My Big List of Things To Do Before I Die
Here are our Rules: The goal is to always have goals, and to always work towards achieving them. The number of goals on the list should be kept at 100, so choices should be considered with care. Once on the list, the goal stays on until achieved. A new one can be added only when one has been crossed off. No cancellations unless it is no longer humanly possible.
Aim for a good balance of short and long term goals – aim low and high, both big and small – too many of one or the other will ruin the fun.
Oh, and have fun.
Here’s The List:
- Gamble in a black tie casino, looking the part
- Learn to properly prepare an artichoke
- Lay hands on the pyramids
- Get to know my neighbors
- Conquer my banking phobia
- Have a great hat for each season
- See a Royal de Luxe show
- Find the perfect black dress
- Finish our wedding albums
- Take better care of the package (me)
- Learn to dance Tango or Waltz
- Have my great grandmother’s earrings reproduced in gold
- Go to Bourbon and Branch (done)
- Live in a third country (China was so close!)
- Learn a third language
- Swim with dolphins
- Learn to snorkel
- Ride a Vespa (Rome optional)
- Own real estate (done!)
- Go offline – Re-learn the lost art of handwriting
- Have drinks at the Tonga Room (before it’s gone) (done)
- Master preparing and serving a four course dinner
- Host an annual party everyone marks on their calendar
- Master planning and packing the perfect suitcase for a trip
- Visit the Tutankhamen exhibit at the Cairo museum
- Own art
- Overcome my shyness in German
- Set long term career goals
- Haggle for a price in a bazaar
- Make those spats
- Feed stray cats at the Coliseum
- Walk in the valley at Petra
- Have B&W prints of our favorite photos framed and hung on the wall
- Publish
- Learn to swim properly again (aka Go back into the water)
- Get my taxes in order
- Love my job
- Exercise regularly
- Have a whiskey in a pub in Ireland
- Wear gloves like a lady
- Sleep in a castle
- Go to a bar alone in the evening
- Move beyond the ponytail; Master 5 styles for my hair
- Use a parasol
- Learn to fearlessly parallel park our car in Europe
- Have a drink in Havana
- Find a regular haunt in the town I live in, become a regular
- Revive Champagne Thursdays (actual day is flexible)
- Find out what happened to Clifford Swift
- Ride a camel in an Arabian desert
- Stay at a phenomenal hotel: the Chedi, Six Senses, …
- See Marrakesh
- Learn to sail a boat
- Throw a candle-lit dinner party in the woods
- Organize a scavenger hunt throughout a city
- Re-purpose my wedding corset into an outfit I can wear
- Learn how to use all that eye makeup in the bathroom
- See a space shuttle take off or land
- Get back in the saddle; start riding again
- Do nice things for the people I love, just because
- Have a dress tailor-made
- Find a signature cocktail
- Wear a trench coat in Casablanca
- Learn to play poker
- Create travel guides for the cities I know well
- Learn the map of Europe (for real)
- Dig up Lena and put her where she belongs
- Make my own mozzarella
- Learn to deal better with conflict when I have a lot at stake
- Send off sky lanterns at New Years
- Drive the sand dunes
- Wear the mink (Done! and ongoing)
- Learn how to poach (eggs, fish, …)
- Have a night around a campfire in Europe
- Eat street food in Thailand
- See the President
- Make my own schnapps
- See a whale, eye to eye
- Write a personal mission statement
- Drive to Prague
- Fix personal website situation
- Learn to juggle
- Dine somewhere above and beyond the “norm”
- Learn to mix five good cocktails
- See the northern lights or St Elmos Fire
- Pet a tiger
- Learn to ski properly
- See a burlesque show in Paris
- Leave no shoe unworn!
- Have personal calling cards made
- Have professional photos done
- Know my own mind, say what I think
- Pull off a brilliant, devious, memorable prank
- Forgive someone, even if they don’t deserve it
- Make an enemy for life (one who’s worth it)
- Go mushroom gathering
- XXX (private)
- Pull off a Hoi Polloi color fight
- Make a duridango for places special to me
- Sabering; Learn to open champagne with a sword
- Renovate the Austrian apartment (done!)
And there they are. My kick-off post about this list is here. Updates will be posted (when interesting) as items are crossed off and new ones are added.
Credit must be given where credit is due: I was inspired to finally do this list by Maggie Mason over at MightyGirl.com. Her list is here. She also maintains a list of links to others like me here. Be sure to have a look, there are some great ideas and stories over there.
To find out even more about Life / Bucket / To Do lists like these, here are some other websites to check out:
*Update: A good tutorial on how to come up with a Life List you’ll be able to follow through on can be read here.
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Great list. I have a project of my own started with 200 items to do. I am in NorCal and was wondering what you miss most about the Bay Area? Check out my list if you get a chance. Picking up and moving like you did is really inspiring to get out and live life. I’ll keep checking back.
Oh I forgot. Learning to make cheese is on my list also.
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Find a regular haunt in the town I live in, become a regular. I don’t understand why that’s so fascinating, but believe me, I wanted to do that to. I wanted to be able to walk into a place and say – I’ll have my usual. And now, I am a fair regular at one of the joints near my workplace, where I smile and ask the waiter for a roll, and he knows I want a cottage cheese one.
And the one about make-up… man, that’s on my list too!
And hey! My list was inspired by Maggie too 😀
I also like how you’ve dediced to add an item only once you strike one off.
Good luck with your list!!
Love it, I think I might do mine….yours has some great ones on it I would do if I was able:)
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