MY GROWTH PLAN

Nate Nineth-Grader - 2/7/2012

MY SELF-IDENTITY, LIFE PURPOSE AND 5-YEAR MISSION

My Self-Identity and Life-Purpose	My 5-year Mission
My Self-Identity is that I see myself as: becoming a powerful Black man that has a strong, positive effect on my society and community. 7/05/2008 My Life-Purpose is to: become a role model to others whenever they need help with anything. 7/04/2008	By the end of 2015, I will have worked smart enough and hard enough to: get closer to my family, win the state championship, graduate in May '11 with a 3.5 average, and get into a top-rated university on a major scholarship. 2/05/2009

MY KEY VALUES AND BEHAVIORAL GROUNDRULES

Priority	Key Value	Behavioral Groundrules
1	Achieving & Persevering 4/13/2009	1) I will stay motivated and keep trying to achieve anything I start out to do. 2) I will avoid things that will keep me from achieving my goals.
2	Family 4/13/2009	1) I will treat my family as if they are me. 2) I will make my family the biggest thing in my life.
3	Positive Attitude 7/05/2008	1) I will have a positive attitude towards people and things around me. 2) I will avoid people and things that bring me down or hold me back.
4	Education & Learning 7/05/2008	1) I will focus on working hard & getting the job done! 2) I won't let no one distract me from learning things new and challenging throughout my life.
5	Responsibility & Accountability 7/05/2008	1) I will be responsible and accountable for what I need to do. 2) I won't let myself get behind and out of control.
6	Fun 8/28/2008	1) I will take time to kick-back and have fun with my friends. 2) I won't allow having fun get in the way of other things I need to do.
7	Self-Control 7/05/2008	1) I will walk away from situations that are going to force me to get angry. 2) I will be proactive and put myself in positive situations.

MY LONG-TERM ACHIEVEMENT GOALS

Category	Long-Term Achievement Goal
Work/Career	1) I want to be in the NBA. If not the NBA, I want to play overseas. 2) After basketball, I want to be an archeologist. 8/28/2008
Education/Learning	1) I want to graduate from high school and from a 4-year university with a major in archeology. 2) Then, I want to get a master's degree or PhD in archeology. 7/17/2008
Family/Relationships	1) Build better and stronger communication with my family and be a role model for my little sister and cousin. 2) Someday, have a wife and some children, and make sure that I'm there for them every day of my life. 7/17/2008

MY PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Priority	Personal Development Goal/Description	Action-Steps to Achieve This Goal
1	Manage My Time I need to balance my time for doing tasks and for having fun. 10/01/2008	1) Keep track of how I use my time for a week and make sure I have enough time to get things done. 2) Treat my time as money that I need to spend wisely.
2	Stop, Reflect & Plan Ahead Because I tend to jump right into saying or doing things, I need to stop and reflect on what is at hand and plan out my steps. 7/17/2008	1) Count to 10 or 100 before mouthing off. 2) Write down and follow a plan for getting things done ... and make sure I can take on only things I know I can finish.
3	Develop Leadership Skills I need to expand my interest in leading projects that create something new and useful to others. 8/28/2008	1) At school or during the summer, create a project that gets others involved in creating something new and useful. 2) Read books about successful entrepreneurs.
4	Use Logic & Don't Over-Personalize I need to include the logical implications in my decision-making process in order to avoid over-personalizing the conflict or situation 7/11/2008	1) Use my brain rather than my heart or feelings to make my tough decisions. 2) Practice not taking things so personally.
5	Develop Problem-Solving Ability I need to build upon my interest in investigating and solving abstract, complex problems that use my math skills. 7/17/2008	1) Ask my science or math teacher for some abstract, complex problems I can work on. 2) Look for opportunities on my summer jobs to take on and solve complex problems.

