Five Steps To Reaching Your Goals In 2010

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:17:01 +0000

I write this post because there have been so many friends and family that have determined to live a better lifestyle, be a better spouse or husband/wife, read more books, or even save up money to get our of debt or to travel but haven’t and network more.

We all know what it means when we hear, “this is the year, this is the year” on January 1 from our friends and family. It means we’re going to hear it again next year. The reason this happens every year is because we have always been taught to make goals but not necessarily how reach them. Think about it. If you didn’t do well in school your parents and teachers just told you to study harder or do better. But what do the words “harder and better” mean? They don’t mean anything because you never know when you to reach the or even how to do so. The answer isn’t, “study smarter not harder” but what is your specific plan to reach your goal and who is going to keep you accountable for them.

1. Write down your specific goal?

When you define a goal you need to be very specific in your description of it. Sit back and picture in your mind what it is, what it feels like, how would you describe your life after reaching it. This, of course means goals described as, “I want to make a lot of money” or “I want a bigger house” or even “I want to be successful” doesn’t cut it because you can never know when you reached it. It’s not specific enough.

Example: If you need $24,000.00 to pay off a debt or buy a new car then your goal needs to be , “I will make $24,000.00 in 12 months.”

2. Write down your specific plans in reaching your goal.

You must have specific plans on what you are going to do to reach your goal and what you are going to do to reach that goal. For example, how many extra hours will you have to work to reach your plan. You know what you have to do to reach your goal so plan according.

Example: I will make an extra $2,000.00 per month by working eight hours of overtime per week and every other week paint and clean homes.

3. Stay motivated by memorizing your goal and have preset reference points.

Failure often comes from focusing on the immediate feelings or short sighted winnings rather than the returns of a long term investment. There are times when we are tired emotionally and physically. Memorizing your goal will serve as a reminder that the short sightedness stopping prematurely will delay you reaching your goal. In addition, creating preset reference points will keep you on schedule. Remember that a farmer reaches the goal of a good crop by working hard morning, noon, and night on a return that he won’t see for months but knows it’s coming.

Example: Every month I will tell myself that I need $24,000.00 by years end. Every new month I will focus on earning $2,000.00 and not the thousands I have already earned until the sum is $24,000.00.

4. Create an accountability group.

Accountability group should be composed of those people whom you trust and have your interests in mind. They are willing to remind you of your goal.

Example: My accountability group will be those that I trust and will keep me accountable that I will not spend the money I earn until I reach $24,000.00 and that I am on task to earn $2,000.00 every month.

5. START IT!

Those who are serious and resolute in reaching their goal start where they stand. You can create and write out your goal and your specific plan to accomplish your goal. You can even create an accountability group but the fact of the matter is that if you don’t start then everything you did is going to be meaningless and you will be revisiting these steps next January 1. Start Today, Start Now.

Example: If I am serious and resolute in making $24,000.00 in 12 months then I will give up spending money on wants. I will change my habit of bad time management. I will plan lunches accordingly so that I can take half lunches instead of hour lunches in order to only work an hour and half after work. I won’t wait until Monday or the first on next month. I will start today, I will start now.

BOOKS THAT HAVE HELPED ME!

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Ryan Lobo: Photographing The Hidden Story At TED Nov 2009

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:47:38 +0000

Photography for me has always be about the story behind the photograph. All Photographers say this and at some point it’s going to get the “So what, everyone says that” reply. Well, I think that Ryan is telling a story that matters because it not only hits on universal themes but gives us some insight into people and cultures we haven’t experienced before.

I have included the text below the video for reference. Ryan certainly hit home about the purpose and nature of photography concerning “compassionate storytelling.”
Let me know you think in the comments.

My name is Ryan Lobo, and I’ve been involved in the documentary filmmaking business all over the world for the last 10 years. During the process of making these films I found myself taking photographs, often much to the annoyance of the video cameramen.

I found this photography of mine almost compulsive. And at the end of a shoot, I would sometimes feel that I had photographs that told a better story than a sometimes-sensational documentary. I felt, when I had my photographs, that I was holding on to something true, regardless of agendas or politics. In 2007 I traveled to three war zones. I traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and Liberia. And over there I experienced other people’s suffering, up close and personal, immersed myself in some rather intense and emotional stories, and at times I experienced great fear for my own life.

