20x30

David Clark
4 min readJan 2, 2016

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Edited March 11, 2017. See post here.
Edited December 17, 2017.
See post here.

This project is entirely inspired by someone I admire, Drew Moody, and his 30x30 list.

I have two years to do 20 things important to me, before turning 30 years old.

Because I only have two years to complete these, I’m keeping it at 20. And, because this is being posted here, publicly, I must also maintain this space in order to document my accomplishments and failures.

1. Read 5 books each year (total 10) [Completed]

I just recently started reading since I got out of school, and it has been far too long.

2. Visit Canada or Mexico

I’ve never been out of the country. That’s insanity!

3. Visit San Francisco

I have been to San Francisco once, and I absolutely loved it. I didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted to there, and Mae has never been, so why not?!

4. Visit Leavenworth, WA

Leavenworth is a beautiful little town here in Washington, very near the base of Mt. Rainier, that was modeled in the way of a Bavarian village.

5. Complete business plan [Completed]

Mae and I have always known that we wanted to be entrepreneurs. We did it once, but this time we really need to solidify ourselves in that plan, and make it happen!

6. Get first tattoo

I have wanted a very specific tattoo for a very long time. That one, however, would take a lot of time, and a lot of money. I have an idea for a small first tattoo.

7. Have a photograph printed and framed

I have plans to purchase a wonderful new camera. Since my Canon DSLR’s lens was broken, I’m seeing it as an opportunity to upgrade to a better camera. I intend to hone my skills vastly in order to produce an image that I am proud enough to have printed, framed and hung on my wall.

8. Start running

I truly miss running. I really want to be able to run with my partner, but we have a child, and work opposite schedules in order to accommodate such, so we can’t do that. We may be able to run together in the apartment building’s gym.

9. Complete Web Developer’s Course on Udemy [Completed]

I have been working on a full stack web developer course on Udemy for a couple of months. I’m almost halfway through it now, and if I stick to it, I could finish it. Really, I could finish it super quickly if I dedicate all of my time to it. However, my daughter is learning to read, I need to spend time with her having fun, and I’m exploring other areas of interest as well.

10. Reform diet to eat more whole foods, consume more fiber [Completed]

We are vegan. We still eat some processed foods every now and then, and don’t consume the appropriate amounts of fruits and veggies. I am working on eating one banana a day, and want to consume a LOT more veggies than I am now. Studies show that Americans get way more protein than they need (dangerous amounts, even), and only about 1/4 of the fiber they need, which can result in gut issues, increased cancer risks, etc.

11. Attend a yoga class

Yoga classes can be a life changing experience, I’ve heard.

12. Go Carless [Completed]

We are currently in the works of selling our car and getting bicycles. I want to solidify this! Living in the city and owning a car doesn’t entirely make sense.

13. Establish a yoga routine

Yoga is super good for your body and mind, and I need to improve both of those!

14. Establish a reading routine [Completed]

I’m currently only reading at night before bed, and not every night, because sometimes I’m just too darn tired! Reading before bed is not the best way to retain information either. I want my daughter to grow up with a lot of books around her (not eBooks). Growing up this way has been shown to be just as important to a child’s success as parent involvement.

15. Establish a meditation routine

Meditation has helped me a lot in the past, and — like with everything that is truly good for us — I’ve fallen off the wagon.

16. Climb Mt. Si

Mt. Si is a lovely and uniquely-formed mountain within the Cascade Range. Most know it from its appearances in Twin Peaks.

17. Learn to build a fire [Completed]

Believe it or not, I cannot build a fire (in Washington, at least). I’ve done so successfully in the dry forests of Idaho, but not up here!

18. Start and finish Harry Potter books with Lorelei [Completed]

Lorelei likes Harry Potter, and she enjoys reading. Let’s do it!

19. Grow hair past shoulders [Completed]

I accomplished this once before, and want to do so again!

20. Participate in coding project or get paid to do coding work [Completed]

There are groups out there for budding developers to go and do coding work for companies or non-profit orgs needing work done, either for free or cheap. I can sign up to do some of that work, and add it to my résumé. When I’ve learned a bit more, I want to be able to do this.

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David Clark

Mindfulness | Humans | Animals | Earth | Coding | IG: the.coffee.smith