Last year I did one of those Landmark Forum personal development courses, which, by the way, I recommend.

One of the takeaways was that one should publicly declare one’s goals and aspirations. In doing so, several things happen.

You make yourself more accountable. Knowing that others now know your goals pushes you to take stronger action to achieve them. You thus become more committed to them. The act of public statement also solidifies goals both in your mind and in the public perception, thereby moving them beyond an abstract idea to something more concrete. The act of articulating goals also clarifies what it is you are actually looking for and may even give you new insights.

Support networks can also emerge: friends, family, peers, contacts are more likely to help in some way, if they know what you are trying to achieve. They might introduce you to helpful people. Those who have been down similar paths might be able to offer advice, assistance or collaboration.

You will have something to keep referring back to, better enabling you to track progress, which will further reinforce the whole thing.

Finally, making such a declaration makes you vulnerable, but that is actually empowering and liberating. It reduces internal conflict; while others might empathise and want to help you for your honesty.

With all this in mind, I thought I would share my New Year resolutions with you. I hope you find some interest, amusement or even motivation in them.

Some are quite personal, but for reasons stated above, I’ve decided to post them anyway. I hope it is not TMI.

I always tend to overdo it with my resolutions - reach for the sky and then, even if you fall short, you still end up pretty high.

So here they are:

Health, Body & Mind

* Stay fit and strong. Weights two or three times a week. Something aerobic two or three times a week. Plenty of stretching. Daily deadhangs, pelvic floors, breathing and neck exercises.

* Keep drinking less.

* Fast once a week.

* Eat more protein.

* Get good at lucid dreaming. (Lucid dreams are when you are aware you are in a dream, while you dream - dreaming is something I have got very interested in of late).

* Read at least 15 books. I read a fair bit, but most of it is online. I hardly seem to read actual books any more - my phone always takes priority. Put this right.

* Try and do some mindfulness meditation stuff once per week.

Money

* Invest well and grow my net worth - and the net worth of Flying Frisby readers - by at least 20%.

On which note, if you are buying gold to protect yourself in these uncertain times, I recommend The Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.

Work & Career - Laughter, Acclaim, Opportunity

* Continue producing consistent, interesting content for this Substack and grow it - both subscribers and revenue - by 25%.

Apropos of which, why not subscribe?

* Get better at PR and marketing, significantly grow my online presence - both as comic and commentator - and build a bigger following. ( I have a plan here).

* Finish my musical about the Peasants’ Revolt.

* Write my Gilbert and Sullivan musical.

* Write stage and screen adaptations of Kisses on a Postcard.

* Make something significant happen with Kisses on a Postcard. I’ve put that in bold because it is perhaps the most important of all to me. We are talking about something that could be as big as Oliver! or The Sound of Music, if there are any producers reading this.

* Try and get some comedy gigs in the US and grow a presence there

* Get more gigs and better gigs in the UK, working towards a full-scale tour.

* Keep writing the songs, making people laugh and produce another album by year end (I try and produce one a year).

* Get my new book, The Secret History of Gold, as good as possible; and market it as well as possible, especially in China and the US. (It’s due out in August).

* Practice my uke and singing most days and get better at both.

A lot of asks: I think I might be going against everything I said here on Wednesday.

Enjoying this article? Then why not subscribe …

Love and Family

* Be the best father I can be to Samuel, Eliza, Lola and Ferdie. Set a good example. Love them unreservedly. Help them fulfil their potential. Spend more time doing memorable things with all of them, but especially Eliza and Ferdie, as they lost out a bit this year.

* Find a nice place to live and settle down happily with Miss Downing in a lasting, fulfilling relationship.

* Be a good son to my mother, and justify the unreserved love she has shown in me.

Not a lot then.

I realise I am asking a lot of both myself and the universe, but the whole point of these resolutions is to be bold.

I’m not going to say I won’t achieve all these goals, as that defeats the purpose (I never manage all of them but I’M NOT GOING TO SAY THAT). If nothing else, at least I’ll have something interesting to write about this time next year.

This isn’t all about me. What about you? What are your goals? What are they? Let’s discuss them in the comments.

I wish you a 2025 packed with happiness, growth, fulfilment, success and—fingers crossed—lucid dreams.

Dominic

Tell someone about these resolutions.

PS A few final bits and pieces:

* If you haven’t already, take a look at my buddy Charlie Morris’s monthly gold report, Atlas Pulse. It is, in my view, the best gold newsletter out there, and, best of all, it’s free. Sign up here.

* If you missed my New Year piece, it’s a good one. Here it is:

* I recorded this interview with Rob Moore the other day, which you might enjoy:

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