Moving Targets

I came across a page in a notebook recently dated December 2005, in which I was estimating my net worth and setting goals. The current net worth on there is $289,500, which doesn't include about $20,000 of personal property so it roughly maps to my "official" Nov 2005 number. On this page it shows my Dec/06 target at $350,000 and a Dec 2009 target range of $500,000-$600,000.

Obviously I have blown these targets away since I am in the high end of this range nearly 2 years ahead of schedule.

While the unbelievable growth of the past two years makes me happy, it also raises some questions in my mind...

Can things decline just as rapidly?
Am I vulnerable? To what extent? In what circumstances?
Is luck really so much more important than planning in success? What about failure?

This year's net worth target is $650,000. When I set it, it seemed ambitious. Already only one month into 2007 it looks acheivable. With a good year I will certainly surpass it.

Does this mean I am bad at goal setting?

I do like acheiving and beating my goals. I'd rather have success than failure. But perhaps I am not striving as I should be. Or perhaps I just can't predict my own luck.

Today's billable hours: 3.0
Today's contracted hours: 3.5