LIST
The only thing more important than your to-do list is your to-be list. The only thing more important than your to-be list is to be.
Alan Cohen
We all make lists. We make them so we know what needs to be done. Our brain focuses on what is incomplete not what is completed. The lists come in all sizes & shapes, To-Do List, Shopping List, Projects, Gift Ideas, Wish Lists,etc.
Some people have sub lists of their lists. It seems we can get so obsessive about our lists that we need to put on our To-Do List a remember to create a To-Do List.
The most comprehensive list building process I’ve seen is
https://listproducer.com/. You can download the free List Starter Kit. It includes most of what you need to list in your everyday life.
It’s great to be organized. Yes, it is fun to scratch off each item when done. Yet, there are always more items that are screaming for attention. The challenge is to have a list that motivates beyond just getting stuff done.
A list that motivates you to get out of bed each morning. Your list calls & compels you to learn & grow. Your list focuses you to shine at your brilliant best.
Bucket List
A bucket list is a list of things to do before you die. It comes from the slang for death “to kick the bucket.”
Annette White has made probably the ultimate bucket list. She is a serial adventurer, author, & blogger of a travel blog. She started her bucket list in 2006. It has 1,035 items. To see White’s entire list:
https://bucketlistjourney.net/my-bucket-list/
John Goddard’s List
John Goddard lived to be 88. He knew he was an explorer & and adventurer. While other boys wavered in what they wanted to be & do, Goddard never did. At 15, he made a list of 127 goals he wanted to complete. It was his “Life List.”
Goddard documented his adventures on film and showed them to thousands of youth and adults across the globe, inspiring them to set and achieve goals. Goddard had several groups – explore, study, visit, climb, & accomplish.
To see the entire list https://www.johngoddard.info/life_list.htm
Goddard created a big future for himself. He accomplished 111 of the 127. Impressive & inspiring. Here are 10 of the items he didn’t complete.
- Appear in a Tarzan movie.
- Climb Mount Everest.
- Explore the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
- Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. (Goddard claimed to have made it through “extensive parts in each volume.”)
- Own a cheetah.
- Follow the River Jordan from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.
- Become a ham radio operator.
- Travel to the North and South poles.
- Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island (Goddard’s boat broke down within 20 miles of the island, or he would have made it.).
What’s On Your List?
Annette White refused to let her fears stop here. John Goddard did the same.
How about you?
My List, Bucket List, Life List, call it what you want. It’s your life. It’s your list. List your adventures ahead. Explore the areas of your life that are dormant. Map out what lies within you that aches to come out. A compass to locate the areas that are aching to be nurtured. The gifts that still want to be expressed. And, a compass to direct you forward to a bigger, better, & brighter future.
ACTION TODAY: Make a Your List. Start with all the things that your said no to.
ACTION TOMORROW: Continue to add to Your List.
ACTION THIS WEEK: Take action on one of your items. One simple, small, & sustainable step.
TO DARE IS TO DO – TO FEAR IS TO FAIL.
John Goddard