Here, in short form, is my list of long-term goals — and why.

Long-Term Goals through 2010

• Find suitable long-term housing. (done)
• Secure a sailboat.
• Liquidate all debts and improve my credit score.
• Earn shodan rank and finish escrima study.
• Revert to 160# and begin regular weights by 9/15/09.
• Procure a total abdominoplasty in 2009.
• Run in 2010 River Bank Run & G.R. Marathon.
• Study yoga and ballroom dancing.
• Develop/publish/start a personal life reading list.
• Obtain certification as a licensed parliamentarian.
• Acquire a class A license from USPA.
• Earn a private pilot’s license.
• Circulate a novel manuscript for consideration.
• Enhance my singing and piano proficiency.
• Develop some skill in German and Spanish.
• Complete a survivalist course.
• Secure master scuba or divemaster certification.
• Finish Wilderness First Responder training.
• Obtain USCG six-pack licensure.
• Test for HAM license.

The Next Milestone
I will complete the Great Loop before I turn 40.  [The Great Loop is a sailing course that starts in Lake Michigan, heads south through Chicago to the Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast to Florida, features a winter in the Keys or elsewhere in the Caribbean, and ends with a trip up the U.S. Atlantic coast to either New York’s Erie Canal, or through the St. Lawrence Seaway, returning to the Great Lakes.  The full journey, with ample time for weather windows, sightseeing, and leisure, takes about a year.]

The Meaning of Life
The measure of a man best assessed in the sincerity of his struggle to realize his full and natural potential. For me, this potential is rooted in the development of authentic wisdom, obtained through the joyful pursuit of diverse experiences, sincere relationships, and new ideas.

Vision
I aspire to be an elderly man who has no regrets.

How?
I will succeed through the development of my own freelance writing and communication-consulting agency.  This consultancy will provide the opportunity to work and travel unfettered by a fixed location.  As time (and client rosters!) permit, I will transition out of my current job as a healthcare data analyst and into my own firm, and the ability to write while away from an office will permit a revenue stream no matter where I go.

Why?
See everything; overlook much; change what you can.
     + John XXIII

The Road goes ever on and on/Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,/And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,/Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet./And whither then? I cannot say.
     + J.R.R. Tolkein, The Hobbit

EDIT:  07 July 2009