MY ANNUAL OBJECTIVES TO REACH MY LIFE-GOALS BY THE END OF 2015

My 2011 Objectives To Reach This Goal	My 2012 Objectives To Reach This Goal	My 2013 Objectives To Reach This Goal	My 2014 Objectives To Reach This Goal	My 2015 Objectives To Reach This Goal	Priority	Key Life-Goal/ Description
Suggest that we set up specific times when we talk as a family, rather than mouthing off at each other in the heat of the moment. 7/12/2008	Send a lot more time helping my little nephew, and be more civil to my sister. 7/11/2008	Focus on getting closer to my Dad. 7/11/2008	Improve, improve, improve. 7/11/2008	Establish a new way of communicating when I go away to college. 7/11/2008	1	My Family I will get closer to my family, respect my sister more, and be a good role model for my little cousin. 10/02/2008 Maintain
Don't run with the wrong crowd and stay out of trouble. 7/11/2008	Don't run with the wrong crowd and stay out of trouble. 7/11/2008	Don't run with the wrong crowd and stay out of trouble. 7/11/2008	Don't run with the wrong crowd and stay out of trouble. 7/11/2008	Don't drink too much and continue to stay out of trouble while in college. 7/11/2008	2	Stay Out Of Trouble I will stay out of trouble so I don't get caught up in things that I can't get out of and so I don't have a record. 8/26/2008 Maintain
Have a at least a 3.25 average at the end of my freshman year in high school. 7/11/2008	Have at least a 3.35 average after my sophomore year. 7/11/2008	Have at least a 3.40 average after my junior year. 7/11/2008	Have a at least a 3.50 average when I graduate in May. 7/11/2008	Have a at least a B average at the end of my 1st semester in college. 7/11/2008	3	H. S. Graduation I will graduate in May 2011 with a 3.0 ave. or better. 8/28/2008 High Growth
Begin searching the net and attending college info sessions and college fairs for underclassmen, and make a list of desired colleges. 7/12/2008	Research college scholarships, continue attending college info sessions, and visit 1 or more college campuses on my list. 7/12/2008	Study for college exams, and begin applying for colleges & scholarships. 7/12/2008	Submit college and scholarship applications, and decide between the colleges where I'm accepted. 7/12/2008	Start out in college with good grades, and begin looking at archeology careers. 7/12/2008	4	College & Career I will get into a good college on a scholarship so I can play basketball, graduate with honors, and go on to get my masters so I can be an archeologist. 8/28/2008 High Growth
Make sure I make at least 2 new friends at high school, and be careful who I run around with. 7/11/2008	Make 2 more new friends who will help each other stay out of trouble and meet each other's goals. 7/12/2008	Make 2 more new friends who will help each other stay out of trouble and meet each other's goals. 7/12/2008	Make sure my friends and stay out of trouble, finish school, and get into good colleges. 7/12/2008	Make new friends at college who help me stay out of trouble and meet my goals. 7/12/2008	5	My Friends I will watch out for my friends, make sure they don't get kicked out of school, and be a source for them to get through life. But, I won't let them be a distraction. 8/28/2008 Low Growth
Improve my BB skills so I can make the freshman team. 7/12/2008	Improve my BB skills so I can be a starter on the Jr. Varsity or Varsity team. 7/11/2008	Improve my BB skills so I am a top scorer on the team and we win at least the city-wide championship. 7/11/2008	Improve my BB skills so we can win state championship and get the "Mr. Basketball" award. 7/12/2008	Start all over - improve my BB skils so I can make the freshman team in college. 7/11/2008	6	Sports I will work hard on my game so we can win the state championship and I am named "Mr. Basketball" my senior year. 8/28/2008 High Growth
Find and use a regular quiet time for talking to God every day. 7/11/2008	Continue talking to God daily, attend church at least 2 times a month and become involved in my church youth group. 7/11/2008	Continue talking to God daily, attend church at least 3 times a month, and become the leader of my church youth group. 7/11/2008	Same as 2010. 7/11/2008	Continue talking to God daily and find a church to attend when I'm away at college. 7/11/2008	7	God & Spirituality I will talk to God more so I can be in more contact with God, attend church more often, and stay loyal to my religion. 7/05/2008 Growth
Join at least 1 school activity and get a summer job where I can help kids. 7/11/2008	Volunteer to help on a major school project and become a leader's assistant at a summer job where I can help kids. 7/11/2008	Be elected to the Student Council, lead a major school activity or organization, and a leader at a summer job that helps kids. 7/11/2008	Be elected President of the Student Council, captain of the BB team, and the #1 leader at a summer job that helps kids. 7/11/2008	Get involved in at least 1 college activity where I can further develop my leadership skills. 7/11/2008	8	Leadership I will become a leader at my school and on summer jobs so people look up to me and follow what I do. 7/12/2008 High Growth
Begin dating and try to find a special girlfriend that I like and respect. 7/12/2008	Have a number of girlfriends that I like and respect, and who shares my values. 7/11/2008	Have a steady girlfriend and, if we do it, we do it safe. 7/11/2008	Have a steady girlfriend and, if we do it, we do it safe. 7/11/2008	Date around at college and keep it safe. 7/12/2008	9	Dating & Sex I will have a steady girlfriend that likes to spend time with me; and I will "wrap it up" because if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it safe. 8/28/2008 Growth
Take a driver's ed course and pass my driver's license. 7/11/2008	Drive my parent's car and save some of my summer job pay to help pay for a used car of my own. 7/11/2008	Use some of my summer job pay to help pay for a used car of my own, and don't mess up so my parents say I can't drive my car. 7/11/2008	Use some of my summer job pay to help pay for running my car, and don't mess up so I can't drive my car. 7/11/2008	Get along without a car at college. 7/11/2008	10	My Car By my senior year, I will have a car so my parents can stop taking me everywhere and so I can take my little sister places with no problem. 7/12/2008 Low Growth

