The Bucket List

I went to a meeting yesterday where, in a panel discussion, the topic of "Bucket Lists" came up. It occured to me that I really should commit one to paper.

The person who raised the topic mentioned they were discussing their 5 year and 10 year bucket lists with their protege and I gave it some serious thought later that day.

Have you thought about your "bucket" or "Life to-do" list lately? Priorities change as our demands on our time and interests evolve and change, but I think it's important to articulate what you're working toward.

I came up with a relatively short list of items on my five year bucket plan. Here it is:

Visit Rwanda or Uganda. For the last 10 years, I've had a fascination with Great Apes, Mountain Gorillas, Orangutans, and I would love to see them in the wild.

I want to run the Boston Marathon by the time I'm 45 years old. When I turn 45, the qualifying time is 3:40. My stepping stone goal is to get to sub four hours, which I'm currently working on. It may be a reach but if it takes another year or two beyond 45, it's still within 5 years.

Go to Disneyland with my wife and son. This is the most realistic and probably do-able one on the list. I just need to set aside the time and $ to do it.

Go to an F-1 race. 9 years ago, I worked for a website called Quokka.com that built other websites for sports entities. One was for open wheel racing. I went to one race that year and I vowed I'd go back. CART, the open wheel series we covered, is no more, but IRL and F-1 are still around. I'd really like to experience that again.

Get my young son started in fitness and running. I'm trying to set an example for him by showing him my running. I even get him to shout to other runners we see on the road, "Good job running!" or "Good job biking!" I think he enjoys going to my occasional marathons and races and thinks of them as exciting parades. I hope it stays fun for him.

Go to Paris again. And Italy.

Create films and connect with other runners.

Beyond having the bucket list, what are you doing to get to that bucket list? If I REALLY wanted to get to Paris by 2010, am I setting aside money for that trip NOW, researching hotels, etc. Why not?

I need to take some time to figure out WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, as @KCCAREERCOACH would say, and work toward that goal.

That's what's on my bucket list. What's on yours?