Do You Have a “Bucket List?” You Know, A List of Things You Want to Do Before You Die?
September 8, 2008 by Anne
Filed under Anne Holmes, Blog, Work, Money & Retirement
The concept of a bucket list was popularized by the recent buddy flick of the same name, in which two terminally ill middle-aged men, one a corporate mogul, the other a mechanic (marvelously played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) bust out of a cancer ward in order to experience life to the fullest before they die.
If you’ve seen the film, you know the two meet while sharing a hospital room, and don’t initially hit it off, which adds to the movie’s comedy.
Their adventure begins when Freeman, the “mechanic,” tells Nicholson, the “mogul,” about a challenge his college philosophy professor had set forth: to make a list of the top things you’d like to accomplish before you die – and actually experience them.
Before We Know It, They Are:
- Hitting the tables in Monte Carlo
- Climbing the pyramids
- Riding Harleys on the Great Wall of China
- Stalking wild animals on an African safari
- Downing obscene amounts of caviar, and
- Tearing up the road in supercharged cars
All in the name of experiencing life to to fullest before they meet the grim reaper. Thankfully, the movie ultimately sends its two wanderers to the people, not the places, who matter. “Find the joy in your life,” Freeman tells Nicholson before the credits roll. Great advice for all Baby Boomers.
Have You Thought About Creating Your Own List of Ultimate Experiences?”
You know, a list of:
- Places you want to travel
- People you want to meet
- Things you want to do
- Experiences you want to encounter, maybe even
- Stuff you want to own
It isn’t complicated.
You simply start a list titled “100 things I Want to Do Before I Die” and keep going until you reach at least 100. It doesn’t have to be a fancy list. (In the movie, Morgan’s list is written on a sheet of yellow notepad paper. And initially he throws it away…)
But don’t throw yours away. The important thing is that you write it down and keep it in a safe place, where you can refer to it frequently. Then if you really want to get serious, go public with the list.
Most likely the first 25 or so will come easy, then the next 75 will probably be a bit more challenging. But don’t let that stop you.
Probably the first 25 things you think of will be basic simple stuff and not too much of a stretch. You know, fairly predictable goals like:
- Lose weight
- Drink more water
- Start an exercise program
- Plant a garden in the spring
- Join a club
- Look up your best friend from high school on Facebook
- Write a Letter to the Editor of your newspaper
- Organize your closets… or
- Make a plan for retirement (Yikes, that last one’s a “biggie,” how’d that get in with the easy ones?)
Then, once the easy stuff is out of the way, you are forced out of your comfort zone and you have to start dreaming. Now you’re listing things that aren’t goals, they are possibilities.
Now You’re On to Things You Would Want to Do if Nothing Stood in Your Way…
Maybe you’ll decide to include popular Baby Boomer legacy-building experiences like:
- Start a retirement business (there it is again, that concept of planning for retirement; maybe you really ought to work on that one first!
- Stop procrastinating
- Write a book
- Fall in love
- Learn to be happy
- Go on a road trip with no predetermined destination
- Take a hot air balloon ride
- Get married
- Go on an Alaskan cruise
- Witness a miracle
- Meet the Dalai Lama
- See the Northern Lights
- Mend a relationship
- Buy a Harley and learn to ride it
- Take your grandkids on a memorable trip - one kid at a time
You Need to Start Your Bucket List Action Plan Now
If you’re not sure how to get your bucket list started, don’t worry. Here’s help! Check out “Jack Canfield’s Key to Living the Law of Attraction: A Simple Guide to Creating the Life of Your Dreams.”
In the book, Canfield, who you may remember from the movie “The Secret,” not only explains the Law of Attraction and how it pertains to your life goals, he also clarifies that crucial part from the movie about how whatever you focus on expands.
Once you understand this crucial concept, you’ll immediately know how to make your “bucket agenda” a reality. (The book also explains why you don’t want to allow limiting thoughts and beliefs to enter your mind.) But here’s the “big stuff” that’s really helpful. The book:
- Includes easy to use worksheets that help you set goals and come up with your own personal bucket list. (Canfield calls it a “dream list.” But whichever you call it, it’s the same thing…)
- Introduces you to the concept of creating a vision book and a gratitude journal
- Provides you with a 24 item list that gives you with the key to unlocking the law of attraction and creating the life of your dreams
- Is quite simply a fabulous tool for creating your own list, whether you end up calling it Your Bucket List or Your Dream List.
Finally, Canfield’s book explains how to use Affirmations, Visualization, Attitude, Prayer and Action to make your dreams reality!
Can’t beat that!
So grab the book
MAKE IT HAPPEN!?
Not that time’s short, but why not see how many items can you check off your bucket list this year?
In the End, You’ve Gotta Say, “Just Do It!”
Start making your bucket list today. If you already have a list get it out, review it and add to it.
After all, you can’t kick the bucket if you’ve still got stuff on your list, right?
So what’s on your list?
Wanna share?
[...] our recent post about making a “Bucket List,” one of our readers shared his story of his lifelong dream of sailing a boat around the [...]
Writing about a bucket list sounds interesting. But when I started my list i became depressed because of the thought of death. At the end of every bucket list is death. Without death as the last item on the list, the list is incomplete.
I will rather dream of something else.
We certainly don’t want you to do anything that you find depressing.
In my case, I would never list death as an item at the end of my bucket list. You see, I reserve the right to continually add to my own list, and if I complete the list entirely, I’ll just make an addtional list of new experiences that I want to pursue.
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
I feel you Steve, this world is big enough with enough things to do and accomplish for people of any age that if you finish your current bucket list then you can always add some more. Cool Post!
I’ve just ordered a Moleskine journal and my bucket list, although I probably won’t call it that will take pride of place on the first page.
There is nothing about death depressing for the person who has died, at least not that we know of.
Riding a Harley on the Great Wall. That is IMAGINATIVE.
I really like the quote from the film “Find the joy in your life,” That and the reference to the Jack Canfield book. Both are helping me stay focused on what’s important in life. Thanks