Denver, Colorado — The Mile High City — ranks number one (#1) in a survey of Americans about cities they desired to live in. Denver won over New York, Los Angeles, Miami and others in the Pew survey. Living in Denver for over four years now, it’s easy to see why it’s a desirable city to live:
The Rocky Mountains
Number one North American transit agency: RTD
Lower unemployment (compared to rest of nation)
Better quality of life
300 days of sunshine per year
Better winters (when compared to the Midwest and Northeast)
Active, progressive city
Great nightlife
Strong business community
Great universities and research centers
I loved Denver so much that I decided to stay during a one week vacation. Its been a great place to live and my life couldn’t be better overall! Come to Colorado. Refresh your life. Live your best life yet!
Today, I created my first ever lifestyle manual for 2009. Essentially, it’s a personal road map that I’ll use to improve my life and sharpen my focus on core interests over the course of the year. Currently, it’s five pages long, but will expand as I add more content to the document. Because it’s hosted by Scribd, the latest version will always be available here — All you’ll need to do is download it and read.
Why share this personal document with the public? It’s not really that private of a document. It’s really a framework for how I’ll live and advance my life in 2009. I hope it will inspire someone else who’s seeking ideas to improve their personal and professional life.
(To download or email the PDF, click on the “iPaper” drop-down arrow to expose a list of functions)
Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 Dear Reader, Thank you for the opportunity to share my “lifestyle manual for 2009″ with you. Although personal, it’s an informative and interesting way to take a glimpse of the inner workings of my life, thought process, desires and more. My only reason for offering this personal document is to hopefully inspire others who are seeking ideas to improve their personal and professional life in 2009. This is the first time I’ve ever created something like this and I am very glad I did. This document is my personal road map for the calendar year. Best, Ronald Lewis This lifestyle manual was created for one purpose: To help guide, inspire and manage my core personal and professional interests in the 2009 calendar year. This manual -A live document — shall be read, updated and maintained to track and improve my progress as necessary. Pledge: I, Ronald L. Lewis II, pledge to dedicate my focus to the interests outlined in this lifestyle manual. It is my “life reference” to ensuring I remain on on track and focused on the “interests” contained herein. It is my duty alone to study and execute it. Calendar year theme: “The best year ever” Employment status: Self-employed (full-time since 2005) Personal victories in 2007 and 2008: Returned to Denver in April 2007 … Eliminated a multi-year “mental slump” due to an emotionally challenging relationship in mid-2008 … Re-established living independence in early 2008 after returning to Denver from Canada and Michigan … Greatly improved self-employment income in 2008 (best period to date since full-time self-employment began in 2005) 30th birthday: September 10th, 2009 Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 Personal and Professional Development, Improvement For 2009, it’s important to reduce/eliminate mental distractions (constant ideas, new projects, etc.) and focus only in areas which make the best use of my time, money, energy, knowledge and visibility. Doing so will lead to great improvements in my financial stability, flexibility, lifestyle management, and personal/professional development. Thus, only the following interests shall be developed and/or improved this calendar year: • Advisement/Consulting, Education and Evangelism ◦ 100% virtual and “location independent” by mid-year (currently at 90%) ◦ Cloud computing: Linux, Windows, OSS (MySQL, Apache), open source telephony (Asterisk, FreeSWITCH) ◦ Create media (documents, videos, etc.) to educate, promote work and expand visibility ◦ Partner with industry players to help evangelize certain interests (cloud computing, etc.) • Branding and Public Relations ◦ Hire brand / PR rep (selected — Retain by March) ◦ Consult with CD and BM to develop image, branding ◦ Isolate certain interests (cloud computing, etc.) and create separate branding, Internet presence ◦ Further develop personal blog to serve as a conduit and marketing platform • Public Speaking ◦ Organizations (employee morale building, inspirational storytelling, ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ dream/imagination engineering) Non-profits, schools and universities (inspirational storytelling, dream/ imagination engineering for students and youth) Conferences (cloud computing, open source telephony/telecom, general technology and social interests) Roundtables and Townhall meetings, events (interviews and social interests) Lifecasting (inspirational storytelling, dream/imagination engineering) • Book (“Stick It To The Man”) ◦ Research, develop and implement unique marketing concepts to help drive sales Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 ◦ Promote book via the Internet, media, bookstores, etc. ◦ Develop strong, visible Internet presence • Social Media / Networking Continue improving genuine presence, relationships Focus on top social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) Increase activity and visibility on “lightly used” networks Produce and publish at least three podcast interviews per month for Spotlight Magazine ◦ Expand presence and visibility of Spotlight Magazine ◦ Promote “personality talent” as a professional, effective and engaging interviewer ◦ Partner with event organizers (conferences, etc.) to cover and interview attendees, guests ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Relationship and Community Development For 2009, it’s important to realize one thing: I will never fully grasp how human beings truly think or function. To agonize over and analyze each negative experience is pointless and emotionally paralyzing. I must accept that I have no