Creating A Life List

by matt on March 15, 2010

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The Life List

I decided to put together my own Life List after reading quite a few others online. Reading the list of others was inspirational and I thought it would be good to get mine down on paper (or virtual paper).

What is a Life List?

Some call it a Bucket List, which is a list of things you want to do before you die or kick-the-bucket. I prefer to call it a Life List. It is basically a list of the things you want to accomplish, achieve or experience throughout your life. It’s supposed to be a positive list that gives you direction, reminds you of what you deem important in your life.

Making Your List

I figured this exercise could be interesting. At first I thought it would be easy. But as I got into it I realized it would be more difficult than I anticipated. Did I really know what I wanted to do with my life? I took some time to dig deep within myself and discover whatever might come to the surface. I think we all have some generalized ideas of what we would like to do should all the perceived obstacles and roadblocks suddenly be lifted. But when it comes to actually putting them down on paper I think we tend to struggle a bit. In my case I got a few good ideas down and then just went blank. To break through this mental block I asked myself a few pointed questions:

If I had a year left to live, what would I do with that year?
If money was unlimited where would I go and what would I do?
What do I really want to be doing?
What can I offer the world that will make a difference?
What do I want to experience?
What will leave me feeling fulfilled?

So I started to really think about the things in this world that I am really passionate about. Things like preserving the environment and its wonders; working to provide clean drinking water for everyone; eliminating poverty; sharing my vision of the world through photography to hopefully inspire others to live more fully. I thought about places I wanted to see, events I wanted to experience and people I wanted to meet.

I removed the limitations I had set on myself. You might be familiar with a few of them:

“I’ll never be able to do that.”
“I don’t have the money”
“Where would I find the time?”

Without these and other limitations in place we become free to think of the possibilities. I truly believe that all goals are obtainable in some form or another once we realize that in most cases the only thing holding us back is ourselves.

Making it Public

So why am I publishing this list? I want to make this list public so that there is a level of accountability, because without accountability this list is…well…it’s just a list and nothing more. But if I put my dreams and intentions out there in a public forum then there is a bit of accountability that pushes me a bit more to strive to obtain these goals. As I mentioned before, any dream or goal is obtainable if we allow ourselves to be open to the possibilities.

I’ll continue to review this list and on occasion add further clarity, cross out completed items or add new ones to the list. Now that I have this list I intend to pursue every single one of these items. What do I have to lose? The door is open and the path is now laid out before me. So without further ado I give you…

My Life List

Places I want to travel to and photograph:

