"What Must I Do?"

...That's what Frodo said when presented with the knowledge that the ring of ultimate power had to be destroyed (yes, we had a LOTR marathon over Christmas). What a simple question... What a difficult task...

Every year since I was little I have religiously created New Year's Resolution lists. This year, for the first time, I really began to think about HOW I was going to accomplish my goals, rather than just WHAT goals I wanted to reach. So many years I focused just on what I wanted and gave little thought to how in the world I was going to get there. And all along I should have just asked myself "What must I do?"

So this year I'm focusing on the "hows" as well as the "whats". Here's what I want to accomplish this year:

(Book Stuff)

• Finish writing my first young adult novel (by writing 6,000 words a week for 6 months).
• Begin marketing my novel (connect with libraries, schools, and everyone I know; network online)
• Find an agent for my novel (polish my pitch, research agents, networknetworknetwork)

(Personal Stuff)

• Lose those last 15 lbs (run 300 miles in 2011, hit the gym 4 days a week, adopt a more vegan diet)
• Quit complaining (count my blessings every time I feel like grumbling)
• Get out of debt (budget budget budget)
• Encourage others more (write encouraging notes and actually mail them)

I'm going with the notion that it's never too late or too ridiculous to fight for what I want. If you've got goals then you've gotta fight for them! Map out a game-plan. Get an accountability partner. What if we all embraced self-discipline enough to make dreams come true?! If Frodo can do it, so can I.