New Thing 360, New Thing Every Day: Complete One Year of "New Thing Every Day"

Can you believe I have been doing this for an entire year? It really has been an amazing experience that I believe has made me a better, more creative person. It is over now, though, and I am taking a break from this kind of thing. A few years ago I did "Idea Every Day", and now I have made it through "New Thing Every Day", and I have several other similar projects that I will consider for the future, but I am absolutely taking a break for 2018. It is bittersweet and I will miss it -- and the value I think I get from it -- but it is also a relief to not have to think about it every single day.

Here are a variety of facts about the experience.

Random thoughts, lessons, and information:

• I completed 360 of 365 New Things, missing five days for a combination of being sick, travel, and life overwhelm. I am okay with 98.6% success.
• Several life events made it much easier to come up with New Things, especially travel, switching jobs, going on an intense diet for my MS, and working on my MBA.
• As you might guess, my actual number of New Things, far exceeded 365 -- especially when travel was involved -- but I kept it to reporting on just one, and did not give myself any credit to be used on other days.
• Most of the time, this was a very fun project; sometimes it was definitely a labor of love, coming up with something new every, single day -- especially at the end of a long day when I had forgotten to do something appropriate. Thank goodness for the Internet.
• No, the person I sent an anonymous e-mail never figured out it was me.

My favorite/most personally impactful New Things:

• New Thing 299, New Thing Every Day: Reach the Best Physical Condition of My Entire Life (612, 10/29)
• New Thing 62, New Thing Every Day: Rush to Indiana After My Stepfather's Stroke (543 views, 3/4) 
• New Thing 168, New Thing Every Day: Be Awarded Chamber Ambassador of the Year (523 views, 6/20)
• New Thing 105, New Thing Every Day: Win or Settle a Law Suit (471 views, 4/17)
• New Thing 81, New Thing Every Day: Do a TEDx Talk (354 views, 3/24)
• Day 1, New Thing Every Day: List Five of the Top People Who Have Influenced Me and Write Them Letters (282 views, 1/1)
• New Thing 345, New Thing Every Day: Help Organize a Gun Exchange Event, Collect 41 Guns (223 views, 12/16)
• New Thing 333, New Thing Every Day: Finish My First Day as General Manager of KOPN Community Radio (194 views, 12/4)
• New Thing 5, New Thing Every Day: Fast for One Day (176 views, 1/6)
• New Thing 165, New Thing Every Day: Create a Pop-up Restaurant (167 views, 6/17) 
• New Thing 358, New Thing Every Day: Finally Think of a National Podcast I Want To Launch (156 views, 12/29)
• New Thing 68, New Thing Every Day: Go One Full Week Without Using Profanity (150 views, 3/9)
• New Thing 296, New Thing Every Day: Officially Propose the Creation of a National Veterans Entrepreneurship Center (129 views, 10/26) 
• New Thing 339, New Thing Every Day: Finish Reading My First Happiness Book (119 views, 12/10)
• New Thing 269, New Thing Every Day: Host the Inaugural HerTomorrow Event (116, 10/1) 
• New Thing 347, New Thing Every Day: Lose 50 Pounds in One Year (114 views. 12/18)
• New Thing 210, New Thing Every Day: Register for an MBA Program (94 views, 8/1)
• New Thing 154, New Thing Every Day: Start Following The Wahls Protocol, for MS (84 views, 6/15)
• New Thing 74, New Thing Every Day: Survive Ticketing for a Major Rap Concert (83 views, 3/15)
• New Thing 235, New Thing Every Day: Co-Organize "Breaking Chains, Making Ways" (45 views, 8/27)

Most read blog posts (400+ views):

• New Thing 322, New Thing Every Day: Eat Thanksgiving Dinner Following The Wahls Protocol Diet (1124 views, 11/23)
• New Thing 334, New Thing Every Day: Get a Marinara Bowl from Nourish (796 views, 12/5)
• New Thing 299, New Thing Every Day: Reach the Best Physical Condition of My Entire Life (612 views, 10/29)
• New Thing 66, New Thing Every Day: Visit the Giant Fiberglass Paul Bunyan in Mortons Gap, KY (579 views, 3/7)
• New Thing 327, New Thing Every Day: Accept a Job as General Manager of KOPN (545 views, 11/28) 
• New Thing 62, New Thing Every Day: Rush to Indiana After My Stepfather's Stroke (543 views, 3/4)
• New Thing 168, New Thing Every Day: Be Awarded Chamber Ambassador of the Year (523 views, 6/20) 
• Tomorrow It Begins: New Thing Every Day (472 views, 12/31/17) 
• New Thing 105, New Thing Every Day: Win or Settle a Law Suit (471 views, 4/17)
• New Thing 322, New Thing Every Day: Eat Thanksgiving Dinner Following The Wahls Protocol Diet (463 views, 11/11)
• New Thing 150, New Thing Every Day: Eat My Last Pizza for the Foreseeable Future, Maybe Forever (433 views, 6/1)

Least read blog posts (<30 views):

• New Thing 160, New Thing Every Day: Visit http://www.oddee.com/ (4 views, 6/12)
• New Thing 136, New Thing Every Day: Check Out http://www.staggeringbeauty.com/ (6 views, 5/18)
• New Thing 97, New Thing Every Day -- Post My Digital Photo Tour of Columbia on Facebook (6 views, 4/9)
• New Thing 13, New Thing Every Day: Visit www.zergnet.com (9 views, 1/13)
• New Thing 97, New Thing Every Day -- Post My Digital Photo Tour of Columbia on Facebook (9 views, 12/11)

New Thing 359, New Thing Every Day: Become a Fitbit Person

Seeing as it only took me 14 years from my MS diagnosis to start paying attention to fitness and nutrition (losing 50+ this year), it might be a little shocking that it has taken me just a few years to become a Fitbit person. Today, I bought a Fitbit Charge HR, with the hope that it will help me measure both steps and wheelchair pushes, nutrition, heart rate, calories, and a few other things. I absolutely love numbers and data and keeping track, so I am thinking this will be a cool way for me to take my fitness and health to the next level.

