{"id":682,"date":"2009-12-08T14:11:40","date_gmt":"2009-12-08T19:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.adam-jackson.net\/?p=682"},"modified":"2009-12-08T14:11:40","modified_gmt":"2009-12-08T19:11:40","slug":"accomplishments-versus-life-expectancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2009\/12\/08\/accomplishments-versus-life-expectancy\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2605 Accomplishments versus Life Expectancy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:11956,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/macvoices\\\/358939029&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/macvoices\\\/358939029&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:14685,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/tychay\\\/2630743877&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20190131004259\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/tychay\\\/2630743877\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-06 05:47:50&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-10 22:11:59&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-10 22:11:59&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:14686,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/kyeung808\\\/4023973528&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20190131202337\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/kyeung808\\\/4023973528\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-11-06 05:47:51&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-10 22:11:57&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-10 22:11:57&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:14687,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/phpprincess\\\/4014650019&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20251106055013\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/phpprincess\\\/4014650019&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.flickr.com\\\/photos\\\/phpprincess\\\/4014650019&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-10 22:12:01&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2025-12-10 22:12:01&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p><em>Side Note: As with all of my blog posts, they\u2019re written by a guy who is writing based on his experiences. This is why most advice and teachings are bullshit anyway because fact is still one guy\u2019s idea and is long as enough people believe him, it becomes \u201ctruth\u201d (think Wikipedia). I\u2019m pretty sure that this post will look like complete idiocy when I\u2019m in my 40s or even 60s.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Lately, all of my side projects have slipped. Two things I\u2019m working on have taken a backseat to my primary day job and this is completely fine. I\u2019m sure my boss is enjoying the fact that I\u2019m in the office more and doing more work. Those three other things are severely lacking. Well, TweetforMyBiz is doing great! Three new clients this month and the new guy I hired is doing very very well and I just gave him a raise.<\/p>\n<p>My output now compared to July or August is radically different. It\u2019s scary actually and it\u2019s taken weeks for me to feel okay about leaving things undone before I go to bed. There are even some hobbies and new friends that I\u2019ve made because, at first, I used them as things to take my mind off of not getting any work done but I quickly evolved and recognized that and now I myself clear my virtual to-do list and I\u2019m a lot less stressed.<\/p>\n<p>My dad is going to be 47 in March. He looks like a guy in his mid-30s. He works hard, has raised 3 kids and runs a martial arts school as well as a gym. He\u2019s been a surfer, traveler, explorer and risk taker and yet people look at he and I and think that we are brothers. He\u2019s 34 and I\u2019m 27 but that\u2019s not the case. He\u2019s my dad and it\u2019s clear that he did something right. So many of my friends are turning 30 next year and so many of them, like me have a small stomach protruding, a couple of wrinkles and the beginnings of a receding hair line. Why? Well, most of my friends in their 30s have achieved some great things like starting a company, raising a few kids and writing one or 5 books.<\/p>\n<p>I have to choose a path and, like all paths, there are two extremes and then a middle ground. Lately, I\u2019m riding the middle but leaning toward the less work, more fun part of the scale. The middle ground is a challenge but I\u2019m getting there.<\/p>\n<p>My goal in 2010 will be radically different than previous years. This year, my goal was to launch 3 projects. Two of them launched and one has been severely delayed. I also decided to attend 10 conferences  this year and I surpassed that by attending 5 conferences out of the bay area and 10 more in the bay area. I also aimed to take more coffee meetings with random strangers and offer them advice but also get advice from them. I took an average of 1 coffee break per day Monday &#8211; Friday all year.<\/p>\n<p>The result of these goals: I went from a small size 34 waste to barely being able to fit in my 38 waist. I moved to San Francisco in June of 2008 weighing 225 pounds. Today, I weigh 274 pounds. I can still run 2 miles without breaking a sweat but my weight gain has clearly set me a part both socially and physically from the rest of the world and I stand by my philosophy that it\u2019s hypocritical to call someone out for smoking or being a slacker while stuffing your face with a twinkie as the opening credits to The Hills plays on your television. I don\u2019t blame my weight on a \u201cfat gene\u201d or the fact that fatty foods are so accessible. Instead, I blame it on my commitment to one thing: Success.<\/p>\n<p>Success can be measured in so many ways. I believe that no matter what I do, as long as I give 50% of what I was giving to my career, I\u2019ll be successful. I\u2019ll have my own company&#8230;one day and I\u2019ll launch a cool product&#8230;one day. Why the rush? I thought that I had a timer which I do but it\u2019s a timer that will tick whether I stare at it day and night of if I throw it in the trash. This is something I\u2019m realizing.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not going to lose weight in 2010 or at least that\u2019s not my goal. My goal is to run 5 miles, do an hour of crossfit, drink more tea and make a friend that I can finally call a \u201cbest friend.\u201d I\u2019ve never had a best friend and I think it\u2019s time I let someone in and share more than just the superficial stuff. The past 12 months taught me so much and \u201c&#8230;with a little help from my friends\u201d I\u2019ll be doing things differently from here on.<\/p>\n<p><em>Final note: here are some before and after photos. The first two were taken in 2007 \/ 2008 when I weighed between 215 and 220 pounds:<\/em><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 312px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/macvoices\/358939029\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img  loading=\"lazy\"  decoding=\"async\"  class=\"  pk-lazyload\"  title=\"http:\/\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/154\/358939029_327a7cd5cf.jpg\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"Taken January 2007 at Macworld (Photo: Chuck of MacVoices)\"  width=\"312\"  height=\"234\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"http:\/\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/154\/358939029_327a7cd5cf.jpg\" ><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taken January 2007 at Macworld (Photo: Chuck of MacVoices)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 312px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/tychay\/2630743877\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img  loading=\"lazy\"  decoding=\"async\"  class=\"   pk-lazyload\"  title=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3267\/2630743877_ab77b84bc0.jpg\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"Taken June 8th, 2009 (Photo: Terry Chay)\"  width=\"312\"  height=\"208\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3267\/2630743877_ab77b84bc0.jpg\" ><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taken June 8th, 2009 (Photo: Terry Chay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 2nd two were taken in the last month while I was at Blogworld in Las Vegas. I&#8217;m now at 274 pounds.