As always, I would return to Bangalore, and often to animated discussions at friend’s homes, where we would discuss various issues while they complained bitterly about new pub timings, where a drink often cost more than what they’d paid their 14 year old maid. I would feel very isolated during these discussions. But at the same time, I questioned myself and my own integrity and purpose in storytelling. And I decided that I had compromised, just like my friends in those discussions, where we told stories in contexts we made excuses for, rather than taking responsibility for.

I won’t go into details about what led to a decision I made, but let’s just say it involved alcohol, cigarettes, other substances and a woman. (Laughter) I basically decided that it was I, not the camera or the network, or anything that lay outside myself, that was the only instrument in storytelling truly worth tuning. In my life, when I tried to achieve things like success or recognition, they eluded me. Paradoxically, when I let go of these objectives, and worked from a place of compassion and purpose, looking for excellence, rather than the results of it, everything arrived on its own, including fulfillment.

Photography transcended culture, including my own. And it is, for me, a language which expressed the intangible, and gives voice to people and stories without. I invite you into three recent stories of mine, which are about this way of looking, if you will, which I believe exemplify the tenets of what I like to call compassion in storytelling.

In 2007 I went to Liberia, where a group of my friends and I did an independent, self-funded film, still in progress, on a very legendary and brutal war-lord named General Butt Naked. His real name is Joshua, and he’s pictured here in a cell, where he once used to torture and murder people, including children. Joshua claims to have personally killed more than 10,000 people during Liberia’s civil war. He got his name from fighting stark naked. And he is probably the most prolific mass murderer alive on Earth today.

This woman witnessed the General murdering her brother. Joshua commanded his child-soldiers to commit unspeakable crimes, and enforced his command with great brutality. Today many of these children are addicted to drugs like heroin, and they are destitute, like these young men in the image. How do you live with yourself if you know you’ve committed horrific crimes? Today the General is a baptized Christian evangelist. And he’s on a mission.

We accompanied Joshua, as he walked the Earth, visiting villages where he had once killed and raped. He seeked forgiveness, and he claims to endeavor to improve the lives of his child-soldiers. During this expedition I expected him to be killed outright, and us as well. But what I saw opened my eyes to an idea of forgiveness which I never thought possible. In the midst of incredible poverty and loss, people who had nothing absolved a man who had taken everything from them. He begs for forgiveness, and receives it from the same woman whose brother he murdered. Senegalese, the young man seated on the wheelchair here, was once a child soldier, under the General’s command, until he disobeyed orders, and the General shot off both his legs. He forgives the General in this image. He risked his life as he walked up to people whose families he’d murdered.

In this photograph a hostile crowd in a slum surrounds him. And Joshua remains silent as they vented their rage against him. This image, to me, is almost like from a Shakespearean play, with a man, surrounded by various influences, desperate to hold on to something true within himself, in a context of great suffering that he has created himself.

I was intensely moved during all this. But the question is, does forgiveness and redemption replace justice? Joshua, in his own words, says that he does not mind standing trial for his crimes, and speaks about them from soapboxes across Monrovia, to an audience that often includes his victims. A very unlikely spokesperson for the idea of separation of church and state.

The second story I’m going to tell you about is about a group of very special fighting women with rather unique peace-keeping skills. Liberia has been devastated by one of Africa’s bloodiest civil wars, which has left more than 200,000 people dead, thousands of women scarred by rape and crime on a spectacular scale. Liberia is now home to an all-woman United Nations contingent of Indian peacekeepers.

These women, many from small towns in India, help keep the peace, far away from home and family. They use negotiation and tolerance more often than an armed response. The commander told me that a woman could gauge a potentially violent situation much better than men. And that they were definitely capable of diffusing it non-aggressively. This man was very drunk, and he was very interested in my camera, until he noticed the women, who handled him with smiles, and AK-47s at the ready, of course. (Laughter)

This contingent seems to be quite lucky, and it has not sustained any casualties, even though dozens of peacekeepers have been killed in Liberia. And yes, all of those people killed were male. Many of the women are married with children, and they say the hardest part of their deployment was being kept away from their children.

I accompanied these women on their patrols, and watched as they walked past men, many who passed very lewd comments incessantly. And when I asked one of the women about the shock and awe response, she said, “Don’t worry, same thing back home. We know how to deal with these fellows,” and ignored them.

In a country ravaged by violence against women, Indian peacekeepers have inspired many local women to join the police force. Sometimes, when the war is over and all the film crews have left, the most inspiring stories are the ones that float just beneath the radar. I came back to India and nobody was interested in buying the story. And one editor told me that she wasn’t interested in doing what she called “manual labor stories.”

