2022 Resolutions in review

I was near the end of 2022, it is time to review my resolutions. How did you do?

1) Half Marathon in April - I hope it will be in person.  Click here if you want to run it as well. Recently, I had many physical limitations to training; however, hoping for a fresh start in 2022.

Success!  I did run the half marathon with Suzy. It was a disaster of a night as there was an electrical fire in the hotel we were staying in. The power was shut off and we were outside waiting for almost two hours in the middle of the night. Didn't sleep much and had to hike up 12 flights of stairs and back down to run the race. I did well, but was about 10 minutes off my goal at 2 hours.

2) Publish the next book in my kid's series - my most recent book, "Billy's Most Embarrassing Day" was so much fun to write! All of my books are available on my website, Travis Publications.

Nope! Didn't do it. Frankly, I need a break from writing books that don't sell.  :-)

My job in curriculum requires a lot of writing so that was my focus in the second half of 2022.

3) Continue to work on stress levels  - figuring out how to effectively balance life and work. There isn't a real way to measure this quantitatively, so I will just have to monitor it on a regular basis.

Success! I have been feeling a lot better about stress and balance. I am working on running 62 miles for the month of December.  And, another half marathon is on the horizon for 2023.

Take care, everyone, stay safe and set your own goals.

Mike's 2022 New Year Resolutions

As I sat down to think about my resolutions for 2022, I realized I never published resolutions for last year or even set any. I was in a dark place with the pandemic and other things, and couldn't really think about goals.

However, I am in a much better place at this moment!  Except for a recurring pandemic that never dies.

So, let's get to it:

1) Half Marathon in April - I hope it will be in person.  Click here if you want to run it as well. Recently, I had many physical limitations to training; however, hoping for a fresh start in 2022.

2) Publish the next book in my kid's series - my most recent book, "Billy's Most Embarrassing Day" was so much fun to write! All of my books are available on my website, Travis Publications.

3) Continue to work on stress levels  - figuring out how to effectively balance life and work. There isn't a real way to measure this quantitatively, so I will just have to monitor it on a regular basis.

Take care, everyone, stay safe and set your own goals.

Mike's 2020 New Year's Resolutions

It is hard to believe we have reached another milestone in history, the year 2020.  Remember in education when we were saying, "21st Century Skills"?  And, that was 20 years ago!

As always, I love to share my New Year's Resolutions in the hope that it will inspire others to take on resolutions as well.  Setting goals and trying to achieve them is the best way to grow as a human.
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Mike's 2020 New Year's Resolutions:

1) Continue to combat the effects of stress in my life.  This resolution involves not only my personal stress, but the stress of others in my family and around me.  Again, not a measurable one, so to speak; however, one way to check my stress is to mark "red" days on the calendar when I didn't do well with stress.  I will look for patterns and work to lessen those numbers.  Combating stress for me involves a number of things:

• Eating healthy meals (I just got an Air Fryer and an InstaPot as gifts, I am going to try and cook more meals at home).
• Exercising more (with my second goal, I will have to do more running)
• Look for opportunities to relax and put away the work and devices and just "live"

2) Run a half-marathon in April.  As many of you know, I have run many half-marathons and 6 full marathons.  I was training for my 7th marathon in December of 2012 when my knee had extreme pain.  I eventually had surgery in the summer of 2013.  Doctors said I would never run again.  However, with acupuncture and dietary changes, I started running again slowly a few years ago.  I am up to about 3 times per week.  I am ready!  It is time to train for a race.  The race I am signing up for is the Windward Half Marathon.  Ironically, this is the first half marathon I ever ran in 2008 and it was by mistake (see link).  Of course, this lead me to running many more marathons in the future, so I can't complain too much.

3) Publish my 5th book!  In November of 2019, I completed my fifth NaNoWriMo.  This is the National Novel Writing Month Contest with the goal of writing 50,000 words in one month.  I have used this contest as the impetus to publish four books.  I am going for five this year!  This year's book is a prequel to my Cooper's Destiny trilogy and will be about how Cooper becomes a freelancer.  Since I have seen so much excitement at my elementary school for books, I am writing this book at that level.  It is a fun opportunity to draw in some interest to my series.  If you are interested in my books, you can find them on Amazon or here at my website - travispublications.com.

And, that is it!  I can't wait to hear about all your New Year's Resolutions as well.

With Aloha,

-Mike :-)

My 2019 New Year's Resolutions

Welcome to 2019!  What will this year hold?  How will life change?  We can only predict the future, but not guarantee it.  

One way to help you predict your future is 

to make New Year's Resolutions and stick to them!