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 312px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/kyeung808\/4023973528\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img  loading=\"lazy\"  decoding=\"async\"  class=\"  pk-lazyload\"  title=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2624\/4023973528_6c495c3ef9.jpg\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"Blogworld 2009 (Photo: (cc) Kenneth Yeung - www.thelettertwo.com)\"  width=\"312\"  height=\"208\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2624\/4023973528_6c495c3ef9.jpg\" ><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blogworld 2009 (Photo: (cc) Kenneth Yeung - www.thelettertwo.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 263px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/phpprincess\/4014650019\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img  loading=\"lazy\"  decoding=\"async\"  class=\"  pk-lazyload\"  title=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/bk_store\/00\/7c\/007caa2f6852fca7e258e63b51fab7f2.png\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"Blogworld 2009 (Photo: (cc) Kenneth Yeung - www.thelettertwo.com)\"  width=\"263\"  height=\"350\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"http:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/bk_store\/00\/7c\/007caa2f6852fca7e258e63b51fab7f2.png\" ><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blogworld 2009 (Photo: (cc) Kenneth Yeung - www.thelettertwo.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The point I&#8217;m trying to make is that I&#8217;ve had many successes in the past year and I&#8217;ve progressed in a big way when you&#8217;re measuring my accomplishments but none of that matters. Living a long and full life will ultimately lead to more happiness and becoming closer to becoming awake. Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Side Note: As with all of my blog posts, they\u2019re written by a guy who is writing based&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-motivational","7":"cs-entry","8":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-b0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":183,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2009\/04\/03\/going-to-burning-man-2009-advice-needed\/","url_meta":{"origin":682,"position":0},"title":"\u2605 Going to Burning Man 2009. [Advice Needed]","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"April 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I received some good news from a new friend and I'm very lucky to have some really cool and thoughtful friends. While at the LaughingSquid Post-SXSW Drinkup on March 27th, I met a guy who was very involved in Burning Man. I'm not going to reveal his identity or what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Announcements&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":469,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2009\/08\/14\/what-i-want-for-my-birthday\/","url_meta":{"origin":682,"position":1},"title":"\u2605 What I want for my Birthday","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"August 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'll be 23 on August 26th. I'm not having a party. In fact, I'm going to work and will probably be working late. I don't want any cards or gifts but if you're committed to giving me something, I want it to be a donation to a charity. Since I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Charity&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2009\/02\/27\/apologies-and-my-current-workload\/","url_meta":{"origin":682,"position":2},"title":"\u2605 Apologies and My Current Workload","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"February 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been lacking on a few things lately. One of those is parties. I haven't attended tech events as much as I was. I'm not tired of parties. In fact, I totally love parties, tech events, happy hours and mixers. I miss everyone but I've been pretty busy. The other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3219,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/10\/11\/a-healthy-life-part-five\/","url_meta":{"origin":682,"position":3},"title":"\u2605 A Healthy Life \u2013 Part Five","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"October 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It was inevitable that I'd do another one of these posts centered on healthy living. My journey began last year when I was nearly a 23-year-old diabetic after spending the first 20 years of my life in martial arts, bodybuilding, running and surfing alongside my father who is a personal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Posing @ FBI Headquarters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.static.flickr.com\/6122\/6208129061_6c4a2f69f0_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.static.flickr.com\/6122\/6208129061_6c4a2f69f0_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.static.flickr.com\/6122\/6208129061_6c4a2f69f0_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1649,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/01\/31\/justin-bieber-does-not-deserve-to-die\/","url_meta":{"origin":682,"position":4},"title":"\u2605 Justin Bieber Does Not Deserve to Die","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"January 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Bieber has sold more records than most people will in their lifetime and he's only 16. I did some research before writing this post and I've determined that the kid has talent and the marketing engine keeps \u00a0him busy and making money. He can play real instruments and can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Rants&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Rants","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/rants\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2359,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2011\/05\/13\/photography-as-a-hobby-versus-profession\/","url_meta":{"origin":682,"position":5},"title":"\u2605 Photography as a Hobby versus Profession","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"May 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Micah Albert: \u2013 Most working professionals don\u2019t dwell on gear. What\u2019s funny (a lot of times not) is that hobbyist spend more time focusing on gear and talking about it, than becoming a better photographer. The thing is hobbyist have day jobs and having the latest equipment is more of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Photography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"My \"new\" Canon AE-1 SLR","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5293\/5446530821_f56a6d527d_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5293\/5446530821_f56a6d527d_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5293\/5446530821_f56a6d527d_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}