Life List Challenge

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What do you want to do with this glorious life of yours?

Last year after I quit my job, moved to a new city and began the plans for launching my business, I found a coffee shop by the ocean and considered what it is that I wanted to do with my amazing life that was spread out before my eyes.  There were so many possibilities.

Sitting and looking at the vastness before me, I remembered a task that I gave to clients when they were puzzled about what work they wanted to do.  I called it a "Life List."  Things to achieve in my lifetime. 

Work is one part of our lives and who we are is so much bigger, much bigger than we actually even know.  What I figured out is that getting excited about our work means getting excited about our lives.  "What excites you?" I asked. 

As it turns out, probably a lot of things. 

The task I assigned was this.  Write down a list of what you want to accomplish in your life.  Big or small.  Give it a good hearty effort.  Write down 100 items.  "Really?" I heard many times.  The longer the list, the more you find out about yourself and what you love. 

My challenge to you is to do your own Life List.  100 or more items.  Investing time in exploring your dreams is one way to take them seriously. 

Here are some questions to get you rolling:

  • What have you always wanted to do but haven't yet?
  • Where in the world would you like to go?
  • What experiences do you want to have?
  • What would you do if you didn't have to worry about money?
  • What adventures would you like to experience?
  • Who would you like to meet?
  • What would you like to learn?
  • Is there anything in particular that you would like to have?

Here is the list that I created almost a year ago.  If you are sparked by any of the ideas, you are welcome to add them to your list.

  1. Fly in a hot-air balloon.
  2. Do a 10 km walk/run.
  3. Fall in love - many times - people, places, things.
  4. Watch the sun set in the Grand Canyon.
  5. Watch all of The Good Wife.
  6. See orcas up close.
  7. Go to New York City.
  8. Learn Spanish.
  9. Write a book.
  10. Become a Returning to Spirit facilitator.
  11. Visit Julia (my cat that didn't move with me).
  12. Become a travel writer.
  13. Success as a career facilitator.
  14. Visit the Maritimes.
  15. Take a 365-day challenge.
  16. Be silent for a day.
  17. Make over $120K in a year.
  18. Ride a gondola in Venus.
  19. Go to Burning Man.
  20. Do my dad's family tree.
  21. Have $250,000 in savings.
  22. Stay in a 5-star hotel.
  23. Travel for 3 consecutive months.
  24. Think to myself - I'm living my dream.
  25. Winter storm watching in Tofino.
  26. Alaska cruise with my mother.
  27. Make a difference in someone else's life.
  28. Create my own manifesto.
  29. Travel around Europe.
  30. Be invited to speak at a conference.
  31. Achieve 5,000 subscribers.
  32. Have my dream home.
  33. Speak to over 1,000 people.
  34. Explore a castle.
  35. Throw a big party.
  36. Sleep in a hammock.
  37. Interview people about their work.
  38. Host a talk show.
  39. Find a job where I travel.
  40. Visit Australia.
  41. Go star gazing in the southern hemisphere.
  42. See northern lights with many colours.
  43. Create cards with inspirational sayings - leave for strangers to find.
  44. Write a list of 101 life lessons.  Share it.
  45. Learn a musical instrument.
  46. Find a mentor.
  47. Be a mentor.
  48. Create.  Frequently.
  49. Find work I love.
  50. Help someone cross an item off their Life List.
  51. Hold a monkey.
  52. Surprise someone.
  53. Create a website.
  54. Learning how to make digital posters, writing on photos.
  55. Write a love letter.
  56. Serve food at a soup kitchen.
  57. Get a degree.
  58. Learn a new software program.
  59. Create latte art.
  60. Leave a 100% tip for a server.
  61. Be a member of a TV show audience.
  62. See a Broadway play.
  63. Win something.
  64. Ride on a train in Europe.
  65. Attend a luau.
  66. Go on a spontaneous road trip.
  67. Pan for gold.
  68. Go to Idaho Peak.
  69. Visit Tikal.
  70. Do a solo journey.
  71. Walk on a glacier.
  72. Learn how to create a perfect smoky eye.
  73. Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
  74. Travel to Bhutan.
  75. Take a photo a day for a year.
  76. Do 50 random acts of kindness.
  77. Spend a day in a spa.
  78. Go geo-caching.
  79. Eat chocolate in Switzerland.
  80. Stand on the equator.
  81. Take a cooking class.
  82. Get a cartoon sketch of me.
  83. Milk a cow.
  84. Teach someone how to read.
  85. Lay down in 4 states at once - Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah - 4 Corners.
  86. Walk on the Great Wall of China.
  87. Hang out in Times Square.
  88. Touch an iceberg.
  89. Create an inspirational poster.
  90. Create my own personal recipe book.
  91. Operate heavy equipment in Las Vegas.
  92. Identify 10 constellations.
  93. Get a hug from a chimpanzee.
  94. Make a list of 100 foods to eat before I die - and eat them.
  95. Experience 50 modes of transportation.
  96. Travel Icefield Parkway.
  97. Study archaeology.
  98. See Judy Chicago's Dinner Party at the Brooklyn Museum.
  99. Contact someone with my name.
  100. Fly first class.
  101. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge.
  102. Dance under the stars.

Write them down and they will happen.  Two of my accomplishments from last year - doing a solo journey and riding a train in Europe.  Here is my view of the Mediterranean Sea from a train going 200 km an hour:

What is on your list?