Inspired by one of Alexa’s Invisible Bees readers, Alexa and I brainstormed a list of 101 things we wanted to do in 1,001 days. We’ll be writing about many of these on the blog, but here’s the master list so we (and you!) can follow our progress.
Consider this our public declaration of intent!
Let’s begin…
Shared Goals
1. Have a baby, maybe two.
2. Buy a house in Old Town.
3. Adopt another dog.
4. Take a wilderness survival course (but avoid putting those skills to use!).
5. Watch the sunset from Delicate Arch.
6. Buy bicycles (with baskets) Alexa a bicycle and cruise around town.
7. Sock $20,000 away in emergency savings.
8. Live within our budget.
9. Take a first aid and CPR certification course.
10. Practice yoga 5 days a week.
11. Donate 5% of our gross income to charitable and non-profit organizations.
Ryan’s Goals
1. Climb Longs Peak. Join a hiking club.
2. Brainstorm, test and spitball a year of movie ideas.
3. Get paid for freelance copywriting.
4. Publish marketing ebooks: Marketing NoCo, Mile High Marketing, personal manifesto. Minimize my possessions.
5. Publish screenwriting ebooks: Film Comedy Boot Camp, Storytelling at Pixar, Dramedy: The Art of Blending Comedy and Drama; 50 Comedy Classics. Publish a screenwriting blog.
6. Publish self-improvement ebook: The Wellness Wheel. Develop a service volunteering program.
7. Write two screenplays a year.
8. Conduct interviews with 10 professional screenwriters.
9. Develop the habit of only checking my email once per day (and not on weekends).
10. Take dancing lessons with Alexa.
11. Volunteer 100 hours of my time.
12. Spend an evening at Swing Station.
13. Visit Los Angeles.
14. Polish my portfolio.
15. Climb Greyrock with Alexa.
16. Camp with the folks at Ranger Lakes.
17. Take Alexa for a day of antiquing in Denver.
18. Enjoy afternoon tea at the Brown Palace with Ethan and Michele.
19. Go swimming at Picnic Rock with Alexa and Annie.
20. Camping with the Super Amigos at Long Draw.
21. Start a quarterly poker night.
22. Go bouldering at Vedauwoo with Dane.
23. Land an agent.
24. Increase my income by 50%.
25. Hire a virtual assistant and start outsourcing administrative, research and design tasks.
26. Learn how to make top-notch jambalaya, enchiladas, split pea soup, lentils, veggie stir-fry, turkey casserole, chili, salsa, tortilla chips, pancakes, French toast, bulgur salad, chicken curry and ribs. Take time every day to sit quietly and be present.
27. Read these film books: Buster Keaton, Remembered; Buster Keaton: The Persistence of Comedy; My Wonderful World of Slapstick; Writing the Romantic Comedy; Cinematic Storytelling; Writing a Great Movie; The Way Hollywood Tells It; To Infinity and Beyond!; The Pixar Touch; Bambi vs. Godzilla; Backstory 1, 2, 3, 4; The Art of Comedy; Preston Sturges by Preston Sturges; Schmucks with Underwoods; Crafty Screenwriting; Laughing Out Loud.
28. Read these self-improvement books: The Art of Learning; The Power of Less; Personal Development for Smart People; Benjamin Franklin; Leonardo da Vinci; NLP; Meditations; Flow; The Art of Happiness; The Consolations of Philosophy, How to Practice; Talent Is Overrated.
29. Read these culture books: The Architecture of Happiness; The Origin of Wealth; Desert Solitaire; The Ecology of Commerce; Outliers; The Story of B; Hot, Flat and Crowded; The Discoverers; The Soul of Rumi; The Essential Rumi; The Tao of Pooh; Care of the Soul; A History of God; The Perennial Philosophy; On Language; Hero with 1,000 Faces; In Defense of Food; The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Status Anxiety; The Gardens at Giverny; Monet: A Biography.
30. Read these marketing books: The New Rules of PR and Marketing; Permission Marketing; All Marketers Are Liars; Small Is the New Big; Ogilvy on Advertising; Adland; Legendary Brands; Made to Stick; Words that Sell; The Marketing Gurus; Linchpin.
31. Read these fiction books: The Apocalypse Parable; The Meadow; Zorba the Greek; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court; The World According to Garp; A Confederacy of Dunces; The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel; The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel; The Subterraneans; The Dharma Bums; On the Road; Death Comes for the Archbishop; Catch-22; Tortilla Flat; The Monkey Wrench Gang; Dead Beyond the Fence.
32. Design and use an efficient system for tracking, testing and improving my wellness.
33. Polish my website and add quality writing samples.
34. Join a writer’s group.
35. Teach Fraser the joy of cuddling.
36. Make a really big snowman.
37. Read National Geographic.
38. Start each day with a short self-improvement reading.
39. Post to www.keepingupwiththejohnsons.com weekly.
40. Be a vegetarian for two months. Live primal.
41. Observe the Sabbath (make it a “no input” day).
42. Plant and tend a vegetable garden.
43. Develop the habit of saying grace at meals.
44. Develop a daily writing schedule.
45. Sell a screenplay.
Alexa’s Goals
1. Meditate every day for, at least, 20 minutes.
2. Attend group meditation at The Shambhala Meditation Center in Fort Collins.
3. Perform bakasana effortlessly.
4. Be a size 4 again.
5. Hike through the buttes in the Pawnee Grasslands.
6. Hike in at least one alpine meadow during wildflower season.
7. Hike these trails in Lory State Park: Well Gulch Nature, East Valley, West Valley, Kimmons and Arthur’s Rock. Bring Annie. And Sydney.
8. Become well-versed in the natural and cultural history of the Poudre Canyon.
9. Make one botanical drawing a week.
10. Root and repot the jade plant.
11. Learn to care for a Phalaenopsis orchid.
12. Publish an ebook on Japanese gardening principles and designs for gardeners here in the West.
13.Publish an ebook on iconic, native plants found here on the High Plains of NoCO.
14. Visit the Shambhala Botanic Gardens near Red Feather Lakes.
15. Grow Christmas amaryllis.
16. Grow my own Cinderella pumpkins.
17. Complete the CO Master Gardener Training Program.
19. Make a wreath for our front door.
20. Establish a community garden in our neighborhood.
21. Picnic in City Park.
22. Buy a bed frame both Ryan and I like.
16. Travel to Ohio to meet Phin Kasubick.
23. Sew a bounty of cloth napkins.
24. Sew a Christmas stocking for Sydney.
25. Get rid of furniture and household items I no longer value.
26. Create decor blueprint, budget and timeline for the new house.
27. Paint the house (interior).
28. Rewire the Rochester lamps.
29. Tour New Belgium Brewery.
30. Pay off student loan.
31. Find the best thrift stores in Boulder.
32. Finish the Invisible Bees business plan.
33. Secure Invisible Bees’s intellectual property.
34. Create and implement a brand identity for this blog.
35. Publish an Invisible Bees coffee table book.
36. Create an editorial plan (including social media) for Invisible Bees.
37. Amp up my KSAs in PhotoShop and Illustrator.
38. Learn to administer WordPress and plugin upgrades.
39. Host a Dim Sum party to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
40. Take one cooking class per year at East West Imports or Whole Foods.
41. Establish a “gourmet club” with friends.
42. Pay for the expensive seats at a Madonna concert.
43. Spend a week at the beach.
44. Teach Sydney sign language (and learn it myself).
45. Spend at least a week exploring Portland and the Pacific Northwest.
