This post 7 Steps to Building Your Best Bucket List appeared first on Daily Reckoning.
One rainy afternoon an inspired 15-year old boy sat down at his kitchen table in Los Angeles and jotted down three words at the top of a yellow legal pad, “My Life List.”
Under that heading the boy listed 127 goals he wished to accomplish in his lifetime.
Goals as big as fly a plane, explore the Congo River, run a mile in 5 minutes, light a match with a .22 rifle, and live to see the 21st century.
Considered the world’s greatest goal achiever and called “the real-life Indiana Jones” by the LA Times, John Goddard crossed off 111 of his 127 goals.
After a battle with cancer Goddard died in 2013 at the age of 88 ½ years old leaving behind an inspiring legacy.
How did a young boy become so motivated to not only write down a list of ambitious goals but actually set out and accomplish nearly all of them?
Goddard says the spark was lit that rainy day when one of his father’s friends was telling him how he regretted never having done the things he wanted to when he was John’s age.
If you’re close to retirement, I have one question for you:
What will you regret never having done when you die?
Your Bucket List
So many of us have life lists like John that we hope to accomplish during our retirement years but few manage to do what Goddard did.
How come?
Where most bucket lists go wrong is they leave out one key ingredient: intention.
I’ve seen too many people show me their life lists with goals they have no intention of actually doing.
These goals are typically wishes that are fun to daydream about when you’re bored, but actually living out and doing these things is low priority.
Toward the end of the movie Bucket List, after Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson finish climbing to the top of a pyramid in Egypt, Freeman asks Nicholson two questions.
He says, “The ancient Egyptians had a beautiful belief about death. When their souls go to the entrance of heaven the gods asked them two questions.
There answers determined whether they were admitted or not.”
Question 1: Have you found joy?
Question 2: Has your life brought joy to others?
Today my goal is to help you create a bucket list that drives your life in retirement.
The two questions the Egyptians asked are a good litmus test for what should go on your life list but I think you should consider a few more things.
Do’s and Don’ts of a Bucket List
DO make a list of intentions, not wishes.
Your bucket list needs to be something you actually want to do, not something you want to happen.
Ten years from now when your million-dollar business is still an idea, it won’t be because it wasn’t attainable, it’s simply because you didn’t actually want to put in the work necessary to do it.
Avoid writing down wishes, filter your list with goals you can picture yourself doing.
DO make BIG audacious goals, but not unrealistic.
Goddard’s list is a good example of a bucket list with some audacious yet realistic goals.
Learning how to fly a plane is ambitious but it’s doable if you put in the hours. Saying you’re going to own an NBA team is a pretty unrealistic goal unless you’re willing to put in the work to make 8-9 figures a year.
DO consider your priorities.
Once again this comes down to what’s most important to you.
If family is a priority then write down goals that reflect that like spending time every week with your grandchildren.
The key to sticking to your priorities is to be ruthless with the things that are not priorities in your life.
Consider making a not-do list that you review frequently as well. This will keep you on track to crossing off what’s truly important.
DO make the goals on your list clear and check-off-able.
Travel the globe is a vague goal.
What countries do you want to visit? Better yet, what attractions, sites, and people do you want to see?
Answer those three questions and build your travel goals around them.
DO add small goals to your list.
Lighting a match with a .22 rifle isn’t an enormous goal but it sounds cool and probably looks badass.
Don’t forget to add some smaller goals to your list too.
DON’T add goals to improve your “score.”
Small goals are fine but don’t add things to your list just so you can cross it off and make your overall list appear more accomplished.
Remember, these things need to have meaning to you.
DON’T feel like you have to come up with exactly 100 goals.
Fifty or one hundred, whatever arbitrary number you think your list needs to meet is wrong.
Notice Goddard had 127 goals. Your list should be as long as it needs to be.
However many meaningful goals you can realistically accomplish given the years you have remaining is what should determine the length of your list.
Also consider that John started his list when he was a 15-year old boy.
If you’re 65, don’t think you’ll be able to do everything a young man with a 50-year head start will be able to accomplish.
DON’T forget about the things you’ve already accomplished.
This is optional but I think it pays to reflect on the goals you’ve already accomplished. Write down a few major goals you’ve hit in your life already.
Maybe its countries you’ve traveled to or financial goals you’ve reached. Whatever your past goals you’ve attained put them on paper to remind yourself that you’ve already done some amazing things.
DON’T write down goals that only sound good.
Do you really want to read War and Peace cover to cover?
The same goes for reading all of Shakespeare’s work. There aren’t too many people who honestly have the patience to sit and read these classics.
While there’s nothing wrong with this goal if you do, keep in mind your goals should reflect what you picture yourself actually doing, not what will sound good to a friend.
DON’T depend on luck. …read more
From:: Daily Reckoning