“Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.”

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You thought 2010 was your year to break out on your own. Create your own business – an online empire that would yield you income and financial freedom.

But then American Idol had a special, you had to find out what happened on the last season of Lost (and blog about it), and, what is that?… Sarah Palin has a reality show?

Frankly, you blew the year with distractions.

It is easy to do…I mean…distractions are so…well… distracting.

It is so much easier to chat about how Obama is some secret plant by the Soviets sent to destroy America or how Starbucks is adding stuff to their coffee to make people want to buy an accompanying muffin.

Hey, those are much better topics because, frankly, who the hell wants to look within for reasons of not accomplishing your goals?

Dare to peek into the looking glass? Then read on…

Here are the Top 7 reason 2010 sucked and how you can change all that for 2011.

1. Get Real – Quit cutting corners looking for some get-rich-quick program or new money-making shiny object with instant riches. There are plenty of ways to be successful but, guess what, they all will take work. Plan on learning about something in 2011. I mean really doing your homework – not just buy some box of CD’s that will sit by your front door until you sell them on eBay six months later.

2. Email Sucks – If someone sends you any email that says, “Make $1293.23 in two days,” delete it….FAST. Stop reading that crap. Those guys make money by selling the concept of making money. Period. That is it. Do you REALLY think some seven-year-old discovered the secrets of Google and made $10 million dollars on Adsense in her sleep? Get Real and just stick to reading emails from your kid (unless that is who is sending them to you).

3. Stop doing “work” and start getting results. It is easy to do busy work. Lots of stuff that, at the end of the day, didn’t earn you a dime but feels like you did something. Pretty logo’s, business cards, cute names for your company, color-perfect websites. Before any task, ask yourself, “Will this make me money?” If you can’t answer a big “yes,” in the short term…move on to something that will.

4. Set a real deadline already. Quit saying something is “in the works” or it will forever be in the works. When will it be done? Set a deadline (and actual date and time) and tell friends to kick you in the ass if you don’t meet it.

5. Quit Bitching You Big Baby– The world owes you nothing. Life Sucks…get a helmet. Either do something or don’t do something. But don’t make up a million excuses “why” you couldn’t do something. Some people spend more time making excuses than it would have taken to use that same amount of time to just do the damn thing. Just do it already or quit whining about it.

6. Stop Twittering, Facebooking, and playing Farmville. – That huge sucking sound in the background when you fire up Facebook is the sound of your life going down the drain. You are not a real farmer and you are not “keeping in touch with your friends” – you are maintaining a narcissistic website all about you (and that is ok if you are a Diva with nothing better to do). Don’t make excuses that social media is anything other than that. Want to talk to a friend? Pick up the frigging phone and call them – it probably automatically forwards to their Facebook account anyway.

7. Admit that several of these things apply to YOU. I did. It is easy to read this and say, “heck yes, those people are idiots!” In reality, you are probably one of them. Hell, we all are.

So… the best advice I could give that would be all encompassing and get 2011 back on track to your goals…. “Stop it already.”

I hope you have a great 2011. If you don’t, it is probably your own fault.

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This is the official Godfadr Play list for the Holidays…enjoy!

Father Christmas - The Kinks

Mr. Heatmiser - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) - The Ramones

You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Whirling Dervishes

St. Stephen’s Day Murders - The Chieftains & Elvis Costello Christmas

Wrapping The – Waitresses

Christmas at the Zoo - The Flaming Lips

I Won’t Be Home for Christmas (Previously Unreleased) - Blink-182

Mrs. Claus - Bob Ricci

Daddy’s Drinkin’ Up Our Christmas - The Christmas Jug Band

Don’t Believe In Christmas - Smash Mouth

Red Water (Christmas Mourning) - Type O Negative

Christmas At Ground Zero - Weird Al Yankovic

Elf’s Lament - Barenaked Ladies Feat. Micheal Buble

Please Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas) - The Decemberists

Little Drummer Boy - The Dandy Warhols

In Like a Lion (Always Winter) - Relient K

Silent Night-  Sinéad O’Connor

12.23.95 - Jimmy Eat World

Keegan’s Christmas - Marcy Playground

Let It Snow - Luscious Jackson

Angel, Won’t You Call Me - The Decemberists

Holiday Fortnight (Remastered) - The Specials

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Thrills

The Chanukah Song – Adam Sandler

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - The Alarm

My Baby Fell for Ol’ St. Nick - Dada Ante Portas

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer - The Smithereens

Santa Baby - Everclear

The Little Drum Machine Boy - Beck

Jesus Christ Was an Only Child - Modest Mouse

I Want an Alien for Christmas - Fountains of Wayne

Let me Sleep (It is Christmas Time) – Pear Jam (recommended by Rachel @ DontMindBe)

I reserve the right to amend this list at any time based on my personal taste and recommendations by others (leave comments below).

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I alluded to it a couple posts ago when I got rid of my sports car. This time, it was my Harley Davidson edition F150.

The project (or should I say “experiment”) will be in full swing in 2011.

Behind the scenes is the creation of a new website (actually three sites, but that is another story for later).

Needless to say, I am probably going through some sort of “what-the-hell-does-it-all-mean” phase or, at the very least, trying to shake things up a bit. I suppose most people at this stage run out and buy some stuff – I am doing the opposite.

My eBay account has been in full swing (the only difference that is that I am selling stuff, not buying stuff). Anything that I can’t (or won’t) sell is pretty much being donated. Cars, Toys, Property, you name it.

This isn’t really the site to ramble on about this.

I have not forgot that The Slow Bleed was largely a place for me to vent about whatever I felt was dragging down the cumulative gene pool of this country (or society). There is certainly no shortage of those stories still out there, I just find that, after awhile, the writing about them sort of gets to you.

Anyway…stay tuned if you desire or dare and thanks for the support.

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Now before you call PETA and get all worked up, it is just a plastic duck supplied by Harley-Davidson. The goal? Send 40 pink ducks out into the world and see where they end up (while raising awareness for breast cancer of course).

It was fun and the duck was surprisingly a good co-pilot (despite the continuing need to nudge us in a southern direction).

Once my duck (officially known as #39) cruised through the North Carolina mountains he was sent on to Florida to join another rider. That is the goal, take the duck for a ride, snap a couple photos, and pass him on.

You can find all the details about duck #39 (and plenty of photos) at the Grand Rapids Pink Duck Project on Facebook.

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