New Thing 358, New Thing Every Day: Finally Think of a National Podcast I Want To Launch

For maybe five years, I have been trying to think of a podcast I could launch -- and do myself -- that might have real potential to attract a national audience. Well, as of maybe a half hour ago, I think I have it. A good friend of mine could be the perfect co-host, and I have texted him the basic idea, and I bet he is going to want to give it a try. If he goes for it, we will launch in January and see where it goes. Stay tuned!

New Thing 357, New Thing Every Day: Help Launch a New KOPN Program as General Manager

[Did it yesterday; posted today.]

One of the things I think I will enjoy most about being general manager at KOPN community radio is the creativity it allows me. My interpretation of our mission is to use radio to bring our community and world together, and make it a better place. Leveraging our role as a community media outlet -- with the radio waves, social media, a large and growing membership, and an incredible base of volunteers and professional staff -- provides a wide array of tools and outlets for creativity and opportunities to do new things.

My sense is that there will be several new programs, large and small, launched in the coming years. For the first one, we took an idea I developed with my friend Jack Peterson. The idea is to use profits generated fro sales -- in this case, from KOPN's online store -- and make loans to developing world entrepreneurs through online service Kiva.org. To explain the idea, I have attached the press release below.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017

CONTACT: SEAN SPENCE

sean@kopn.org; 573-823-1308

 

KOPN WILL LOAN STORE PROFITS TO DEVELOPING WORLD ENTREPRENEURS

Local radio station will use the Kiva.org online platform to make loans around the world

(Columbia, MO) KOPN – Columbia, Missouri’s community radio station – announced today that it will use profits from its online store to make loans to developing world entrepreneurs, using technology and loan processing systems provided by online lender Kiva.org. 

This change is effective immediately and will apply to all merchandise sales from the site (www.kopn.org/store/).

“We launched the store a few months ago and have been thinking about innovative ways to both support our non-profit efforts and benefit others throughout the world,” KOPN board president Dan Hemmelgarn said. “Kiva.org makes it very easy to leverage the relatively small amounts of money we make from the store to significantly impact the lives of those who really need our help. Thanks to Kiva.org, we can make the loans, and get most or all of the money back to put into our operations and expansion.”

KOPN provided this explanation of the Kiva.org service, from the Kiva.org website.

Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 and based in San Francisco, with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. By lending as little as $25 on Kiva, anyone can help a borrower start or grow a business, go to school, access clean energy or realize their potential. For some, it’s a matter of survival, for others it’s the fuel for a life-long ambition. 100% of every dollar you lend on Kiva goes to funding loans. Kiva covers costs primarily through optional donations, as well as through support from grants and sponsors.

“KOPN’s mission is to make our community and our world a better place,” KOPN general manager Sean Spence said. “Using our store in this way allows us to work with our members and others to make a difference for people who really need it, while supporting KOPN at the same time.”

In the coming weeks and months, KOPN plans to dramatically increase the variety of KOPN-branded merchandise available through its store in an effort to grow the program.

On the air since 1973, KOPN is Columbia’s community radio station, offering in-depth news, diverse talk, and music of the world. As a community radio station, KOPN is a hub of community activity and discussion, constantly seeking new ways to bring the community together and make it better. KOPN is available throughout Mid-Missouri on the radio at 89.5, and throughout the world via online streaming at www.kopn.org.

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New Thing 356, New Thing Every Day: Buy Dick Dalton's Book, I Am Not My Thoughts

[Did it yesterday; posted today.]

Dick Dalton has a radio show on KOPN (89.5 in Columbia, MO), Glocal News in Social Artistry, and he asked me to join him as the new general manager of the station. Over the course of the show, Dick mentioned the book he wrote and published in 2016, "I Am Not My Thoughts". As you might guess, the title appealed to me, with my goal of reading lots of books that will help me understand the scientific and theoretical foundations of happiness (Dick has a PhD in health education and was considered one of the best instructors at Lincoln University until his retirement in 2015).

The fascinating thing to me was hearing the title, I Am Not My Thoughts, which is a bit of a revolutionary idea to me, related to my #HappierByChoice efforts. It particularly appealed to me because the first time I had ever heard of that idea was literally the day before, reading my current happiness book (Solve for Happy, Mo Gawdat). Cool, huh? At the end of the show, Dick sold me a copy of his book for $10.00 and I can hardly wait to start reading it.

New Thing 355, New Thing Every Day: Visit Baidu.com

Of the ten most visited websites in the world, the only one I had not been to was Baidu.com (basically, the Chinese version of Google). It is a little different from Google, but not a lot.

New Thing 354, New Thing Every Day: Visit the Commemorative Confederacy Statue in My Home Town

Apparently this statue has been prominently displayed in my hometown for a very long time and I just never realized it. Somehow I saw on the Internet that it was here, so I decided it was time to check it out. Leigh, Clark and I went; it is directly in front of the main entry to our small town courthouse. We read the plaque to see who it is and it was of a specific person, of course, but it was dedicated in the name of all fallen Confederate soldiers.

Personally, I find this sort of thing offensive, but I am conflicted about the removal of statues and other artifacts like this. On one hand, I don't think we should sweep our history under the carpet; on the other, I do not want to honor that which I find despicable. One more complicated issue with which to wrestle.