; I actually gained 20 lbs. This will (needs) to get fixed.

I will be adding a second post within the next few days on the 2013 goals and outlook!!

Opportunities Everywhere

Let me begin by saying 8 weeks ago I was depressed and felt like I was treading water. To explain this I need to back up 18 months. 18 months ago I was in a ski accident where I broke 11 ribs (5 shattered), punctured my lung which collapsed and filled with liquid, broke my sternum, fractured my T-1, and separated my shoulder. I spent 2 weeks in the trauma unit followed by 6 months of intensive physical and respiratory therapy. After I healed, I took 16-20 credits/quarter to catch up on classes and graduate on time. At PSU we have a "lagging" series which begins a quarter after the first class begins; I got into the lagging series for my embedded system classes ( 3 of them). These are very important because students must complete this series to take their senior project class. Long story short, our summer class got cancelled because only 6 students signed up. This cancellation means I can't take my senior project series (3 classes) until Fall of 2013; my graduation date got extended 12 months. I felt like I was treading water. I now will take 2 classes/quarter instead of 4 classes/quarter.

Fast forward 8 weeks to present time. Our company is about 50mm annual sales. We specialize in fluid mechanics, system design, power system manufacturing, and distribution. We are in the beginning stages Energy Monitoring and Energy enhancement. Our company only has ME's, I am the only CE and a student at that. Energy Monitoring requires experience and knowledge of embedded systems (my track at PSU!) and I have been pegged in our Portland facility to be one of the key and few people on the Energy Monitory Team. Our C.E.O. believes this could be a 20mm+ area of business. This is a HUGE opportunity for me!!! I am going to have the opportunity to become our company expert in PLC's, PAC's, IQAN, EMU's! It feels really good to be able to contribute to our company and help us grow in the direction we want!

I will update you on the progress of this new department!!!!

Don't Fuck It Up Homie

While attending school I work in the engineering department Hydraulic Power Company in Portland Oregon. This is a Family company, and I have been giving an incredible learning experience while studying Computer Engineering at PSU. I have been sparingly helping a senior engineer on the research and development of a Energy Monitoring service offered by our company. The engineer gave notice last week that he is leaving our company; this has gave me the opportunity to take the lead on a lot of the most immediate tasks. This is EXTREMELY exciting because we are using a lot of the equipment and technology I study in school! This is also an opportunity for me to show the company what I am capable of doing as well as how I can execute under Pressure. My cousin, who works for the company and is a rock star of a salesperson gave me the best advice ever:

This is your moment! Don't fuck it up Homie.