MY VISIONARY DESCRIPTION OF MY LIFE IN 2015 when I HAVE ACHIEVED MY GOALS

EMAIL SENT DECEMBER 10, 2015 TO PETE, MY OL' HIGH SCHOOL RUNNIN' BUDDY:

Hey, Pete, let's get together and catch up when we're both home for our first Christmas since leaving for college. I'll be leaving UF here in Gainesville tomorrow. When do you get into The Cities from UCLA?

I can't wait to see my family again -- we're so much closer these days compared to back when when I started high school. By the way, that's one of the best things My Growth Plan helped me to do.

I'm really looking forward to all of us guys getting together again over vacation to re-hash good times from our Henry High School years. Like, remember when both of us were recognized during graduation as honor students with about 3.5 averages? Or, when we won the state championship? And, I got to say, it really felt getting that Mr. Basketball trophy!

But, enough about the past.

Things are great so far in my classes, especially my intro archeology class! And, you know what? You'll laugh, but I'm still able to "zone out" everything that's going on around me for my daily "talks with God" that keep me connected with God and loyal to my faith. And, you'll laugh again, but on the "self-improvement front", just like in high school, I am becoming known around here as "Mr. Cool" because I remain cool, calm, and collected when things really get hot around me.

And, just in case you're wondering . . . YES, I still use my handy little red "day planner" to keep track of how I use my time to get a whole lot of things done; YES, Tanya and I are still a long-distance item; and NO, she's not pregnant, and isn't going to be ... at least by me.

Catch ya later, Pete, when we're both back home in the ol' neighborhood for the holidays.

-- Nate
1/27/2011
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MY BARRIER ANALYSIS

My Biggest Barrier to Achieving My Goals	What I Will Do to Overcome This Barrier
Allowing my quick-fire mouth and emotions and spending too much time goofing off with my friends to get me in trouble or to keep me from getting things done I need to get done. 7/14/2008 8:57:00 AM	I will count to 100 before mouthing off, and I will be very careful who I run around with.

MY GROWTH PLANNate Nineth-Grader - 2/7/2012