Do You Have a Life-List?
Bora Bora
Do you have a Life List? A list of all the things you want to accomplish in your life before you “pass on”? (Also known as a “Bucket List” or “BAHGs - Big-Ass Hairy Goals”, a term coined by one of my earlier business advisors, marketing genius Glen Hunt, who wrote THIS.)
I was inspired to do this list after reading this post by Chris Gillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity.
According to Gillebeau, “A life list is simply a list of long-term personal goals, often expressed as “X things to do before I die.” Life lists are related to, but also different from the Ideal World (how things are in your world now) scenario, the Annual Review (as in monetary or business related goals), and your ongoing list of active projects.”
So, for example, one my major goals is to get out of debt. And although this may be a HUGE achievement on my end when it does happen, it wouldn’t be included in my life list because of it’s practicality.
The purpose of this list to show myself how wild I can dream or to challenge myself…
1. To do things that will make me feel alive,
2. To do things for the betterment of human kind that I can have direct influence on
3. To do things for those that I love because, well, I love’em.
4. To experience life as a child again.
So based on that criteria, here is a list of things that I’d like to do before I leave this world and enter the next…
Chris Lopez’ Life List
1. Learn how to surf in Maui.
2. Take my wife to Bora-Bora and stay in one of those private huts in the middle of the water.
3. Take my wife and each of my daughters to Paris individually.
4. Build a school in Africa with my family (that’d be Me, Rozanne & our 5 kids…obviously when everyone’s grown up).
5. Take my parents, my brother and my in-laws to Disney World for a week (Purely selfish. I want them around so that they can babysit and Rozanne and I can get on some rides! J/K. My parents & my brother have never been!)
6. Go to a soccer game in Spain.
7. Go to the Summer Olympics.
8. Meet Michael Jordan.
9. Get a tatoo.
10. Play beach volleyball at Manhattan Beach, California (the Mecca of beach volleyball).
11. Open an Organic Espresso shop (espresso is another passion of mine).
12. Drive the entire Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1 in California) in a convertable staying at really cool B&Bs and watching the sunset.
13. Train with The Harlem Seals.
14. Do what I love for a living. check!
15. Publish a book on Fatherhood.
16. Spend a month in a Shaolin temple learning from monks (I’ll obviously need more than a month, but I’m thinking practically here).
A Fixie: No gears, no brakes, no nonsense. Simple.
17. Build my own fixie.
18. Watch the EBC at Rucker Park in NYC (I was going to say “Play in the EBC at Rucker Park”, but I’m not stupid).
19. “Semi-retire” for a year (a la Tim Ferriss) to give myself time to do all of the above.
Now, it’s your turn….
So what’s on your life list? Is there anything that you’d do differently or anything wild and crazy that you’d like to do? Write it down, focus on it, and it’ll happen.
…and please share some of your Big-Audacious-Hairy-Goals!
I used to have a list, and then I got sick and realized that a lot of things got crossed off immediately instead of being checked off. That’s life…
As far as your #14 - congrats! I did what I loved for a living for a long time, but then I realized that it was not what I loved. Not fun at that point.
Best of luck on the rest of your list!
Gee, Rob, aren’t you cheerful. How about a little positivity here?!? Great list, Chris! Bora Bora is one of my top places to visit, too.
Hey Rob
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I can’t say I can relate to your situation and don’t envy you if you’re going through some tough times.
I’m not sure the nature of your sickness, so I may be totally off-based here, but have you tried to use it as motivation….as if someone has told you that you “can’t do” something?
For me, I guess because I’m a stubborn #$%!, I use that as fuel to propel me to attempt to do what’s in question or what someone else says is impossible for me to accomplish.
thanks for the well wishes, and if there is any advice or help that I can give you, please don’t hesitate to ask.
-Chris
@Uncle_Bulldog
It’s been a dream of mine to go there. did you know that if you order room service, the staff comes to your room on boats!?!
Chris
Just like #18 I want to watch UFC fight in Las Vegas. (I would like to say “fight in UFC in las Vegas”, but I’m not stupid). Nice list!
smart call on that Carl!
Sounds like a fun list. I’ve never made a list like this, but have considered things for a long time… Even before the movie “The Bucket List” came out a couple years ago. The cool thing is that as you check things off, you can still add to it.
Awesome list. Michael Jordan is also one of my heros, I would have loved to have seen him play. If i actually met him, i don’t know what I would say.
Coffee is one my passions also.
Thanks for sharing. It’s made me think of how i can incorporate things i really, really enjoy into life goals. Thanks!
That was a great idea Chris! I didn’t know, such a thing could be done. Even though I, as like any other person, have dreams. Come to think of it, here is a list of what I think should be my life list at this moment.
1. Perform the pilgrimage to Meccah with my wife, 2 kids and parents.
2. Go on a road trip over Europe (London, Paris and Rome are must sees) with my wife and 2 kids.
3. Go to the Disney land (full family here too).
4. I would also like to witness one Summer Olymics (specially the 100 mtrs sprint finals, 50 mtrs swimming final and the gymnastics finals)
5. See one world-cup soccer final.
6. Take a cruise on board one of those luxurious cruise liners with my wife only (obviously the kids have to grow up a bit for that to happen).
That’s all I can think of at this moment. But, just as Jon has said, you can always go on adding to this list!
Nice list Chris,
Here’s Mine.
1. Learn to Play the guitar, and play ‘Hotel California’ to my wife.
2. Earn enough money to make my daughter study at Harvard.
3. Buy my own apartment..
….
Hey I think this is good stuff to write in my own blog (LOl!!). Check it out over the weekend and the list should be there!
Really inspired by your list. Item#14 surely makes me envy you.
“‘Semi-retire’ for a year (a la Tim Ferriss) to give myself time to do all of the above.”
Not a bad idea there! Some of the items on my list are;
1. Successfully start my own business
2. Successfully start another 1-2 businesses (including at least one offline business)
3. Live in a 3rd world country where I can teach people to start their own businesses
Right now I’m still a wage-slave, but I’m working on it!
Get a kidney transplant.