Here are my 2019 Resolutions:

#1 - Combat the Effects of Stress - I have learned a lot about stress over the past few years from my acupuncturist. Stress has a direct effect on your body's natural ability to fight illness, disease, and overall well being.  I know going into 2019 that it will be a stressful year. I need to prepare to combat the effects of stress so I don't internalize the feelings and make myself sick, or take out the stress on my loved ones.  For this resolution, these are the steps I will be taking to combat it:

1. Run at least two times per week (try for 3 days, if possible)
2. Do yoga once a week either in a studio or on my own
3. Take time for myself to write at least once a week (writing for pleasure has been a big stress relief and it helped me to produce and publish three books so far, check them out at http://travispublications.com/
4. Enjoy the beach!  We are only three miles from one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, I need to take advantage of this and sit at least once a week and watch the waves roll in.
5. Deep breathing exercises - there is a lot to be said about just taking a minute and taking some deep cleansing breaths.  Just a few of them can clear your head and prepare you for the next task.
6. Finally, when I am feeling stressed, do one of the five steps above!  It is important to recognize when stress begins to take over and take steps to alleviate it.

#2 - Publish the final book in my Cooper's Destiny Trilogy

For this year, I have chosen only two resolutions.  The reason is that the first one is something that will be challenging on a daily basis. If I can learn to combat the effects of stress, I will live longer and love my life more, which is more important than any other resolution I could make!

Happy 2019 to everyone!

2018 New Year's Resolutions - Revisited

Every year I go back and look at my resolutions to see how I did.  This year is no different.

#1 - Successfully move back to the windward side of the island

Success!  We found a wonderful fixer-upper in Kaneohe and we are very happy we are back on the Windward side enjoying the beach.

#2 - Publish the second book in my Cooper's Destiny series  

Success!  Book was published in August, a few weeks late, but I did it!  I actually have the first draft complete for the third and final book in my series.

There are now six books at the Travis Publications line - three are mine and three are my mom's, please check them out at: http://travispublications.com/.

#3 - Habituate Good Behaviors  ---  Success! 

While I didn't do everything on this list below, I have been running at least three times a week and trying to do other exercises when I can.  Most of the other exercise is working on the house, but it counts!

The body habituates to good and bad behaviors; a body at rest will stay at rest. While not as quantifiable, I want to focus on habituating good behaviors, examples of this are:

• Running at least two times per week
• Doing other exercise at least three times per week, whether it be lifting, yoga, swimming, etc.
• Eating healthier - ensuring that I have vegetables at lunch and dinner, avoiding the high sugar desserts, and most of all, focusing on avoiding dairy and gluten products
• Taking time to relax and enjoy the place I live at least once a week - even it if is only for half an hour, just taking time away from technology to enjoy this beautiful island

#4 - Setting Fun, Healthy Exercise Goals that others can Join in on every 1-2 Months

Success, sort of ...  I started out the year with a goal for everyone, but not many people participated.  So, I kind of left this one behind.  I have set personal goals and met them.

A thought from a friend encouraged me to create the 1st Annual Veterans Day Virtual 5k/10k Run on Facebook (link here). People from around the country joined me in the adventure. Then, at the end of November, I asked people to join me in "1000 push-ups before the end of 2017." These challenges were doable and fun.  I want to continue creating these social media exercise goals as a way to bring others together for healthy living.

Geez, I think, this might be my best year on resolutions yet!  Remember, setting resolutions helps you to think about the upcoming year and decide on your short and long-term goals.  Go for it!

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

-Mike :-)

2018 New Year Resolutions

Welcome to 2018!

The first time I posted New Year Resolutions on this blog was in for 2012.  It is now six years later.  A lot has changed in my life since then, but I am a firm believer in setting goals to help guide my future.  I hope all of you will consider resolutions (goals) as well.

Now, let's get to those resolutions!

#1 - Successfully move back to the windward side of the island - In 2005, our family had a decision to make; we were living in the smallest house in Kailua (3 bed, 1 bath, 700 sq. ft.).  It was in a wonderful location, only 3 blocks from the beach, but it was just too small for a family of four. We decided to move to Mililani. It was an excellent decision and I won't forget the 12 years we lived in our townhome. However, with our oldest daughter graduating this year from Mililani High School, we are ready to move back to the Windward side and to the beautiful beaches. The plan is to move in June.  Here we come Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe, or Kaaawa!

