The importance of writing your bucket list, and why now is the perfect time to start writing one.
There is a lovely movie that made the term “bucket list” common, starring two of Hollywood's greats: Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman. Two terminally ill men about to meet their maker are forced to share a hospital room, which leads to an unexpected friendship and the decision to explore life and write as well as experience their bucket lists comprising all sorts of adventures they have never tried.
So what exactly is a bucket list?
It is the goals you set out to achieve before you kick the bucket, i.e. die. Contrary to the movie's theme, the bucket list should not only be comprised of adventures but of all your life goals, be that related to work, education, love, friendship, etc. You should be adding to this list throughout your life, striving to achieve new things and thus never be stuck in the hamster cartwheel. Do not be afraid to jot down the most ludicrous ideas, because once you start writing things down, you start visualizing them, then you start planning them, you start setting things into motion and before you know it, you will have embarked on the journey of what you once thought was impossible.
Why should you have a bucket list?
It means setting goals for yourself, Kaizen: constant improvement, it means facing your fears and growing and never standing still. Since we have been stuck in COVID lockdown for a while now, I am sure many of you are asking yourself; what more do I want from life? What do I wish to experience? Where do I want to be in 10 years from now? What do I have to do, so that I can one day turn around and say I have lived life to its fullest and have no regrets? The easiest way to answer these and so many other questions is by starting to write your bucket list and keep adding to it whenever something new comes to mind, this is not a one-time event.
How to start writing your list
Everyone will have their preference but here is a suggestion to get you started:
- Write down all ideas that come to mind. Personally, I like to write these kinds of things into a special notebook and I always write these down by hand, as I tend to remember things better when I write them down pen to paper, I love the art of writing and because the notebook comes with me wherever I go. Truthfully though if you are going to arrange your list, excel is the most convenient.
- Then categorizes the list. Why write everything first, you might think it’s tedious to do it twice, but creativity should never be interrupted, so to get your true heart's desires on paper, always write freely and then organize and categorize.
- Write down small things you can start doing every day. For example, if you wish to learn a new language or skill, there are numerous apps or courses, etc. where you can get started by just doing 10–20 minutes a day
- Then write the ones that need more time and effort, where you might want to do something monthly, yearly, or even per decade. There are certain things you will not be able to do as easily when you have someone relying on you, as these adventures might potentially put you in harm’s way. Because let’s face it the older we get generally the less daredevil we become, the burden of responsibilities catches up with all of us sooner or later.
- Write down the things you want to do for others. A friend of mine’s bucket list has a section dedicated to helping others, taking the time to go visit people in old age homes and just listening to their stories, it lifts their spirits and truthfully their stories are often the stuff of legends, the things they have seen, experienced and lived through, we only read in books, action movies or by watching James Bond.
I never wish to accomplish all the things on my bucket list. As Matthew McConaughey said in his brilliant Oscars acceptance speech (if you haven’t seen it, go watch it), “There are three things to my account that I need every day, one is something to look up to, another is something to look forward to and another is someone to chase my hero(….). My hero is me in 10 years, every day, every month, and every year my hero is going to be 10 years away, I will never be or meet my hero, I will never attain that and that is just fine with me because it keeps me with something to keep on chasing” Matthew McConaughey Oscar acceptance speech for best actor 2014. Just like Matthew, I wish to keep chasing my dreams, and my bucket list, and to keep improving to try and become my hero.
I started my bucket list many years ago because I wanted to give myself a reason to start chasing and achieving the things I thought were impossible. To make me learn from my failures, to ensure I never stop dreaming, to live life with no regrets, and to face my fears. I wish to look back at my life at every stage and be proud, knowing I did my best to live it to the fullest, I failed and got back up again, I kept fighting and started over again.
Here are some of my Bucket List items, in case you need some inspiration to get you started:
- Become a VC investor in London from a Venture seed fund
- Ride the Cresta run in St Moritz (click the link if you haven’t heard of it)
- Learn to speak 20 languages (7/20)
- Travel to every country in the world
- Be the best man at a friend's wedding
- Travel the North Pole and Siberia on a husky sled
- Climb a 4000 peak: done see my last post and will most certainly be adding more peaks to my list
- See the Wildebeest migration in Kenya- ticked that off this year
- Bunjee jump off the Victoria falls
- Do the 007 base jump from “the world is not enough”
- Go skydiving- my sister gifted it to me for my birthday
- Drive in the Paris- Dakar
- Ride the Orient Express, the Tren de las Nubes, and the Blue train
- See the Perito Moreno- very fortunate to have traveled through Patagonia
- See the Northern Lights —Iceland 2022
- Go skiing in Japan, Iran, Pakistan, and Iceland
- Play Polo in Pakistan
- Go on a horseback safari, and keep going back as it is the most magical experience
- Learn something new every day, I try to read a lot, Podcasts, Network, and listen instead of always just chatting away, etc.
- Read 100 books a year (including audiobooks) — managed to read a total of 136 in 2022 and 150 in 2023.
- Have my skin looking as good as JLOs by the time I reach 50
- Be active every day: on it and couldn’t imagine life without it
- Do an online MBA course: started one about 3 weeks ago
- Start writing and publish it: this post is part of my humble beginnings of this adventure
- Start two charities:
1. set up a fund where you can nominate someone from your neighborhood to get a grant to go to University, set up a business, or get introductions to companies for employment.
2 Empowering homeless people to get a second chance, by setting them up with housing, schooling if need be, and internships with participating companies - Start a carbon credit fund — working for an incredible company now that is moving people away from charcoal to using clean biofuel. The company uses carbon financing to facilitate this transition.
- Start a 1B dollar reforestation fund
- To find ways to save the bees, please watch the documentary: more than honey!!!
- Build a unicorn start-up
- A family of my own
- DIY home renovation project
- Learn how to surf, sail
- Fly in a Mig
There are many many more items on that list and I shall make sure to keep on adding. They might not all be realistic but what are dreams for? Now it is your turn, to start writing, living, and chasing your dreams….
