Gregory Paul Johnson > Journal
About the Personal Update. For about seven years, the first and most important communication I would send out each month would be a personal update covering seven areas of life described on the Map Page. I reference this monthly practice in my Schedule for Life. Over the years, my personal updates went out each month to about 10 family members and friends who I consider to be my “advisory board.” As of September 2007, I began putting these monthly updates online in my online Journal. The seven areas of my personal life have solidified in recent years, so there’s not much “news” to report, but as there is, I’ll report it here in these updates and also through my online journal and other writings.
Summary. As you can tell by this update being 31 days late, it’s been a very busy month. I’ll try to get next month’s update out sooner. It will be a forward looking update.
- Lifeways. My philosophy and “religious practice” continues to be defined as Adonaikido. However, in recent months my life has become so simplified that my daily practice consists of a quiet meditation, and expanding in the other areas of life described below. Following the Schedule for Life is also at the core of my belief system and practice.
- Health. Every day, I use a Tanita InnerScan Body Composition scale to check my percent body fat, bone density, and other measurements. The scale will calculate metabolic age. It is very accurate and can usually “guess” a person’s age fairly accurately based on their body composition. Over the past few years, I was able to get my age down from the mid 30s to about 20 years old using the powerful age reversing capabilities of the Holistic Living System and the Everything Diet. In case you missed it, or for a review, please refer back to the February 2008 for an important update to see where my health was at that time. In summary, since February 29, I’ve returned more vigorously to the Schedule for Life, the Holistic Living System, and the Everything Diet. Using these methods, I’ve been able to reduce my metabolic age to as low as 26 years old and I’ve lowered my overall weight and percent body fat. My goal is to get back down to the level of fitness and wellness I had a few months ago: 20 years old, 81.18 kilograms, and about 14% body fat. It will take a lot of work, and I’ll need to stop living the way everyone else is living and maintain my own holistic wellness lifestyle.
- Career. My consulting business has become increasingly busy, and I’m grateful for that. Over the past two months, I’ve updated the Resources for Life.com website so it can be a searchable database of technical reference documents and general technology support documents. After years of work, my book is ready to go on sale and be promoted in the U.S. as of June 1.
- Finance. My financial situation has been on the decline. In part, this has been a result of intentionally cutting back on consulting work to have more time at home. Also, as reported last month, as of January, I took on the additional cost of having a car which I thought would be about $400 per month. It turns out that the real cost is about $500 to $700 per month. Over the past few years, I’ve been commuting by bicycle year-round. Having a car again, I’m reminded of how expensive and time consuming cars are to own. I’ve been reminded of the noise and pollution that cars make, and how they contribute to a more sedentary life. After about two months of assessing car ownership, I’ve decided I would very much like to avoid it if at all possible. So, hopefully this week, I plan to return the car. I’ll report more in the April 2008 update on that.
- Relationships. As the academic year is drawing to a close, Makur will soon be returning to India. It’s hard for both of us to accept that her visit here is over. She’ll be in India for two years. We plan to be in touch regularly by phone texting, video conferencing, and e-mail. My hope is to visit during that time as I’m able. So I’ll be working hard to save up money for travel.
- Activism. My new book, Put Your Life on a Diet, is scheduled to be in bookstores by June, so I’m excited about the impact it can have. I’ve been investing considerable time in upgrading the Resources for Life.com website which is reaching hundreds of people from all over the world every day. In the future, other than consulting, I see my greatest positive impact and most effective use of my time being through the website.
- Effective Living. I’ve been deepening my understanding and practice of effectiveness principles, tools, and techniques. The website conversion is part of this effort. My renewed commitment to the Schedule for Life is also an effort to maintain maximum effectiveness and efficiency.
Many thanks to all of you who are continuing to keep me in your thoughts, prayers, and meditation time.~ Gregory