It’s a new year which means it’s time to refresh those goals of mine. Looking at last year’s outcomes, I can honestly say that I had a great year, despite emotional set backs. I hit 85% of my goals in 2012, so this year I am going for the big 100%.

The same rule of making S.M.A.R.T (that they be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant Realistic, Timely, goals apply but this time around I am going to streamline my goals, making them simpler and easier for me to recall at any given moment.


1. Produce 1 piece of eSports content every day by (or until) Dec 31st, 2013

Last year I did a few eSports videos, articles and events, and this year I want to do more to contribute to the eSports community, whether its a blog post, a stream, or even some pictures of events - whatever. I want to do something every day that contributes in some way. This is to prepare me for my dream of being a producer of Starleague level content one day.

2.Practice martial arts once a week by (or until) Dec 31st, 2013

I took Iaido last year and was really committed to it but my move to Toronto disrupted classes and I let my practice fall to the wayside. Now that I am all settled here, it is time to take it seriously and start putting in some work into my training. I have also decided to take karate alongside my weapons training as a complement. (My weapons training mainly consiste of katana but the school I am looking to has few others including archery)

3. Budget money every month to bring down all non-student loan debt to 0 by Dec 31st 2013

in 2012, I wrangled my debt under control, and greatly reduced it using a solid budget. Tools like Mint.com made it a lot easier to predict my finances. I have a credit card and loan that I want to bring down to 0. neither are very large and definitely will be paid off by the end of the year.

4.Read 1 hour every day by Dec 2013

I love books, and I want to improve my general knowledge in the areas of my goals so I have queued up several books which to read and using goodreads to track my progress, the result should be 10 books completed by the end of the year.

These are my high impact goals, I have a few smaller ones but these goals are the ones that will have the most effect on my overall life. I hope by posting them people who read and know me will keep me on track.

Feel free to share your 2013 goals with me, I would love to hear them.

So, the other day, I was thinking about how video games provide us with experiences and lessons that can be applied in ‘real life,’ whatever that means. I began thinking about goals - particularly those which are big, audacious, and downright hairy - when it comes to all the risks that will need to be made to reach that goal, I mean. How crazy would it be if, for example, someone said, “You need to stop an entity that surpasses everything in the universe, physically and mentally.” It is something that would seem pretty much insurmountable but (spoiler warning) Commander Shepard did it. So I began to think about him (or her, as the case may be) and his quest and what he did in order to reach his big hairy audacious goal of saving the universe.

To this end, I came up with five lessons that Commander Shepard taught me about taking on goals, and I would like to share them with you now.

1. Build an A + plus team

Whether it was Joker, the best pilot in the Alliance, or Garrus, the greatest sharpshooter, Shepard was the one who sought out and recruited them. Each person on his team had an area which they excelled at and were unmatched in that area. 

Each person in his team also met an important need of some kind. One should never go it alone if it can be avoided.

2. Remind everyone of the mission

Whether you chose paragon or renegade moralities, Shepard would remind his team or anyone that he came in contact with about the mission. His team was with him with all his interactions and was there to witness and even weigh in on his decisions. But regardless of choices he made, the mission was always at the forefront, which allowed everyone to align the decisions made to the greater purpose whether they agreed or not.

Align your words and your actions to your overall goal, let everyone know what you are trying to accomplish.

3. Make a decision and stick to it

This was important to me because, by nature, I am indecisive on what to choices to make. I would often avoid a choice to avoid either conflict or failure. This lack of decision (which is a decision in itself) would lead to paralysis, and mission-critical choices would collapse because I did not step up to the situation. Shepard could not afford that luxury, as the universe was at stake and he was prepared to take the challenge head on. Whether it was the Rachni Queen , the Geth, or even at the Collector Base, he made a choice for better or worse and he stood by that choice never once regretting it regardless of what the outcome threw back at him. 

Sometimes you just have to take a stand and see where it takes you.

4. Play to your strengths get your team to cover your weakness

I played as a vanguard, which meant I had medium biotic & physical ability, that translated to being able to fight from afar and up close with the skills. At the start I would go lone wolf using abilities to throw myself into the fray showing my squad mates that I was the hero of the story, shouldering as much as the enemies as I could, and though it worked on the minute enemies, when faced with much larger foes I found myself stuck in compromising situations. After frustration of death I would then allow squad members with shield / barrier removing abilities do their part, and allow those with the heavy weapons law down suppressive fire and then throw myself into the fray, suffice to say there were fewer casualties and less swearing at the screen.

Ask for help, you can’t do everything, and going it alone is less efficient than getting people with the best tool sets for the job.

5. Have fun along the way

Shepard was focused on the mission, it was everything to him at the time. He thought about it night and day, he had restless nights thinking about how he was going to stop the Reapers and jumped into the fray again and again, all the while solving some people’s banal problems but there is one thing he didn’t forget to do.  Have fun, Whether Saren was on a rampage or Harbinger was on Earth’s doorstep, he made sure he took as many opportunities as he could to enjoy life along the way because for all he knew the next mission would be his last. He also should have taken some time to learn to dance, but Kelly Chambers probably could not find a teacher that would take on the job - you know, having to live on a ship that’s constantly under fire and all. 

Take a moment to remember the little things and enjoy your surroundings, remember what you are fighting for.

Though I doubt I’ll be under fire by giant space squids any time soon, I do have my own Reaper-size challenges that I want to tackle.
So, that means: It’s time to suit up take them head on.

A little Dance Number to end it

Getting something  done can be a grueling task, whether its a new project or running errands. Every week I write down my weekly goals into Evernote. I check off completed goals and add new ones. I then take the actions to achieve these goals and organize them into Wunderlist. I also reactivated my lineage 2 account to see how things in the world were progressing. Its been almost 7 years since I have played an MMO so I had almost forgot what the world was like.

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