So here's the story.


I'm afraid of mediocrity. I'm afraid that if I don't do anything with my life, it'll be worth nothing. I don't need to change the world... but I need to change MY world.

In 2011, the year I turn 21, I'm setting out to achieve twenty one goals. Twenty one things that must be completed by 11:59 pm, December 31, 2011.

This is my journal.

This is the story of how I defeated mediocrity.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

The More You See, The Less You Know

Hey hey everybody! Back with another update to the blog with seven - yes, count'em SEVEN new goals to add to my list! Here's the updated article:


1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6. Cook dinner for me and five friends
7. See a game of sport, a concert, a comedy show, a musical and a theatre production
8. Paint a self-portrait
9. Learn a song on piano (or any instrument that's not guitar)
10. Read 25 important books
11. Create a 10-minute arthouse film
12. Create a photo album that represents my life
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

A lot of these goals scare me. But I guess that's kind of the point - it's fear that prevents us from doing things which might change our lives. And fear won't stop me this time. I'm even a little afraid of little things like whether or not I'll be able to get a video done every day of the year - it's a big ask. But I'm determined not to let the many times things like this in the past have failed affect me. I AM going to do this.

I do need a little help - while I have some idea of which books I want to read, I'd like some suggestions from you guys on books you think are important in our history. Suggestions are more than welcome! Also, if anyone has something for me to add to number 7 (see a sports game, a concert, a theatrical production, a musical and a comedy), please tell me so I can add it! 

If you haven't already, please click the 'follow' link to the right of this post and become a follower of this blog, I'd like to spread the word and have as many people as possible following my journey! If you have, thankyou so much :)

-Adam

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Ghost of You in My Heart

Hey all! I'm really excited that so many of you have responded to my posts on Facebook and been willing to comment and suggest, but please keep thinking of ideas! There's 21 spots and it's surprisingly a lot more than I thought.

The main reason for this post is that I've updated the list with a few more items:

1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

I've always wanted to get my motorcycle licence, and this is a good way to do it, I think. I really liked Bradley's idea of donating blood, so I've taken that onboard. Busking is something I'd be terrified of so I put that up there too! Road trip I put up there because I've driven across the nullabor before, but never on my own, so I may do that or even go up north or something.

I should also ask people if they have owned or currently own a blogging style camera. I'm getting one for Christmas, and I'll be getting hold of an HD handheld video camera of some sort, but there's a lot out there and I thought it might be worth asking if anyone knows of anything good.

Keep suggesting and commenting! Also, if you haven't already, please become a follower of the blog by clicking the 'follow' button on the right hand side of the page!

-Adam

Monday, November 1, 2010

Screams For Second Life (The Beginning)

November 1. Two months until the beginning of Project: Me Vs. Mediocrity.

If you don't know me, my name is Adam Heap. I'm a 20 year old arts student living in Western Australia. I'm passionate about English football, love, and writing (short stories and songs). Three words to describe me would be outgoing, fun, and creative.

I'm afraid of a number of things. Small bugs scare me easily - even things like moths. Crickets, too, those things jump far too high and fast for my liking. Snakes, too. Actually, just deadly animals in general (and moths and crickets). But something that scares me far more than bugs or rampaging octopii is mediocrity.

There is nothing worse in my mind than the possibility I might never really accomplish anything. Do I have dreams like any other young adult? Of course I do. I'll detail them in a future post, because this isn't the time and place for them, but I have ambitions of doing great things. Those things, however, are to come later in life, and I want to accomplish some great things now. And that fear has motivated me to do this - Me Vs. Mediocrity.

Basically, the idea is simply to have a list of 21 things that I aim to achieve in 2011, beginning on 00:00 January 1st and finishing at 23:59 December 31st. I haven't yet decided on what those 21 things are, so that's the aim of the next two months. I'm going to set some for myself, but I want my friends and family involved as well, forcing me to achieve all 21 of them.

To record these achievements, I'm going to be doing a video diary EVERY DAY of 2011. That's 365 videos. 21 of those will be specially devoted to the days on which I achieve those goals, but the remainder will be a chronicle of what I intend to be an awesome year as I prepare for the goal days, discuss the general, boring issues of my day and discover more about myself.

To my friends and family and anyone who just happens to stumble across this blog - it would really mean a lot to me if you followed it, commented on it, assisted me in any way possible. I want people to actually be witnesses to the fact that I achieved these things, to be involved in my journey, because on my own it might get boring.

But to begin with, I need goals. Things to achieve. I'll update this fairly regularly from now until Jan 1, where there'll be a post every day. But right now, I'm hunting for some things to do. And I want the people reading this to suggest some of these things. So please, comment, suggest, provide me with inspiration. I may not do everything, depending on its feasibility, but I want 21 goals that will take effort and yield satisfaction afterwards.

So without further ado, here is the list so far, complete with the first and (so far) only addition:

1. Record a five song EP
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

Here goes nothing.

-Adam