t’s only January 17, but I am already behind the ball. Behind on implementing strategies and tactics to reach my business goals for the year, which include creating content at least once a week (this blog posts counts for this week!), taking six weeks of vacation and donating 1% of my revenue (yes, revenue, not profits) to charity.

These probably don’t seem like traditional goals, such as a specific revenue amount, but the aforementioned are the goals I’m most interested in achieving.

The last goal was inspired by Yvon Choinard, the founder and owner of Patagonia. In his book Let My People Go Surfing, he talks about Patagonia’s driving values.

The first is this:All decision of the company are made in the context of the environmental crisis.”To that end, Patagonia creatively designs all of their products to maximize quality while minimizing harm to the planet, and goes to great lengths to responsibly source all their materials. They also founded 1% For The Planet, “a pledge to donate at least 1% of a company’s sales toward active efforts to protect and restore our natural environment.” In encouraging businesses to support the nonprofits already doing the important work of preservation, conservation and awareness building, they are rallying the environmental troupes, so to speak.

As I sit here in my office in San Diego, looking outside at the 77 °F weather, it’s clear that the planet is undergoing changes. We’re in the worst drought the state has seen in 100+ years, while many parts of the country are suffering from the “polar vortex” (which is trending to be one of the most used words in 2014) and the sub-zero temperatures it’s producing. Something is not right. And I want to do my part (besides recycling, watching my water usage and driving a hybrid).

If you’re interested in learning more, I highly recommend reading Mr. Chouinard’s book or checking out the 1% For the Planet website. It might be January 17, but we’ve still got 348 days to do less harm and more good.