A few years ago, I created a bucket list that included some of the things I wanted to do before I died. I guess it’s something that changes daily. I mean, what I wanted a few short months ago is not exactly what I want now. But there are some constant goals I want to achieve, dreams I want to fulfill, and life-experiences I desire to have before I die.
My list looks something like this:
1. Go sky-diving ✔
2. Go bungee jumping ✔
3. Go white-water rafting ✔
4. Visit 30 countries by the time I am 30 ✔
5. Have a husband who cherishes our relationship enough to laugh often, live well, and support whatever crazy ideas I might have ✔
6. Become a mother ✔
7. Have a fulfilling career ✔
8. Be a role model ✔
9. Write a book ✔
10. See the northern lights ✔
11. Drive a Ferrari
12. Learn to surf
13. Swim with dolphins ✔
6. Try paragliding ✔
7. Visit a volcano ✔
8. Go on a cruise ✔
9. Fly in a helicopter ✔
10. Visit a castle ✔
11. Kiss the Blarney Stone ✔
12. Experience a sunrise
13. Pack my bags and set off for a random location with no itinerary planned at all ✔
14. Live in a different country for at least 6 months ✔
15. Go zip-lining ✔
16. Go on an African safari
17. Drive a dog sled ✔
18. See a polar bear ✔
19. Walk the Great Wall of China
20. Visit the Statue of Liberty ✔
21. Visit the Eiffel Tower ✔
22. Helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon
23. Publish an article about my travels ✔
24. Walk on a glacier ✔
25. Learn to sail ✔
26. Teach English in a foreign country ✔
27. Ride a gondola in Venice ✔
28. Swim with sharks
29. Visit Rome ✔
30. Go whale-watching ✔
31. Watch a play at the Globe Theatre. ✔
32. Black-Water Rafting
What’s on your bucket list? If you don’t have one, I encourage you to give it a try. It guides you towards goals. If you don’t live your life by personal goals and plans, chances are you spend most of your time caught up in the day-to-day. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have clarity and focus on what you want from your life.
Bucket List Publications 
Whoa! You’ve covered most of it! You’re awesome!
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Thank you!
Sometimes I let live get away from me, but I try to always keep things in perspective.
Do you have a bucket list or a “next adventure”? I love to hear what others have on their list. It often sparks ideas or future goals.
Thanks for reading,
Lesley
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I now see that you have your own after checking out your blog. 🙂
What’s next?
Lesley
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Lesley! Still chasing the one where I listen to recommended songs… Will figure next one after that’s done 🙂
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Well, I recommend Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, and Tom Fun Orchestra. Give them a listen and maybe you’ll get closer to your goal 🙂
Thanks for your comments.
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Lesley,
I like your bucket list. It looks like I have done about 18 of them. There are another half dozen I want to do and a few that I can’t do; like be a mother or maintain a healthy life style (I like wings, beer and ice cream too much) 🙂 There are a few I will pass on like jumping out of a plane or off of a bridge.
On your Cotsa Rica trip didn’t you do the zip line? If you are back in Costa Rica you should try the zip line over the canyon in Rincon de la Vieja. It is called the “Kazm Canon” and it starts at the Hacienda Lodge in Rincon. You would love it. When you take off from the starting platform you get a sinking feeling from the slack in the line. When you reach the first platform it is the size of a large picnic table which is bolted into the side of the canyon wall, several hundred feet above the floor of the canyon. After you zip to the second platform they had U-bolts in the canyon wall at your hand and foot level so that you can make your way over to a ledge, then turn around grab the rope and do the Tarzan swing across the canyon. Then you climb some more U-bolts to the next platform and from there the rest are a piece of cake.
Dan
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Non of that sounds like a piece of cake or like it would lead to anything that is a piece of cake; I’m in!
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Lesley,
No, your right it leads to beer at the bar in the lodge, It was mid morning when we were done but we made them sell us a beer. I posted a couple of photos as my 6-22-2011 photo of the day. I was actually able to take my camera and I got some shots of the guy I went with as he was working his way over to the ledge.
Dan
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Congrats on accomplishing so many at such a young age! Though, I noticed you don’t have a check next to “Experience a Sunrise”. Is that right? That seems like the easiest one to do!
I have meant for quite some time to put pen to paper and actually make a list of the things I want to do, but the three that I still MUST MUST do are: Raft the Grand Canyon, Backpack in Patagonia and Hike the Great Wall.
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Thank you for your kind words. I’ve been blessed with great opportunities and experiences.
Experiencing a sunrise may seem like one of the easiest, but for a person that only knows one 5 o’clock that exists during the day, it has proven more difficult than expected. I guess I just figured the sunrise would go with being a new mother so I’ll knock off both goals shortly – I’m almost 3 months pregnant 🙂
You have the beginning of a great list there with three “must do” things.
Thank you for posting; it is appreciated.
Good luck!
Lesley
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I love this! Great accomplishments – adventures and experiences to be very proud of. Life is about living! I want to go bungee jumping and white water rafting. I also would like to travel more! And swim with dolphins! Your bucket list is getting me excited!
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That’s what I like to hear. Do you have a “next in line” for adventures or travels? I’m heading to Mexico next weekend and hopefully Palm Springs in the next few weeks.
Lesley
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I wish I have done half of the things you had!! I see you have visited many countries but none in Asia? Maybe you should add that to your bucket list 😉
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I’ve included the Great Wall, which will incorporate Asia, but I have been to Hong Kong; I just didn’t get a chance to post about it yet. 🙂
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OK, Lesley – if you have yet to experience a sunrise (of all the incredible things you have already done!!!), here is the way to do it. Go climb a BIG multi-day mountain like Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania) or Kota Kinabulu (in Borneo), or even Kosciousko (in Australia) – somewhere a little warm so you don’t freeze to death entirely, overnight about 500 metres from the summit, get up at 2am (yes, just once in your life), then climb with a head torch and wait for that truly glorious, silencing moment of watching the sun come up BELOW you. There is nothing like it on earth.
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Wow! Your bucket list is great and what’s even more great is the fact that you have completed more than half the items on the list!! I’m going to create one of my own now. Just out of curiosity, in which country did you live for 6 months? I love the “Visit 30 countries before I’m 30” item. I definitely want to do that! I’ve already visited a few different countries. Do airports count? 😉 I hope you get to do the rest this year, especially the African safari. That should be wild!
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Well, I’m currently living in the US and I’m a Canadian so I think that counts 🙂
I reached 33 countries before my 30th birthday and it was one of my greatest accomplishments to date.
Keep me posted when you create your own. I’d love to hear the ideas.
Lesley
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Lesley, I will definitely try a bucket list. I used to love adventures and trying new things but after the birth of my daughter, I stopped and started getting scared. I’ve done a few travelling but there are more I want to visit. So, this has inspired me. Top of my list is to publish a book.
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