new years resolutions

Happy new year! Yesterday, I wrote a Recap of My 2011 Goals. Excitingly, I was able to achieve 4 out of 5 goals, not bad at all. Today, I’m thrilled to continue my tradition of setting goals at the beginning of the year with PPC Ian’s 2012 Goals. Before I get into the specific sub-goals, I want to lay out my high level framework. Overall, I am working on three major areas this year:

2012 New Years

Getting closer to complete financial freedom (setting myself and my wife up to eventually live off of passive income, mainly financial instruments such as dividend-paying stocks)
Giving back in a major way (large charitable donations and giving back to the online marketing industry)
Having fun (more personal time and more time with my wife)

Following are my sub-goals that roll up into my high level goals…

Goal 1: Save Money and Invest Wisely

Nicole & Ian 2011 Holiday Party

For me, the investing wisely part is quite easy. I’m a pro. The hard part is saving money. I like to go big. I spent a lot of money in 2011. I’m actually happy about the expenses as they were one time charges/investments in happiness.

2012 is going to be all about saving. It’s time for PPC Ian to get frugal and put every dollar to use. Specifically, I will grow the amount of money I have invested in dividend-paying stocks by at least 30%. I already have a solid base (I have been investing since high school) so this is going to be a tough feat. It’s going to come down to funneling money into stocks, both from my job and from my affiliate marketing operations.

On the affiliate marketing side, I’m going to need to deliver another year of solid revenue growth (50% or more) with high margins (70% or higher margins). Instead of investing money in my business, I’m going to overcompensate by investing sweat equity. I’m going to continue to extract serious money from my business and move it into dividend-paying stocks. (I’m a huge champion of Robert Kiyosaki’s “velocity of money” strategy.)

Long term, it’s my opinion that true financial freedom comes from living off of passive income from dividend stocks and passive investments. I’m a long way away from that, but that’s ok. Time and compound interest are on my side. Want to learn more about my passive income strategy? Check out my Money Map.

Goal 2: Grow PPC Ian To 2,500 Visitors/Day

Currently, I’m getting about 1,400 visitors/day here at PPC Ian (based on December, 2011 stats). Thanks so much for reading! This year, I have decided to divert most of my free time towards PPC Ian. I’ll spend about 70% of my free time blogging here about online marketing and the other 30% running IJL Productions. Why the shift? I have found that focus is everything and I’m starting to see some serious traction. My goal of giving back to the industry is largely dependent on my ability to reach lots of people and provide valuable content and perspectives. PPC Ian is my channel for doing so. I plan to give back to our industry in a major way by blogging more frequently and providing amazing PPC and online marketing tips. If there’s anything you’d like to see on PPC Ian, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to help!

Goal 3: Donate a Record Amount To Charity

I’m pleased to say that Nicole and I donated a record amount of money to charity in 2011. 2012 is going to mark another year of record donations. Specifically, I am pledging to donate a record amount of money to Second Harvest Food Bank. I truly believe that we are all put here for a reason. Currently, I’m in a very fortunate and favorable position. As such, it’s my duty to give back and assist those less fortunate, especially people who live here in the Silicon Valley and are hungry. Put another way, when it’s my time to go, I want to rest assured that I made a major impact here on Planet Earth. I cannot think of too many other accomplishments that will make as large of an impact as donating to charities.

Goal 4: More Hip Hop and Jazz Concerts

Hip hop and jazz have been my passion for as long as I can remember. I’m truly fortunate that Nicole also enjoys the same music. On the hip hop side, we attended De La Soul (Nicole took me for my birthday) and The Pharcyde concerts in 2011. On the jazz side, we also attended a Norman Brown concert. In 2012, I want to attend even more concerts, both hip hop and jazz. What a great way to enjoy San Francisco while getting inspired. Every time I see one of my favorite artists perform, I walk away truly happy and inspired.

Goal 5: Run and Lift Weights 4 Times/Week

It wouldn’t be a PPC Ian goals list if I didn’t include something athletic. I don’t have any huge milestones this year such as the half marathon. However, I want to keep up my health by running twice per week and lifting weights twice per week. Also, I definitely want to run several 5K and 10K races. It’s amazing how much better you feel (and think) when you’re in great shape. This goal ties into my overall happiness and also allows me to spend more time with Nicole.

Goal 6: More Time With Family

It’s all about family. When you’re in the world of online marketing, it’s so easy to get tied up in your career and forget about the big picture. This year, I want to make a conscious effort to spend more time with my amazing family. This last goal will tie directly into my own happiness.

There are many more sub-goals that did not make this particular list. You may remember that one of my big goals is setting myself up for VP of Marketing at a large company. That’s definitely still on the list, I couldn’t be more passionate about the corporate marketing career path. However, it’s just not in the top 6 short list for this year (mainly because that goal is already ingrained in my subconscious). I enjoy referring back to this list each week so I’m able to stay on course, and these are the top 6 goals I wanted to remind myself of each and every week. What are your 2012 goals?