Change - From Weak to Strong - Making it stickK

In addition to my list of secularists I would like to add the writings of the Transcendentalists Thoreau and Emerson.  I will find time to read from Walden and the Oversoul during my year long spiritual trek. 


Now on to the topic at hand:


In order to follow the: 

Three Qualities	Eightfold Path
Wisdom (panna)	Right View (understanding)
	Right Thought
Morality (sila)	Right Speech
	Right Action
	Right Livelihood
Meditation (samadhi)	Right Effort
	Right Mindfulness
	Right Contemplation (concentration)

and the:


 What are the 5 Precepts (morals)?


These are rules to live by. The main five are:
Do not take the life of anything living. (Do not kill)
Do not take anything not freely given. (Do not steal)
Abstain from sexual misconduct and sensual overindulgence.
Refrain from untrue speech, (Do not lie)
Do not consume alcohol or other drugs. The main concern here is that intoxicants cloud the mind.

OK, my weak areas are as follows: alcohol (I wouldn't say I'm an alcoholic but I consume enough beer and wine each evening to make it habitual and as far is beer is concerned like to think of myself as a connoisseur), then there is coffee (love my coffee in the morning), porn (yep, in all honesty I'm a guy who occasionally looks at the stuff), and of course the biggie for me is right speech (not necessarily lying; I'm rather truthful, blatantly so).  My problem is brutal honesty and cynical sarcasm misconstrued to be social satire. 


I will have to be diligent and use both carrots and sticks to to make them stick. One fantastic stick will be the website, http://www.stickk.com/ . On the website StickK.com, people can up the ante by pledging money to an "anti-charity," that is, a charity for a cause they don't support, if they don't meet their goals.
StickK provides a list of anti-charities that includes the George W. Bush Presidential Library, or the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library. Individuals also pick a person they trust to be their referee and monitor their progress toward their goal or goals. I will share more detail about my personal goals and how they will tie into this program later.