So in my previous post on The Bucket List, I was talking about how the movie inspired me so much, I started to write a list of things I always wanted to do but never got around to doing yet.

I was composing a list for my own bucket list, but without realising it, I have actually already got a bucket list which I’ve kept over the years!

I found a simple text document on my PC, which I started back in 1999, when I was only 16.

I think it was teenage angst more than anything else, and it started off more as a mission statement.

The first item on the list was ‘to kiss a girl’.

It had a bunch of other pretty funny items, but I could sort of see that it was kind of a bucket list.

I’ve kind of looked at it at least once a year and crossed off items, added new items, etc. recently I haven’t really looked at it, but now that I’ve discovered it again, I’m going to keep this and add to it.

Some of the items on the list are hilarious in hindsight.

MY OLD BUCKET LIST (CROSSED OFF NOW)

A few items I’ve now crossed off include:

• Meditate as a student monk in the sacred temples of Burma
• Move to Europe (unfortunately picked the wrong country)
• Kiss a hot girl (and date a bunch)
  
• Start a new business from scratch
  
• Travel to at least 10 European countires (with all expenses paid for)
• Shoot an AK-47 on a firing range
  
• Go snorkelling in the Carribean
• Quit my day job

Reading over that list, most of the items are no where as fun and crazy as my new bucket list.

But I only have myself to show for. The main thing is that I did manage to achieve and cross them off my list in the end.

And that brings things sort of to the present, where my new bucket list commences.

MY NEW (CURRENT) BUCKET LIST

It’s still a bit of a draft, and I’ve limited to sharing the top 10 items of my Bucket List which I hope to cross off before I die:

1. BUY A BOAT AND LIVE ON IT

…first I will have to save up enough money… but I’ve always wanted to travel around the world on a sailboat.

And the sailboat above is not just a stock pic. I actually saw this sailboat above recently. I certainly probably won’t be able to travel the world on it, but I could possibly do Europe.

Living on a sailboat would be a total lifestyle change. I’ve already semi escaped from the daily grind and never ending bureaucracy of everyday living.

The next step is having more freedom of location and mobility to take my home with me. I know I would enjoy it.

On the other hand, there are obviously concerns, such as: How would my girlfriend feel about living on a boat, and would she do it with me? Would I get used to the small confined spaces? How long would it take to train in maintenence and management? Would it be a depreciating asset relative to property?

But in view of the economic situation, it may indeed be a good time to consider this, and just move to the Amalfi coast or dock somewhere in France or Spain and steal wine and cheese and , and save the rising costs of expenses in the UK.

2. SELLING ALL MY STUFF (OR JUST GIVING IT ALL AWAY)

I have too much stuff. Period.

Going along with point 1, I want to start afresh. If I were to move to a tiny boat, all my crap has gotta go.

This will probably include some stuff of lots of sentimental value. But tough. That’s part of it. So much junk has just collected over the years, and it’s sapping on my mental energy and headspace.

But I’m also too lazy to list every single one on eBay or Gumtree. I also don’t want to make a loss. Which makes this rather tricky. I could outsource this to my VA, but would she do a good job? I have no idea.

But clearing my physical space would not only give me more freedom, but it would also clear my emotional and mental space.

The goal is to be compacted down to the bare essentials. 2 suitcases and a backpack max.

This probably should go up to my number 1, in order for me to free my location so that I can do all these things in my list. Then again, having a ‘home’ to get back to (whether it be the sailboat or not) is a good idea.

3. SKYDIVING

Statistically speaking, skydiving is supposedly safer than scuba diving or walking around London at night these days being stabbed to death. But the idea of jumping out of a plane at 15k feet followed by falling at over 120+ miles per hour towards the earth knowing it could possibly be your last… I’ve still not gotten my head around this.

But now that I’ve written it down…

4. SEMI-RETIRE TO A WARMER COUNTRY FOR NO LESS THAN 6 MONTHS

Argentina, Panama, California, Australia, or New Zealand. All places I’ve considered.

And I’ve just booked flights out to Cali for next week, so we’ll see how I like it now :)

Aiming to do this within the next year.

5. FLY IN A FIGHTER JET

Nuff said.

6. GO ON SAFARI, AFRICA

And hope that a leopard won’t hunt us down, while watching nature’s magnificent beasts roaming in the wild. So a trip out to Pilanesberg National Park is definitely on the books.

7. SWIM WITH DOLPHINS

Diving with sharks is also certainly going to be a thrill, but I’ll
save that for when I really don’t care whether I live or die. At the
moment, it doesn’t exactly give me pleasure to think about that :)

Swimming with Dolphins however… that’s something I’ve wanted to do since a kid. Then again, I heard dolphins can be dangerous.

8. CLIMB THE GREAT PYRAMID, EGYPT

The movie inspired me to check this out, and to follow in the footsteps of King Khufu, travel back in time to 2720-2560 BC and marvel at the engineering masterpiece of one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it all the way up the 482 feet climb… there’s always the 345 feet passage down to the subterranean chambers…

9. ATTEND (OR BETTER, SPEAK AT) A TED CONFERENCE

I’m a big fan of TED.

It’s now one of my life’s goals to eventually at least get invited to attend TED. Or even better, get to speak at one. Whatever I will talk about.

10. GO INTO SPACE AND DOCK WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

If anyone wants to spare an extra change of $20 million so that I can do this, feel free.

Otherwise I’ll just settle for watching it on HDTV…

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• August 25, 2008 — The Bucket List Made me Cry

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The Bucket List

I finally watched The Bucket List today, and it made me cry.

The bucket list is a comedy/drama written by Justin Zackham and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars some of my favorite actors including Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

I watched it after recently seeing that it was one of the few Top Ten Films of the Year rated by the National Board of Review that I have not yet seen.

The story follows two terminally ill men (Nicholson and Freeman) on a road trip with a wish list of things to do before they “kick the bucket.”

Hence, ‘The Bucket List’, which is a list of things you want to do before you die.

I shall not say more in case you haven’t seen the movie yet so that I don’t spoil it. It was pretty emotional as a movie, but it also inspired me to start my own Bucket List.

Living in The Now

I’ve always been a big believer of living in the moment. If you haven’t read Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, I highly recommend you check it out.

Most of us suspend our lives making plans to live in the future, or to do things only when we retire, or after we get more financially secure or climb the career ladder. And out of fear of death or other fears, we hold back from doing things we have always dreamt of doing.

And guess what? Most of the time, we will never get around to doing the things we really want to do.

The only way to break this pattern is either to do it right here, right now, or in the near future.

Of course, that’s not always possible. The alternative would be to make your Bucket List, and to persistently check each and every item off it.

What a Bucket List should be

Here is my personal opinion on what a Bucket List should be:

• A list of things that you really want to do, maybe even just once
• Realistic things to do, but stretch your imagination
• They should not be things you can do in your daily regular life basis
• They should not be a a list of things to impress anyone else or to show off
• They should not be a list of unachievables

That means, there may be things you’ve already done, but not recorded on paper.

In which case, that’s a great start for your bucket list. Start writing those things down and cross them off!

Note: there’s obviously a fine line between blowing all your money in a day without any planning for the future, and in making the most of the present and in conquering your fears and pushing your comfort zone. I’m referring mostly to the latter.

More to come on my list. And feel free to share yours if you have one too.

If you haven’t seen the movie, check it out. And if you have, do share your thoughts!

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• August 27, 2008 — My Bucket List: 10 Incredible Things To Do Before I Die

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