#2 - Publish the second book in my Cooper's Destiny series  
It is hard to believe that I have written three books in three years. I think I have the writer's bug, if there is one. I am struggling a little more with this story and finishing it up, but I should be able to publish before the end of the summer, I hope.  In case you are interested, here is draft of the synopsis for the new book:  In 2201, most humans live in underground cities; however, space travel is expanding. In Book One: Topside, we met Cooper, a 14-year-old boy with a knack for fixing things. He made his living as a freelancer going “topside” to the ravaged cities in search of treasure. When an old man tells him that his purpose can be greater, Cooper ventured to the stars and began his training to become an Astro-Mechanical Engineer to one day make an interstellar trip to a new planet. However, a terrorist organization known as Earth Only Agents (the EOA), has different plans for the future of mankind and for Cooper.

There are now four books at the Travis Publications line - two are mine and two are my mom's, please check them out at:  http://travispublications.com/.


#3 - Habituate Good Behaviors
The body habituates to good and bad behaviors; a body at rest will stay at rest. While not as quantifiable, I want to focus on habituating good behaviors, examples of this are:

• Running at least two times per week
• Doing other exercise at least three times per week, whether it be lifting, yoga, swimming, etc.
• Eating healthier - ensuring that I have vegetables at lunch and dinner, avoiding the high sugar desserts, and most of all, focusing on avoiding dairy and gluten products
• Taking time to relax and enjoy the place I live at least once a week - even it if is only for half an hour, just taking time away from technology to enjoy this beautiful island

#4 - Setting Fun, Healthy Exercise Goals that others can Join in on every 1-2 Months
A thought from a friend encouraged me to create the 1st Annual Veterans Day Virtual 5k/10k Run on Facebook (link here). People from around the country joined me in the adventure. Then, at the end of November, I asked people to join me in "1000 push-ups before the end of 2017." These challenges were doable and fun.  I want to continue creating these social media exercise goals as a way to bring others together for healthy living.

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These four resolutions will certainly keep me busy this year!

I hope you take the time to choose at least one New Year Resolution and try to complete it. Setting goals is good, it is how we can reach beyond ourselves to grow and change.

Have a wonderful 2018 and please stay in touch!

-Mike :-)

2017 New Year's Resolutions - Revisited

We have come to the end of 2017. Yes!

It is time to take a look at my New Year's Resolutions and see how I did.


#1 - Family, Home, and Love -  The world has become a lot angrier over the last year through the election season; sadly, I don't think 2017 will get much better.   So, how do we navigate the world around us?  Well, the best way for me is to take care of my family, to make sure my home is a happy place, and to treat everyone around me with respect, love, and care.  I have no idea how I will assess the success of completing this resolution; however, I think, it is a goal we all need to set.

This year was a great year for family. I saw my sister and her family in January for a gymnastics meet.  Then, in June we had a wonderful family reunion on the beach in Kailua. So wonderful to have everyone together and time with family.  I will call this one accomplished!

#2 -  Publish my second book - I took on the National Novel Writing Month competition again in November of 2016 and what came out of it was my first attempt at science fiction.  I am well over the 50,000 words; however, the book needs some work. My New Year's Resolution is to finish it and get it published.  Look out sci-fi fans, I might give you something interesting to read sometime in late summer!

I did it!  Published my second book and my first science fiction novel.  Meet Cooper, a 14-year-old boy with a knack for fixing things. He is one of the freelancers still willing to go “topside” to ravaged cities in search of treasure. When an old man tells him that his purpose can be greater, Cooper must examine his family's past and consider a future in the stars.

Click here to see the ordering options - http://travispublications.com/



#3 - Learn how to do a dive - Well, this one is a carryover from 2016.  I never learned how to dive as a child, even though the rest of my family can dive just fine.  Now that I have been swimming so much, I need to try and learn to dive.

I hope you enjoy the video of me finally learning to dive after 49 years on this Earth!  I have to thank Suzy, my wife, and my sister and brother-in-law for their advice in making this happen.  I also have to thank my parents for renting a place for all of us on the beach that had a pool that was 10 feet deep, which gave me time to learn and practice

We recorded this on Facebook Live, which was fun!

#4 - Staying Healthy and Strong - Oh, man, do I miss running.  With my permanent knee injury, this isn't an option, but the swimming is going well and I want to incorporate other exercising into the mix.  My goal is working out 3-4 times per week.  Linked closely to exercise is healthy eating.  You would be amazed at how much better my stomach feels now that I have given up gluten and dairy.  Now, I need to learn how to add more variety to my diet.  Maybe I will try to make a new, healthy dish once a week and see how it goes.

Guess what? I am running again!  The healthy living, better diet, and acupuncture lead me to feel strong enough to try running again.  No more marathons in my future, but definitely some shorter runs.  I am running 2-3 times a week and the knee is feeling a lot better!

Wow!  This was a good year for my resolutions.  I completed them all!  Guess I have to challenge myself a little more in 2018!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone!

-Mike :-)