I love this post for the potential it shows we all have, and how much change can be packed into one year.  Thanks for the inspiration, Tynan.

What "key personal stats" do you log daily?

Have you read any books on Conversation Skills that you would recommend?  (you didn't mention that here, but you have in other recent posts...)

Do you take notes on the books you read ala Derek Sivers?  (http://sivers.org/book)

Related to writing fiction, you might find a book called "Story" pretty interesting.  It's aimed at script writing, but it's universal to all storytelling.  (http://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/dp/0060391685/)

A friend made a point the other day related to this.  He has a very deep knowledge of MAT and body structure (skeletal/muscular).  For example, he knows the important systems and the exceptions and why they are exceptions.  He understands the relationships and the core principles as a whole system...as opposed to just a collection of facts and rules of thumb.  And he has used this knowledge in practice for many years, so he has experience with how it holds up to the real world.

He said when he makes a decision in that realm, he has a level of confidence in that decision that is very high.  By comparison, when he makes a decision in a different realm where he is less skilled, he's not as confident.  So having that deep knowledge in one area gives him a perspective on what deep knowledge is, and what areas he doesn't have it in.  It gives him the ability to know what he doesn't know.

I did something really similar.  4 lessons.  And right before the 4th lesson I sent her this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBMA8knxvt8

She listened, figured out the notes being played, and then wrote down the fingerings (since the notes themselves were some we hadn't covered yet).  And then I practiced that for the rest of that last lesson.

So I can't play it well, but I do enjoy hearing myself play it when the urge strikes.  And that was my entire goal and the peak of my aspirations on the violin/fiddle.

I did something really similar.  4 lessons.  And right before the 4th lesson I sent her this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBMA8knxvt8 She listened, figured out the notes being played, and then wrote down the fingerings (since the notes themselves were some we hadn't covered yet).  And then I practiced that for the rest of that last lesson. So I can't play it well, but I do enjoy hearing myself play it when the urge strikes.  And that was my entire goal and the peak of my aspirations on the violin/fiddle.

Hey Tynan, thanks for the plug of tuRVel.com.

The idea actually came from your post a while back looking for a spot to park:
http://tynan.com/helpmepark

I was commenting as "Dividendium" in the comments on that one.

This reminded me of a Paul Graham essay (although I couldn't find the exact one) where he talks about always telling the truth to the start ups they advise because it wouldn't scale to make something up and try to remember what he said to each one.

I have to say that's my reason for being habitually honest.  If I lie or bend the truth, then I have to remember what I said.  I can move much faster if I don't have to keep track.

And if I make a mistake or break something, it always hurts less to fess up immediately than to hide it and get found out later.