Gregory Paul Johnson – Personal Update 201104 | 30 April 2011 | Saturday
Summary. This is the monthly personal update for Gregory Johnson. Life categories listed alphabetically rather than in order of increasing interdependence described on the map page.
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Dear Friend,
Here’s my personal update for April 2011. This month’s life categories remain mostly unchanged except for Activism, Career, and Health.
- Activism. With regard to activism, I continue to believe the answer is to live the answer. As such, I believe that lifestyle activism and becoming the media are the most powerful methods for impacting the world. For this reason, sharing my photography, producing videos, and writing content for the ResourcesForLife.com website continue to be my primary means of activism and outreach. The site has had over a million visitors in the past few years, so it’s the most effective way for me to have a positive impact. I also attempt to live a transparent, open, and accessible life so I can share my discoveries and successes as well as what I’ve learned through life’s setbacks.
- Conference Presentations. On Sunday, May 1, at 3:30 PM, I’ll be presenting on the topic of downsizing and simple living at a sustainability conference sponsored by IRENEW. If you’re able to make it, please come.
- Video Production. Over the past month, I began producing some promotional videos that were recorded, edited, and uploaded all from my iPhone 4. Included are videos about Caribou Coffee, HuHot Mongolian Grill, the Devonian Fossil Gorge, the Herbert Hoover National Museum, Galena Illinois, the National Mississippi River Museum, Skillet Cafe and Fuel Nest in Mount Vernon, Kalona Cheese House Factory and Store, the Mall of America and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and a Craftsman Air Compressor review. As I hone my skills with this, I hope to use videos to promote worthy businesses, organizations, and causes.
- Career. I’m thankful that my work at the University of Iowa is going well. The multiple departments I’ve been working for over the past ten years are in the process of merging into a single division. So far, this seems to be a positive transition that that will allow us to accomplish more together as a team than we were previously able to do separately. An exceptional division director is being hired who seems to be creative, enthusiastic, team focused, and progress minded. So, I’m looking forward to working with him. My technology consulting business continues to be busy. My current clients continue to be wonderful to work with, and I’m also gaining some new ones. I’m very grateful.
- Effective Living. I’m trying to stick with the Schedule for Life and the Holistic Living System which help provide maximum effectiveness and efficiency. I’ve not updated these systems for over a year, so an update is needed.
- Finance. I continue to look for ways to decrease my regular expenses and increase my income. I’m also automating and streamlining my financial management, while at the same time gaining valuable insights into spending and earning trends.
- Health. My weight continues to increase, and since sumo wrestling isn’t part of my future plans, I’m going to shift my priorities around and make some lifestyle changes. I’ve had really good success in the past losing weight and keeping it off for extended periods of time. So, now I’m looking for ways to take my weight management system to the next level. I currently track my fitness and meals on my LiveStrong.com holistic wellness tracking page, and I also maintain a nutritional supplements spreadsheet to monitor nutrient intake. For exercise, I’m using an elliptical system at home and I’m making an effort to walk and use bicycling for transportation. My goal is to create an open source and public domain weight loss system that is easy to follow, costs little money, and is highly effective. When I do, I’ll post it online.
- Lifeways. My faith and religious practice is currently Adonaikido. Since the teachings, beliefs, and principles of Adonaikido are based upon various world religions, I’m expanding upon some of the Lifeways resource pages. As a result of my diversity of faith, many people still consider my beliefs and practices consistent with Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism, and Buddhism.
- Relationships. Makur and I are doing well. We’re currently living in a 360 square foot apartment in downtown Iowa City. I’m grateful for the relationships I have with family, friends, colleagues, and clients.
Many thanks to all of you who are continuing to keep me in your thoughts, prayers, and meditation time. ~ Gregory
About the Personal Update
For about ten years, the first and most important communication I would send out each month would be a personal update covering seven areas of life described on the Map Page of the ResourcesForLive.com website. I reference this monthly practice in my Schedule for Life. Over the years, my personal updates went out each month to about 10 family members and friends who I consider to be my “advisory board” – a group of people with several hundred years of collective wisdom. As well as looking for feedback and guidance, I also saw these updates as a way of making a regular personal life assessment. As of September 2007, I began publishing these monthly updates here in my online Journal. The seven areas of my personal life have solidified in recent years, so there’s not much “news” to report, but as there is, I’ll report it here in these updates.