control over anyone’s interpretation or impression of who I am as an individual and human being. I do, however, have complete control over how I live, learn, listen and relate in society. • Developing new or existing relationships (platonic, professional, romantic) ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Mine existing relationships to discover and create new ones Eliminate “social postings” on Craigslist and similar sites Increase activity with various Meetup and interest groups Spend more time with friends and family Make better use of technology to improve relationships Do not stress over fickle behavior Monetary and Economic Policy For 2009, it’s important to pay even more attention to real-world data to understand the failing health of America’s infrastucture and economy: Job losses, bankruptcies, foreclosures, “health of the Dollar”, and office/storefront closures. Maintaining keen awareness of the important indicators is the only way to navigate the turbulent journey ahead. • Diversify currency, investments and metal holdings ◦ Maintain a “comfortable” reserve of USD currency for domestic activities Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 ◦ Invest in precious metals such as silver and gold ◦ Generate income in Euros, Canadian Dollars and other currencies which are more stable than the Dollar ◦ Investigate foreign stock exchanges Health and Fitness For 2009, a healthier lifestyle is important as I approach my third decade of life on Earth. I am slightly concerned about my family’s blood pressure and cholesterol history, so I’d like to mitigate future risks by implementing and maintaining a healthier diet going forward. • Weight ◦ Eliminate 40-45 lbs (from 200lbs) by June 1, 2009 ◦ Permanently maintain weight between 145-160 • Food Permanently eliminate carbonated beverages Increase consumption of fruits, nuts and vegetables Increase consumption of boiled, baked and broiled foods Maintain consumption of chicken, turkey, fish and shellfish; Permanently eliminate infrequent consumption of red meat, etc. ◦ Eliminate all foods with preservatives (as best as possible) ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Travel and Transportation For 2009, it is important to expand my travel schedule to explore new cities, countries, events and more — I must satisfy my nomadic nature. It is also important to explore acquiring a personal vehicle once core interests start paying dividends. • Cities, States and Countries of “short list” ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ London, England Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia Tokyo, Japan Shanghai, China Hawaii Germany Anchorage, Alaska Artic circle • Vehicle “short list” Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009 ◦ Volvo XC60, S80, XC90 or S40 ◦ Toyota Prius Ronald Lewis (Twitter) – Lifestyle Manual for 2009
This morning, I got up feeling refreshed and overly happy. Last night, I wasn’t happy at all. You see, I could choose to focus on just the happy times in life here, but let’s be realistic: There isn’t such a thing as someone who’s happy ALL THE TIME.
It is no secret here that I’ve had bouts with depression and stress over the years. There are times where I’ve felt completely hopeless about the state of my country and the world. At least here, I can do my part by exposing the issues and encouraging people to make the changes in their lives which can make life on Earth better for everyone.
One thing I’ve realized about happiness is this: It’s a choice. So, today, I’m choosing to pass along an abundance of happiness today to you and I hope you’ll pass it along to someone else. . Things might be tough right now, but together, we can emerge to overcome any obstacle we encounter in life. Stand in unison with a stranger, friend or loved one today. Help them realize that their struggles are not permanent, but only temporary obstacles.
I have to say: I’m really lovin’ having an apartment near Downtown Denver (four blocks, “Uptown”, even though it feels like Downtown proper). Everything is within walking distance: Great restaurants, bars, bookstores, coffee shops, movies, etc.
Being a single guy, I really think this was a good move. Next Tuesday will be two weeks living Downtown. Things are going well.
(As of this very moment, I’m having a late dinner — Fish Tacos — at the Tavern Uptown and a few rum-n-cokes, while watching random TV screens and listening to random songs on the jukebox. Did I mention the Tavern is only two blocks away from the apartment? It’s great!)
This morning, I planned on visiting a friend today, which would require a 15 minute bus ride north of Downtown Denver, then another 10 minutes or so in my bike to reach his house. Well, I discovered that my bike was gone (I left it overnight several blocks away from my apartment, secured and in a busy area).
There’s only three explanations here:
1. Someone stole the bike (This is only possible if I neglected to properly secure the lock and chain)
2. The City of Denver removed the bike (I’m still on the fence about this — I’ve noticed a bike locked up for days that was still there today).
3. The bike decided to part ways and find a new owner.
Fortunately, because I live Downtown now, getting around isn’t a problem — I’m near everything! I’ll be looking on Craigslist this week for a cheap replacement.
Other than my bike, everything is fine. I still have to finish putting things away from the move. My spirits are up. I feel good.
Late last night, I had some pretty cool dreams. The most vivid one was my time in space. I was living on a stationary platform, exposed to the elements of space. It was rather strange, because, small movements would tilt my bed, and any wrong move would have me upside down staring into space. Freaky, eh?
This platform also seemed to be a place for other human beings. I recall being in the company of a few men and women. People also stopped by from other platforms. I also recall the brightness of the Sun and the wonderful glow of the Earth. The dream literally came to a crashing halt, when something went terribly wrong, and the entire platform careened back to Earth. We ended up crash landing near a beach in Ohio.
