The year is 2010, I am living paycheck to paycheck and I didn’t realize yet that I was stuck in a cycle that would not change. I was really passionate about all things “Japan” and wanted to visit but there was no way I could afford to. What did I do? I made a 2-year plan to save $100 a month from my meagre salary so I could visit the land of the rising sun. This lesson about personal goal setting has been one of the single best lessons about life I could have learned as a young adult. I learned how to set achievable goals and how seeing through the process can change the trajectory of your life.
Operation Visit Japan revisited
The goal was $3000: $1400 for plane tickets $500 for a 14-day rail pass $800 for accommodation and $300 for visa fees and other miscellaneous expenses. This was before online crowdfunding was a big thing but many of the readers of my blog wanted to send me cash towards my goal. I was reluctant because
- I would be held accountable and this is other peoples money
- other peoples money?!?!?
In the end, I found a platform that would be transparent about donations (this was hard in 2010) and started to accept donations for “Operation Visit Japan“. The donations came flying in from all corners of the globe from awesome people like @rainbowhill @tamegoeswild @yonasu and @Gordonswaby and many others who had been reading my blog. I was honestly surprised and just a little terrified. What have I done!
By March 2011 the goal has been reached from saving monthly, donations and earnings from Jamaipanese.com. There was a terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan around this time as well and I adjusted my plans and took aim at September 2011.
First time in Japan
It’s the 1st week of September 2011 and I must be dreaming because I am landing in Tokyo. Then I went to Yokohama, Nagoya, Nara, Kyoto, Osaka?! But back to the reason for this post “setting achievable goals and changing the trajectory of your life”.
There are so many books/podcasts/websites/coaches etc that can provide a much more learned explanation to all this personal goal setting mumbo jumbo. In the end please know that goals don’t have to be massively complicated undertakings. Look within yourself and ask what you want to do, where do you want to be, what do you want to learn etc. Doing this has allowed me to complete many kinds of goals from very personal undertakings to attending University to now living and working in Japan.
This is a Twitter thread about how learning how to set achievable goals and seeing through the process can change the trajectory of your life. 1/13 ✍️
— Kirk 🎯 (@Jamaipanese) April 16, 2021
Personal Goal Setting advice
In this face-paced, cut-throat, social media-loving world there are a lot of external stimulants and distractions. Many people only imagine the start and the end of the “race” but it’s the middle part that’s the longest and the most difficult important.
Run, walk, crawl your own race today and see how the high of passing through that finish line refuels you to run another race, set a bigger goal – just go at your own pace.
- posts from 2011 trip to Japan
- Operation Visit Japan reports and updates