Goals

I created these goals between 2003 and today. Completed goals are in red.

A few notes about my goal list:

• I only post big, exciting, and slightly scary goals—not the little stuff.
• I only post goals that I’ve been considering for a while—not spur-of-the-moment stuff.
• I retroactively add goals that I’ve already completed.
• I’ll remove a goal from the list if it becomes boring or irrelevant. In other words: The list isn’t sacrosanct.
• I publicly announce my goals so that I have a better chance of completing them. I consider this a good form of “soft” peer pressure.
• I post failures as well as successes.
• I link to deliverables (concrete pieces of evidence) whenever possible.

 

Traditional Goals

• Start a family
• Live long enough to play tricks on my grandkids
• Own a house outright
• Graduate from college – B.A., UC Berkeley 2004

Writing & Speaking Goals

• Publish a book about going to college without high school – College Without High School, 2009
• Publish a book about giving yourself a higher education without college – Better Than College, 2012
• Publish a book about the general theory of self-directed learning
• Publish an article about unschooling and economics in Reason magazine
• Keep a photoblog for a year – working on it failed! Will try again.
• Give a TED talk – TEDxYouth Palo Alto, 2010
• Publish 10 podcast or videocast episodes
• Publish three blog posts per week for six months straight
• Independently publish a professional-quality book – Better Than College, 2012
• Write a fundraising guidebook for young adults – The Unschool Adventures Guide to Online Travel Fundraising, 2012
• Give away 10,000 free copies of one of my books- Working on it…
• Publish an article about Jim Wiltens & Deer Crossing Camp

Work Goals

• Start an international trip leading company – Unschool Adventures, 2008
• Start a leadership program for homeschoolers – Homeschool Leadership Retreats, 2010
• Direct a summer camp – Deer Crossing Camp, Assistant Director 2006-7, Acting Director 2008
• Start a school (i.e. long-term structured learning program)
• Run a “College Without College” program – ZTC Camp, Oct 2011
• Run an Unschool Adventure trip without me on it – UA Writing Retreat, Nov 2011
• Work at Not Back to School Camp – Advisor, 2006-present
• Work as the head cook for a summer camp – Deer Crossing Camp, 2008
• Lead a workshop at a major homeschooling conference – HSC 2009 (and others since)
• Be self-employed for a whole year (not counting summer camp jobs) – 2010
• Work a full season at a ski resort – 2007-8, Heavenly Ski Resort
• Run a conference for college-aged self-directed learners – working on it: Trailblazer 2013

Travel Goals

• Explore Western Europe – France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, 5 weeks, 2002
• Explore South America – Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, 3 months, 2007 (blog part 1/2/3)
• Explore the Himalayas – N. India, 1 month, 2011
• Live in Lake Tahoe, CA – Winter 2007-8 (not actually in the lake)
• Live in Portland, OR – 2009
• Live in one place for one year straight (post-college) – Asheville NC, 2012
• Go on an expedition with Jim Wiltens – 2-week tree climbing and ruins expedition in Guatemala, Jan 2011
• See the Aurora Borealis with Matt & Patrick
• Live abroad for a year with a child

Outdoor Goals

• Run a trail marathon (non-competitive)
• Run a trail half-marathon (non-competitive) - 2010, 2011
• Thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail – Failed attempt: 2005
• Fastpack the John Muir Trail
• Windsurf in the Columbia River Gorge
• Day-hike Mount Whitney – Failed attempts: 1998, 2006
• Summit every peak in the Crystal Range in one trip (Desolation Wilderness, CA)
• Summit Pyramid Peak (Desolation Wilderness, CA) – August 2010
• Run the Shut-In Trail (Asheville, NC) – 17 miles, mostly downhill – June 2012
• Run these trails
• Walk a 100′ slackline
• Walk a high-line (elevated slackline)

Meet-in-Person Goals

• Grace Llewellyn – 2006
• Daniel Greenberg (of The Sudbury Valley School) – 2004
• John Taylor Gatto – 2010
• Russell Roberts
• Peter Thiel
• Tina Seelig – 2010
• Paul Graham
• Seth Godin – 2012
• Daniel Pink

The Goal Graveyard

These goals were once on the list, but I removed them due to changing interests and priorities.

• Start a student cooperative house - Attempted & failed in 2011
• Write a 50,000-word novel in one month (the NaNoWriMo challenge) - Failed attempts: 2006, 2009

 

Photo: Julie McPherson or Cameron Lovejoy, I don’t remember.  I’m eating a ziplock bag full of macaroni & cheese in the middle of a river. A glorious end to an epic High Sierra backpacking trip.