BritGuyTN

The Action Plan

1: Name three things about yourself you would like to improve:

Lose weight
Be more organised
be more focussed

2: Name something you would like to achieve:

a) Within 1 year:

Buy 25 more rental units

b) Within 5 years:

Be able to semi retire if I want

c) Within 10 years:

Have enough cash that I can do some philanthropic work



3: Name something you would like to help achieve for somebody else:

Help some disadvantaged kids get a good education and perspective on life enabling them to get out of a viscious circle of poverty/crime/drugs/gangs

4: Name one place you haven’t been, but you’d like to go:

San Fran

5: Name one person you haven’t met, but would like to:



6: Name three material things you would like:

a) house on the river

b) my current house renovated

c) BMW M5 or my current car with a bigger engine

Roland Hulme

Hey!

Bianca from East Enders is my people's designated punching bag, thank you very much.

Bob

meh....sums it up for me...

dunroving

OK, I was looking for an excuse to take a break from planning lessons, so:

The Action Plan

1: Name three things about yourself you would like to improve:

My fitness - since I came back I hardly ride my bike so have gone from hundreds of miles per month to "just" walking the dog (though we walk for a long time)

My typing/keyboarding skills. I went to school in the days when boys weren't offered typing classes. Now I spend more time in front of a computer than anywhere else, but spend half of my time hitting the Backspace key and correcting typos. I feel like a complete doofus at the keyboard.

I'd like to learn Spanish. I can speak French pretty well, but when (not if) I get back to the US, I'd like to learn and use Spanish to help Spanish-speaking immigrants.

2: Name something you would like to achieve:

a) Within 1 year:

Obtain a major government research grant. I've spent the last 11 years hitting lower level grants but never hitting the big ones. Just submitted one for $350k to the NIH and keeping my fingers crossed.

b) Within 5 years:

Back in the US. I've hardly stopped kicking myself ever since I left in July 2006.

c) Within 10 years:

Married. Family (probably not my own, as I'm getting on a bit to be starting with little 'uns of my own).

3: Name something you would like to help achieve for somebody else:

That's a little harder. There's plenty I wish for other people, but not really within my powers. For example, I'd like my brother to be able to retire early, but there's not much I can do about it because I'm looking at a pretty low-cost retirement myself, even if I do wait until 65...

So, maybe from a professional perspective, I'd like to be mentor to a really good grad student and help him/her to become an accomplished teacher and researcher. But I guess that's as much for selfish reasons as for philanthropic reasons.

4: Name one place you haven’t been, but you’d like to go:

India. My brother's wife is from there so I hope I'll achieve this one sooner rather than later.

5: Name one person you haven’t met, but would like to:

My future wife.

6: Name three material things you would like:

a)... an *ss-kicking home entertainment system with TV channels from all over the world (including "real" BBC, not this BBCAmerica cr*p)

b)... an eco-friendly, smartly designed house that's not too big but has "smart space" (you know, lots of hidden storage, drop-down beds for guests, a loft space for gear, etc.)

c)... two new, top spec bionic knees

- that was a bit harder than I expected, but it made me sit up and realize that I haven't really thought about some of these things for a very long time. I really need to get an action plan

neil

She would be my first choice, but you're a lot closer.

Hiro11

The Action Plan

1: Name three things about yourself you would like to improve:
- Sleep more than the 5 hours a night I've been getting
- Spend less time posting on Expat message boards when I'm not an expat
- Not get so mad about Guardian editorials

2: Name something you would like to achieve:

a) Within 1 year:
- Break 40 minutes in a 10K

b) Within 5 years:
- Officer-level job

c) Within 10 years:
- Maintain my current weight/fitness

3: Name something you would like to help achieve for somebody else:
Short term:
- Help my wife maintain sanity while she's stuck at home with two kids

Longer term:
- See both my kids high school having been accepted to college and be able to pay for whatever school they want to go to.

4: Name one place you haven’t been, but you’d like to go:
- Mountains outside of Salzberg and/or Bavaria in the summer time

5: Name one person you haven’t met, but would like to:
- Ian Crocker, current world record holder in the 100M butterfly, a personal hero and (seemingly) all around cool guy.

6: Name three material things you would like:
a. a decent suit
b. a refrigerator that works (mine's on the fritz)
c. a repaired and buried sump-pump outlet hose (ditto)
I have low aspirations right now, I just want everything to stop breaking...

MsElui

The Action Plan

1: Name three things about yourself you would like to improve:
- setting a more consistent good example to the kids - ie eat better myself so they follow suit.
- getting fit (to keep up with the kids and hopefully keep healthy)
- able to get a part time job in a few years time thats challenging and interesting

2: Name something you would like to achieve:

a) Within 1 year: a third child and sell our hiliday home in Turkey

b) Within 5 years: a green card

c) Within 10 years: parents still alive and healthy - able to keep visiting



3: Name something you would like to help achieve for somebody else:
help my sons adjust well and get the most from their new life in the US

4: Name one place you haven’t been, but you’d like to go:
Machu Pichu or Ankor Watt

5: Name one person you haven’t met, but would like to:
Tony Blair (i cant quite imagine the pleasure I would get from introducing my fist to his conk!)

6: Name three material things you would like:

a). a new house (hopefully will be getting this in the autumn)

b). a modest lottery win (to pay off all the odds and sods debts we have accumlated back in the uk and to get my parents out to visit us more)

c). small holidays in all the different parts of america that im interested in

Lord Lionheart

I started out in my one bedroom apartment placing small ads and buying property with no money down.................... now I'm on the street in a cardboard box after the housing market went tits up

Tarkak9

The Action Plan

1: Name three things about yourself you would like to improve:
Organization, taking the initiative, achieving my goals!

2: Name something you would like to achieve:

a) Within 1 year: Pay off the house

b) Within 5 years: Pay off the house

c) Within 10 years: Pay off the house.

Oops - 1 yr - continue to expand my biz.
5 yr - get married.
10 yr - retire and do whatever I want.
3: Name something you would like to help achieve for somebody else:
happiness.

4: Name one place you haven’t been, but you’d like to go:
Nepal. I stupidly passed an oppuopportunitygo years ago.

5: Name one person you haven’t met, but would like to:
Just one?? I want to meet my two niecesne nephew who are back pondside... long story.

6: Name three material things you would like:

a)... tag watch.

b)... vacation home up in the hills to escape to and relax whenever I feel like it.

c)... Porsche 550 Spyder.