January 2023
Hello everyone and welcome to 2023!
I’m not sure about you, but 2022 felt like eating ice cream on a warm summer day. The excitement of starting new chapters hit me like a sugar rush, and I worked to bask in the flavor as much as I could before the honeymoon phase ended, and all I was left with was a melted cone.
But now it’s January, and winter is here. I get to continue the long term projects I’ve committed too. The ice cream has refrozen, and is ready to be eaten. Oh gosh, please don’t let this post be filled with dessert analogies… like a chocolate éclair is filled with cream… okay I’ll stop.
I rang in the New Year sick as a dog. I went to bed on December 31st at 9:00 PM, having gone to the Urgent Care earlier that morning, and woke up feeling worse than before.
I was fortunate enough to have the last two weeks of December off from work, and had planned to sketch out my content plan for the first quarter of 2023 during that time, but between holidays and my health, I spent that time with family and lying in bed. Probably not too far off from what I would have done anyways, so all things considered, it was a fine way to end the year.
The good part about starting the new year on a low note is that it can only go up from there! So I am looking forward to a happy healthy 2023! Please be advised, this is a subtle threat to my immune system.
While I was sick for most of December, I did still manage to keep up with the podcast, so let’s do a quick recap of our podcasts.
I posted four podcasts in December.
The first was Episode 2 in the series ‘Creating a Short Film’ featuring my friend Elijah. I wrote his short film and he is in the middle of production as you are reading this! We are documenting that process on the podcast. In this episode we get to learn a bit more about Elijah, and his creative process. Check it out here!
Then, I posted an episode with my cousin JD, who is a young professional trying to find his footing as a man in his early 20s. He is an extremely creative person when it comes to music, comedy, and other creative stuff like that. The audio was really messed up during that recording, so be warned. Check it out here!
After that, I posted an episode discussing the state of my current screenplay, which I was (am) struggling with writing. My sister was kind enough to be a guest on this episode and she provided some really helpful insight into ways I could solve the problems I was having. Check it out here!
The final episode of 2022 was a solo episode where I go over my year end goals, as well as a sneak peek at my goals for 2023, which I am going to go over in more detail in this blog post! This was also episode 10 of The IMPROVE Podcast, which is a fun little milestone! Check out the episode here!
And that was all the episodes I posted in December! Four Mondays in a month and four podcasts in a month? Knowledge bomb: that’s 4 for 4. Go me! :D
As far as goals for 2022, I don’t want to get into too much detail, but long story short, here is a summary of my goals (listen to the podcast if you want the details)
1. Get a new job
I did this! I started a new job this week!
2. Write two screenplays
I wrote one animated feature, two short films, and finished the first act of my second feature. Now, some might say that I accomplished my goal. I would say that I meant to write two features in 2022, and short films don’t count. But, eh, I’ll let you decide if this goal is complete or not.
3. CLSC Studios
I did this! I launched CLSC Studios. This included: incorporating, launching the website, filming promotional material, promoting the company, and developing all of the branding associated on that. I plan to write a full blog post on all the details, but this will have to do for now.
4. The IMPROVE Podcast
I launched and have posted consistently for the last two months! I call that a completed goal!
5. Project Season Alpha
This is a not so secret project that I want to launch someday. Essentially, it’s releasing 12 short films in 12 months. I planned to finish all the ‘planning’ for this project in 2022 so I could hit the ground running with producing films in 2023. Yeah… that didn’t happen and isn’t going to happen for a while.
6. Run 300 miles
Yeah, so I wanted to run 300 miles this year. That was my goal last year too, and I only ran 250. This year I ran 297… I would have gotten 300 if I didn’t get sick for like three out of the last four weeks of 2022, so I’m going to call this a win. It’s not, but I’m going to call it one anyways.
So there you have it, my six goals for 2022. I finished like four and a half out of six, that’s like a B right? Nope, just checked the math, it’s a C. Lol, whatever, my name starts with C, so I’ll take it!
But 2022 is over – it’s so last season – and 2023 is upon us, winter is here! Snow is covering the ground like powdered sugar on a donut, and I have NEW GOALS!
I also talk about these in the podcast, but I’ll go over them briefly with you here.
My 2023 goals a broken down as follows:
1. Professional
a. Perform my job with excellence
b. PMP Certification
2. Fitness
a. Running
i. 400 miles for the year
ii. 1 Half Marathon
b. Lifting
i. 4-5 Lifting sessions per week
3. Reading (I’m planning to add to this list, I know it’s short)
a. Written
i. The Lessons of History
ii. The Chronicles of Narnia
b. Audible
i. Range
ii. Can’t Hurt Me
4. Buy a house: Spring/Summer 2023
a. Save for Down Payment
5. Writing
a. Finish MLB
b. Rewrite Touch
c. Write a TV Show
d. Write a new Screenplay
6. CLSC Studios
a. Release One Short Film
7. The IMPROVE Podcast
a. Consistently Post Episodes
b. More Guests
c. Shorts
So, yeah, more goals for 2023. I think I should be able to do it all, but we’ll see.
I hope you have goals for this year and above all, I hope you achieve them! Goals are important because if you wonder around this world aimlessly for too long you’ll forget why you’re here.
Alright friends, I think that’s it for me. I’ll catch up with you folks February 3rd! I hope you have an amazing month!
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