2009 Personal Improvement Plan

I have finished my goal planning for 2009 and would like to share them with you.  Publishing has really helped me feel more accountable.  I hope you will improve with me in 2009!

HEALTH:  Lose 50 pounds via Weight Watchers plan.  I have already signed up and love their new Momentum plan and the fact that there is a great mobile ap for my Blackberry to track and find points.

FAITH:  Find a new church home.  My wife and I are looking for a new church to be planted in.  

RELATIONSHIPS:  Make it a point to have a date-night with my wife once a month.  We focused on this last year and loved it so we will do it again!  

RELATIONSHIPS:  Invest in our friends.  Life gets busy and stressful, but our friends are important to us.  We will be more specific in our time to ensure our friends are included.

EDUCATION:  Read at least 12 books.  I used goodreads last year to track what I read and have already started to build a list of seven books I want to read.  Let me know if you recommend any other books or if I should avoid one on my list.

EDUCATION:  Continue my PMP exam prep.  I am primarily using Cornelius Fichtner’s awesome Project Management PrepCast and await his update for the Fourth Edition of the PMBOK.

FINANCES:  Save an additional minumum of $1000.  Have more liquid moolah in the bank!

FINANCES:  Pay off one of my credit cards.  Pay it off and close it out!

COMMUNITY:  Teach a business skills class in my local area.  I need to find out where I can teach a class and then try to find a curriculum.  I strongly feel I can help people help themselves through encouragement and teaching useful skills.  

HOME:  Get storm windows.  Seattle winter this year is telling me how cold our house can be.

FUN:  Enter my Star Wars collection for display in this years Puyallup Fair.  Sharing my dorkiness with one of the largest fairs!

FUN:  Take pictures more frequently.  Continue the habit from 2008 to take more pictures and capture more memories.

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I am still alive…Really!

I apologize for the lack of posts recently.  This has not been due to lack of ideas.  I am brimming with a bunch of posts that I will get written soon.  Sue to snow in Seattle and a couple of big projects being launched with full audits, my free time has been limited.  I will get something new this week, so keep checking in! 

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One Year Old

I can’t believe it.  Improve With Me celebrated its first birthday on 12/06/08.  I have learned a lot while blogging and appreciate all of my readers and those who have linked to my site from theirs.  I thank every one of you who stop by to check out my little blog.

This year has been fun since I have been learning more about lean and strengthening my project management skills.  I always approach learning as though I would need to teach someone what I am being taught.  Sharing my learnings with all of you has been a joy.

Here are my top three viewed posts:

• Effective vs Efficient
• Project Management Advice Needed – Subject Matter Expert
• Becoming Irreplaceable at Work: What Time Do You Really Start?

Here is my least viewed post:

• Where’s The Beef?

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Cool Picture – Halloween House

 

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This will be a quiet week for posts

I have been asked to participate in an improvement event the remainder of this week so I probably won’t have time to post.  Tune in next week!

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Factory Kaizen Learning Coming Soon

I have learned a ton at last week’s Kaizen event at a factory.  I am catching up on email today but stick with me and I will share my learnings this week!  Thanks for your patience.

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Great Triple Contraint Atricle

Thomas Cutting just posted Back to the Basic: The Troubling Triangle and I suggest reading it.  I am always inspired by reflecting on the impact of balancing time, scope, and cost.  We can not only improve how we manage the triple constraint but also how we communicate to clients/customers the need to balance the three.

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Back From Vacation

I am back from vacation and will have some new posts soon!  Thank you to all of my readers!

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Standardized Work = Go For The Gold

Samuel Beaird at Lean Healthcare Exchange wrote a great piece called Go For The Goldwhere he encourages standard work in healthcare.  Check it out!

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Internet Memes Timeline

Veronica Belmont made a Twitter post about a great site with Internet Memes Timeline.  If you remember the dancing baby, trade fun Chuck Norris Facts such as “Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush”, or look at your watch and see it’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time – this site is for you! 

If you liked this post, then try:

• Funny Rickrolling Muppets

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Fun Picture Of Me!

Brian as Annas in Jesus Of Nazareth 02, originally uploaded by brianshelleybuck.

I came across this photo yesterday and thought it would be fun to share. This was me as Annas in Jesus Of Nazareth from 2004. This was an awesome show to be a part of. Too bad it has ended.

dwb.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/6455265p-5750494c…

Keeping Too Much Inventory On Your Hard-Drive?

The Trouble with Terabytes by John C. Dvorak at PCMAG.COM is a great article about how cheaper information storage is causing us to keep unneeded files, duplicate documents, bad photos, lame music tracks from ripping a whole CD to your iPod, ect.  He points out how important it is to maintain our information storage systems.  The solution sounds a little like 5S to me! 

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New Name & New Look: Improve With Me

I recently bought a domain name and now am applying it to my Pass The Buck blog.  The URL still is the same but you can also get here at http://www.improvewithme.com.   I chose the name IMPROVE WITH ME because I coach organizational teams to remove waste and I also want to share (and hear your personal stories if you find this site encouraging) as I try to improve myself everyday.   I have new RSS feeds with the new name but the old ones still work for now.  I updated the look of my site to reflect the change!  I hope you enjoy it.

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Mock God at Your Own Risk!

I received this via email and it made me reflect. While I have not double checked the facts, I found this to be inspiring. I hope you find it impactful.

DID YOU KNOW THESE FACTS?   I SURE DIDN’T TILL NOW.

Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death!  Make a personal reflection about this…

It is written in the Bible, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7

Here are some men and women who mocked God :

John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said:

“Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain.  Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him.” (1966).

Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.

Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being President, then he died.

Cazuza (Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During A show in Canecio ( Rio de Janeiro ), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: “God, that’s for you.”

He died at the age of 32 of LUNG CANCER.

The man who built the Titanic: After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be.  With an ironic tone he said: “Not even God can sink it.”

I think you all know what happened to the Titanic

Marilyn Monroe (Actress): She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show.  He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.  After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said, “I don’t need your Jesus.”

A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

Bon Scott (Ex-vocalist of AC/DC): On one of his 1979 songs he sang, “Don’t stop me; I’m going down all the way, down the highway to hell.”

On the 19th of February 1980, he was found dead; he had been choked by his own vomit.

Campinas, Brazil: In 2005 a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was worried about the drunkenness of her friends. She said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car, “My daughter, go With God and may He protect you.”  She responded, “Only if He (God) travels in the trunk, ’cause inside here it’s already full.”

Hours later, news came that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died. The car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.  The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none were broken.

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer): She said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.

In June 2006, she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.  Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and He is still alive.

I have done my part, Jesus said “If you are embarrassed about me, I will also be embarrassed about you before my father.” Mark 8:38 paraphrased.

Bishop T.D. Jakes’ 8 Second Prayer, just repeat this prayer and see how God moves!!

‘Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus’ name. Amen.’

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A great presenter RIP – George Carlin

Rowan Manahan made a post that I missed hearing on the news.  George Carlin, comedian and hilarious thinker, died from a heart attack.  Rowan’s A great presenter RIP has some great comments and a You Tube clip of Carlin’s famous STUFF bit. 

I saw him perform live twice.  One of the things I loved about his comedy is that he never takes the current way of thinking seriously.   He always challenged the status quo.  His presence will be missed.

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