My Goals for 2009

The idea was nicked from Chris Brogan, but I think the more of us nick it, the better. Instead of piling up a list of resolutions that never get achieved, Chris has resolved to identify three words (=goals) to focus upon for each year. It fits well into that SMART model, and so I thought: what is it that I would like to do throughout 2009?

I looked at others' responses to Chris's post, and some of those things I have always been doing, like teaching or sharing. In terms of excellence, there are no limits to perfection. So, I looked back at what I have been doing in the last 3-4 years, and came up with the following:

FRIEND - It is hard to keep up with connections especially if they spread across a few countries. And I actually want to have many connections, to know a lot of people. Yet I do not want this whole thing to have a Facebook effect. With a portion of these people, I certainly want to reach the stage where the two of you become friends for life. With another portion, I would love to establish a continuous flow of communication, however difficult it is to maintain it. I want to be able to give advice or to offer help, and I want them to give me the same when I need it.

ACHIEVE - What is it that I have not yet achieved? A lot, in my own mind. This was my resolution at the start of 2006, but there have been too many hurdles in that year alone. So, 2009 is the year when I must make a lot of it happen. To put it simply, I want to enter 2010 with many published articles, translations and a book or two under my belt. Interviews, publications of my photographs and many more is not only possible but achievable. If you are an agent, please get in touch.

LEAD and BRING TO LIGHT - Again, I have been doing this as either a radio journalist when I interviewed artists or as an Arts&Culture blogger when I took part in Arts projects. I am sure there will be many more opportunities to do this, and I look forward to do all this hard work in 2009.

EXPERIMENT and BE VERSATILE - Heh, it's me speaking of being versatile! Nonetheless, there is so much I can do, and looking at my blog I haven't done something for a while - like, translating Polnareff's songs to all who love his work. And Polnareff is obviously not the only one...

Achieving these goals will involve a lot of hard work. I also know that by the end of 2009 I will have been living in a different place because my present abode is on the ground floor, above the parking space, and when the temperature falls below zero (like now) it is practically impossible to sit in the living room. It may sound titillating, of course, if I tell you that in the past few days I blogged from my bedroom, virtually sitting in bed, but this isn't what I want to be doing, come January 2010. There will be some personal things to tend to, so my 2009 looks anything but relaxing. However, I am sure that I have the strength of the bull to pull all this through, and then all who respect me and love me can be rightly proud of me. And hopefully, I will get to welcome 2010 with one of them.

In the spirit of Leading, though: I recently finished moving my portfolio to its new place online, and one of the articles draws from my nearly 2 years' experience of using Flickr. Making Flickr Work For You (Or Not) looks at how Flickr (and other Social Media tools) can be (mis)used, and includes links to several really great photographers who doubtless have had tons of positive experience of using what I think is one of the best social sites/networks today. Other recurring topics on that portfolio blog will feed from my professional activities from the last 5 years, i.e. be invariably connected to the Internet and Online Marketing. Which means - good news for me at least - that there should be no Social Media articles on this blog any longer. It will all be about Arts, Culture, and Humanities.

And I now will go to wind down with some knitting and a volume of Samuel Johnson's works. Oh yes, the picture features myself knocking on wood at the Botanical Gardens in Moscow some 6 or 7 years ago. Did you know I was a Karate-Kid? (joking!!)