In 2007 and 2009 I did stories on the Delhi Fire Service, the DFS, which, during the summer, is probably the world’s most active fire department. They answer more than 5,000 calls in just two months. And all this against incredible logistical odds, like heat and traffic jams. Something amazing happened during this shoot. Due to a traffic jam, we were late in getting to a slum, a large slum, which had caught fire. As we neared, angry crowds attacked our trucks and stoned them, by hundreds of people all over the place. These men were terrified, as the mob attacked our vehicle.

But nonetheless, despite the hostility, firefighters left the vehicle and successfully fought the fire. Running the gauntlet through hostile crowds, and some wearing motorbike helmets to prevent injury. Some of the local people forcibly took away the hoses from the firemen to put out the fire in their homes. Now, hundreds of homes were destroyed. But the question that lingered in my mind was, what causes people to destroy fire trucks headed to their own homes? Where does such rage come from? And how are we responsible for this? 45 percent of the 14 million people who live in Delhi live in unauthorized slums, which are chronically overcrowded. They lack even the most basic amenities. And this is something that is common to all our big cities.

Back to the DFS. A huge chemical depot caught fire, thousands of drums filled with petrochemicals were blazing away and exploding all around us. The heat was so intense, that hoses were used to cool down firefighters fighting extremely close to the fire, and with no protective clothing. In India we often love to complain about our government bodies. But over here, the heads of the DFS, Mister R.C. Sharman, Mister A.K. Sharman, lead the firefight with their men. Something wonderful in a country where manual labor is often looked down upon. (Applause)

Over the years, my faith in the power of storytelling has been tested. And I’ve had very serious doubt about its efficacy, and my own faith in humanity. However, a film we shot still airs on the National Geographic channel. And when it airs I get calls from all the guys I was with and they tell me that they receive hundreds of calls congratulating them. Some of the firemen told me that they were also inspired to do better because they were so pleased to get thank-yous rather than brick bats.

It seems that this story helped change perceptions about the DFS, at least in the minds of an audience in part on televisions, read magazines and whose huts aren’t on fire. Sometimes, focusing on what’s heroic, beautiful and dignified, regardless of the context, can help magnify these intangibles three ways, in the protagonist of the story, in the audience, and also in the storyteller. And that’s the power of storytelling. Focus on what’s dignified, courageous and beautiful, and it grows. Thank you. (Applause)

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You And Me, Dave Matthews, And The Art Of Loving

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:07:50 +0000

A few weeks ago I was traveling over to grand ma’s house. It’s about a 7 hour trip and for entertainment and enjoyment I was listening to one of the talk XM radio channels. So here’s a summary of the conversation:

Caller: Our marriage is dry and dying and I don’t know what do to. We take care of our children, we work, and we’re always exhausted. There isn’t any time for us.

Host: Do you love each other?

Caller: Yes we do but we don’t spend time quality together, were not intimate, and I can’t remember the last time we truly kissed.

Host: Then what’s the problem

If you want to keep your man you have to treat him as such.

If you want to keep your woman you have to treat her as such.

So many times we forget that one of the most important parts of the marriage is oneness and in order to have that you must protect that oneness. What sense would it make to say that the most important thing to me is my health but eat junk food all day because I’m too tired to take 20 mins to go to the grocery store for healthy food? If someone actually believed that they had no time to provide for their health then either they are just lazy, they don’t care about themselves, or just making excuses. Dave Matthews new song “You and Me” speaks to this in that sometimes you have to take some time to recharge the relationship. LEAVE A COMMENT AND SAY WHAT DO YOU THINK?

;

want to pack your bags something small

take what you need & we disappear
without a trace, we’ll be gone, gone
moon & the stars gona follow the car
& when we get to the ocean,
we’re going to take a boat to the end of the world…
all the way to the end of the world
oh and when the kids are old enough
we gonna teach them to fly

you & me together we can do anything, baby
you & me together yes, yes
the two of us together we can do anything, baby
You & me together yes, yes

we can always look back at what we did
always remembering you & me baby
for right now it’s you and me forever girl
you know we could do better than anything that we did
you know that you and me we could do anything

[jam, jam, jam]

you & me together we can do anything, baby
you & me together yeah, yeah

two of us together we can do anything, baby
you and me together, yeah yeah
the two of us together yeah, yeah
you and me together, we can do anything baby

tied to the ground till we reach the end of the world

You And Me, Dave Matthews, And The Art Of Loving is a post from:

Charles Leadbeater On Innovation At TED 2005

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:48:31 +0000

WHAT IS TED:

TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design.

