Better every year. That is my goal. I believe that through focused effort I can keep improving and ensure my best years are still in front of me.

With that in mind, at the start of a new year, I take the time to set my focus for the coming year. By being selective about where I direct my energy, I can achieve results that are exponentially greater than if I split my attention.

More details about the process are in this blog post and you can review the results from past years here.

2024 Theme: Movements

I’ve made a bit of progress here:

• The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany – IN PROGRESS (via audio)
• Evolution of Everything – DONE
• Change: How to Make Big Things Happen – very obviously relevant – IN PROGRESS (via audio)
• “How Change Happens” by Leslie R. Crutchfield
• Made to Stick
• Nudge – IN PROGRESS (via audio)
• Microtrends
• Diffusion of Innovations
• “Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction” by Jack A. Goldstone
• Contagious: Why Things Catch On
• The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries

2024 Challenge: Launch a Free Community Workout

I said that my goal is to get a weekly workout going, grow attendance to a healthy number of locals and hand it off to local leadership to take over and continue running it. After starting the location by seeding it with some folks who attended workouts at other parks, we’ve seen the group progress to have more locals, with most of the attendance now coming from people who live nearby, a few of who this was the first workout location they’d ben to.

This summer we’ll be doing some local outreach by participating in community events to try and get awareness up and a few more people to join us.

2024 Habit: Invite Someone To Get More Involved in F3

I was around 50% here in Q2 after a stretch where I missed some workouts myself, but I’ve been trending well lately.

2024 Exemplar: Sojourner Truth

I’ve started reading a biography about Sojourner Truth. I haven’t yet gotten that far and already many of my assumptions have been challenged. Of note – she wasn’t from the south and she got mixed up with some cult-like folks, a few times. I was also surprised to learn how she more-or-less abandoned her family to pursue big city fame.

I’ve noticed through reading biographies that famous people are often bad parents – or at the very least, absent from their children’s lives. I didn’t think that would be the case with Truth given my perception of the movements she was involved in. I was wrong and surprised by that.

2024 Bucket List Item: Complete the Murph in <45 Minutes

In May I finished my first Murph in a time of 58 minutes and 19 seconds.

It was a solid effort. I kept my form very strict – not kipping on the pull-ups and making sure to go deep on the squats and push-ups. My final mile came in at 7:02, which isn’t bad for wearing a 20lb weight vest and having just done 50 minutes of exercise.

My area for improvement is simply resting less. I was doing sets of 5/10/15 (pull-ups, push-ups and squats), but by the end I was having to take some rest after 3 pull-ups and again after 5 push-ups. If I can get a bit stronger to where I can rest one muscle while using the other, I’ll have a shot at getting my time below my goal of 45 minutes.