Happy New Year!
I'm glad the calendar has a built-in quality assurance program that forces me to be a bit more introspective. The New Year always causes me to reflect on what I've accomplished and consider ways to improve my performance. There are plenty of things that I need to work on. With that being said, in no particular order, I resolve to...
Quit Abusing Stimulants
I bought myself a Keurig 2.0 for Christmas in an attempt to quit abusing energy drinks and nootropic stacks. I've limited myself to two cups of coffee a day, for the last six weeks, and I intend to maintain this regimen through 2016. Not surprisingly, my mood swings have decreased and my energy levels have stabilized. This alone should drastically improve my long-term performance.
Sleep More
Lack of sleep was the cause of my RedBull addiction this year. I've been known to play multiple 16+ hour sessions in a week. If the game is good, I typically refuse to leave even though I feel my life slowly trending toward a sick level of degeneracy. This year, I'm going to make a concerted effort to keep my cash game sessions under 10 hours while maintaining a semi-regulated sleep schedule. This should help to prevent burnout from creeping up on me.
Relax Before Big Events
For the last few months, I've been deliberately scheduling non-poker related activities to clear my mind before big five-day events (e.g. chilling on Venice Beach, zip-lining in Punta Cana, hiking in Red Rock Canyon). My mental clarity is significantly better the day after some light physical activity. This will be a much bigger part of my tournament approach this year.
Be More Compassionate
My "burn all bridges and take no prisoners" mentality is great for poker and finances. Most of the time, I feel an overwhelming desire to win every chip on the table and emotionally cripple people so badly that they have no choice but to submit to my (perceived) dominance. I firmly believe that the weak must be swiftly and unapologetically eliminated by the real-time evolutionary experiment we call poker. But I need to do a better job of preventing this mentality from seeping into my personal life. In a nutshell, I need to be more considerate of the thoughts and feelings of my friends and family.
Prune My Social Circle
I need to do a better job of surrounding myself with successful, knowledgable, goal-oriented people. Anyone that tries to convince me to party the night before a big event is not a real friend. Anyone that tries to convince me to gamble on sports or in the pits should shrivel up and die. There are only so many hours in the day and time is my most precious commodity. I choose to spend it with people who make me a better person.
Further Develop CSP
Building this website has been the best possible use of my time. Filming training videos, writing blogs, and coaching students has been invaluable to my strategic development. I hope to continue to absorb, restructure, and disseminate knowledge at an increasingly efficient pace. I'd like to thank all the people who care to follow my progress. You guys are awesome.
Create More Passive Income
Buying a house, remodeling it, and renting out the guest bedroom has been my first successful attempt to create passive income. I'd like to continue to buy real estate in the Fort Lauderdale area with the ultimate goal being to generate enough passive income that poker becomes a hobby instead of a necessity. I'll get there. Happy New Year!