Charles gave a speech at TED back in 2005 stating that the heart of innovation is collaboration. Once inventors were on their own and tried selling their discoveries to businesses and such. Now that is not the case. Being in the photography industry it is interesting to think what would happen if more and more photographers got together for collaboration.

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Jason Mraz Im Yours Ukulele Cover And It Will Make You Smile

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:45:07 +0000

Jason Mraz Im Yours Ukulele Cover And It Will Make You Smile is a post from:

GOOGLE CHROME for MAC, GOOGLE CHROME for MAC!!!!!

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:51:32 +0000

It’s finally here! I just went to the Google site and there it was in all its might. Take a look for yourself! http://bit.ly/4xSRFO or http://www.google.com/chrome

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A Night With Seventh Time Down

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:11:55 +0000

I didn’t take this photograph

A few months ago I spent a few hours with with an up and coming band Seventh Time Down during a recording session with music producer Scotty Wilbanks.

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Google Celebrates E.C. Segars Birthday With Popeye

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:33:08 +0000

We’ve all heard of Popeye. In fact, I remember going to the drive in movie to see it for the first time. My dad wouldn’t let my brother and I sit on the roof of the car like the other kids were allowed to do and I was highly upset. However, I have fond memories of Popeye and I am glad that Google is teaching us not only who created Popeye but also giving credit where credit is due. Thanks E.C. Segars.

Click here for more information on Popeye and E.C. Segars

What are your memories of Popeye? Comment below.

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What Is Facebook And Who Is Mark Zuckerberg

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:42:57 +0000

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Facebook Open Letter From Mark Zuckerberg

Peter Doyle Wedding Photographer — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:32:29 +0000

Facebook is making some changes which have been explained in an open letter from Mark Zuckerberg. Here is a copy of that letter. The short of this is that there are going to be more privacy settings and control. This, of course, is great for parents who want their children to become part of the now essential social media culture but make sure that they are safe. In addition, it’s a good idea to have privacy settings for those people who want to use FB as the next phone line or chat to keep up with friends and acquaintances.

The only problem that Mark is going to run into the 700 ton elephant is usability and functionality (read Microsoft’s brilliant idea definition of security: you are only secure when you physically approve everything every second while online). This is why myspace is essentially come and gone. myspace was a free for all. You couldn’t control much of anything. I do have an account and maybe they are making the proper changes but the fact of the matter is that it is long time gone from bringing back confidence into a consumer base willing to leave the nice home of FB.

___________________________

It has been a great year for making the world more open and connected. Thanks to your help, more than 350 million people around the world are using Facebook to share their lives online.

To make this possible, we have focused on giving you the tools you need to share and control your information. Starting with the very first version of Facebook five years ago, we’ve built tools that help you control what you share with which individuals and groups of people. Our work to improve privacy continues today.

Facebook’s current privacy model revolves around “networks” — communities for your school, your company or your region. This worked well when Facebook was mostly used by students, since it made sense that a student might want to share content with their fellow students.

Over time people also asked us to add networks for companies and regions as well. Today we even have networks for some entire countries, like India and China.

However, as Facebook has grown, some of these regional networks now have millions of members and we’ve concluded that this is no longer the best way for you to control your privacy. Almost 50 percent of all Facebook users are members of regional networks, so this is an important issue for us. If we can build a better system, then more than 100 million people will have even more control of their information.

The plan we’ve come up with is to remove regional networks completely and create a simpler model for privacy control where you can set content to be available to only your friends, friends of your friends, or everyone.

We’re adding something that many of you have asked for — the ability to control who sees each individual piece of content you create or upload. In addition, we’ll also be fulfilling a request made by many of you to make the privacy settings page simpler by combining some settings. If you want to read more about this, we began discussing this plan back in July.

Since this update will remove regional networks and create some new settings, in the next couple of weeks we’ll ask you to review and update your privacy settings. You’ll see a message that will explain the changes and take you to a page where you can update your settings. When you’re finished, we’ll show you a confirmation page so you can make sure you chose the right settings for you. As always, once you’re done you’ll still be able to change your settings whenever you want.

We’ve worked hard to build controls that we think will be better for you, but we also understand that everyone’s needs are different. We’ll suggest settings for you based on your current level of privacy, but the best way for you to find the right settings is to read through all your options and customize them for yourself. I encourage you to do this and consider who you’re sharing with online.

Thanks for being a part of making Facebook what it is today, and for helping to make the world more open and connected.

Mark Zuckerberg

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