Indonesia
1. Bali (completed September 2005)
2. Lombok
3. Manado
4. Borobudur (completed September 2005)
5. Prambanan (completed September 2005)
6. Mt. Bromo
7. Lake Toba
8. Jakarta (completed April 2001 and August 2005)
9. Bandung (completed April 2001 and August 2005)
10. Yogyakarta (completed August 2005)
11. Malaysia
  1. Kuala Lumpur
  2. Perhentian Island
12. Singapore
13. Vietnam
  1. Ha Long Bay
  2. Ban Gioc waterfalls
14. Cambodia
  1. Prasat Angkor Wat
15. Nepal
  1. Photograph Mt. Everest and Great Himalayan Range
16. China
  1. Great Wall of China
  2. Photograph rural China
17. Mongolia
  1. Photograph the landscapes of the Country
18. New Zealand
19. Thailand
20. Costa Rica
21. El Salvador
22. Russia (USSR)
23. South Korea
24. Lebanon
25. The Philippines
26. India
  1. visit my good friend Mark
27. Bhutan
28. Cameroon
29. Italy
30. Liberia
31. Iceland
32. Japan
  1. Experience the Cherry blossoms
33. United States
  1. Zion National Park (completed 1999)
  2. Arches
  3. Death Valley (completed 1999)
  4. Organ Pipe Cactus National Park (completed 1999)
  5. Alaska
  6. Maine
34. Climb Mt. Bromo in Central Java, Indonesia to take a sunrise photograph
35. Take a sunrise photo at Borobudur
36. Complete a photographic journal of the plight of homeless in America
37. Produce a photo book with photos from unique perspectives of everyday life
38. Start a blog on the subjects of photography, travel and lifestyle design
  1. Have 50 RSS blog subscribers
  2. Have 100 RSS blog subscribers
  3. Have 250 RSS blog subscribers
  4. Have 500 RSS blog subscribers
  5. Have 1000+ RSS blog subscribers
39. Have one of my photos published in a book or magazine (National Geographic)
40. Teach a photography class to kids
41. Write a book(s)
42. Live in Indonesia for 1-2 years
43. Write a book on living as an expat in Indonesia
44. Get a photo published in National Geographic
45. Eat every variety of mango in the world
46. Travel to every National Park in the US and document it through visual images. Produce a photo book on each park that details some of the “off-the-beaten-path” things to see and inspire people to continue to protect these unique areas. (to start after my Dad retires)
47. Purchase a house near the beach in Manado Indonesia and live in it for a year.
48. Travel with missions to Cambodia and Nepal and photograph the trip. (Scheduled for August 2010)
49. Drive the length of the Western US coastline on motorcycles and document the trip through photographs
50. $1 a day for 30 days – give a stranger on the street a dollar and take the time to learn a bit about them. Blog the experience.
51. Get an article I’ve written published
52. Travel from London to China via the Trans-Siberian Railway
53. Travel across China on the Beijing-Lhasa Express
54. Run The Amazing Race with my sister
55. Learn and speak fluent Indonesian
56. Be completely debt free
57. Climb one of the Three Sisters in Oregon
58. Photograph 100 strangers
59. Mountain bike in southern Utah/Arizona
60. Be self-employed
61. Walk on a tropical beach at sunset
62. Learn to surf
63. Read the entire Bible
64. Drink a beer with Anthony Bourdain (see people I want to meet below)
65. Try kite-surfing with my good bro Mark (yo Mark, let’s do it bud!)
66. Give a speech to a group of 1000+ people
67. Experience the aurora borealis
68. Fly in a helicopter
69. Take a cruise with just my wife
70. Tour a Guinness facility in Ireland (drink a pint with a local)
71. Do a photo shoot with a celebrity
72. Be an extra in a foreign film
73. Get certified to teach English as a Foreign Language (completed January 2010)
74. Teach English abroad
75. Walk the Great Wall of China
76. Take the train across Indonesia (so far been between Bandung and Yogyakarta)
77. Ride the Rocky Mountaineer Train in Canada.
78. Take an African safari
79. Help drill a clean water well for people that don’t have clean water
80. Buy a round the world ticket
81. Ride a motorcycle around Bali
82. Ride the Venice Simplon-Orient Express
83. Ride the Sunlander train in Australia from Brisbane to Cairns
84. Ride the 4500 mile Canadian train between Toronto and Vancouver
85. Ride the Andean Explorer train in South America to Lake Titicaca
86. Ride the Eastern & Oriental Express train between Singapore and Thailand
87. Experience Victoria Falls (Africa)
88. Produce my own movie
89. Discover what makes me truly happy
90. Arrange for my wife to meet Duff Goldman – Ace of Cakes (Duff we are available anytime)
91. Live peacefully and without worry
92. Drive 120 mph in a car(completed in 1991 in my 1969 Pontiac Firebird)
93. Change my relationship with money
94. Spend much more time with my family
95. Complete a Project 365 challenge
96. Help my wife with her dream of owning and operating a bakery
97. Be kind to everyone I meet
98. Tell my kids I love them daily
99. Help raise money for causes I am passionate about
100. Stop being afraid to live my life in an unconventional way
101. Race a car
102. Do a Zipline tour in Maui
103. Fire walk
104. Invent something that helps people
105. Buy less, give more
106. Meet Chris Guillebeau
107. Meet Bono of U2
108. Meet Anthony Bourdain
109. Meet David duChemin
110. Meet Chase Jarvis
111. Meet Yorti – our sponsored child through Compassion International
112. Meet James Nachtwey