The List

Post image for The List

As promised, here is what I plan to do before I die. It will be kept current.

If you want to make your own list, here is the comprehensive guide to making one that you will honor.

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Cities to tour

To tour a city means to spend at least a few days there exploring.

Istanbul

Florence

Venice

Montreal - DONE but I will be back

Quebec City

Toronto

Vancouver

Paris

New York

London

Rome

Prague

Cologne

Geneva

Washington, D.C.

Dublin

Amsterdam

San Francisco

Zermatt, Switzerland

World treasures to visit

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Chateau de Versailles

Pyramids of Egypt

Cairo Museum

The Eiffel Tower

The Statue of Liberty

The Louvre

Machu Picchu

Hagia Sophia

Taj Mahal

Chateau Frontenac, Quebec

Windsor Castle

Mont St-Michel

Town of Annecy, France

Carcassonne

Countries/regions to explore

Visiting only one city in these regions doesn’t count. One week minimum, must include overland travel

Thailand - DONE – 11/20/09 – Had a blast, will be back one day.

New Zealand – PROGRESSI’m here at the moment, but I still plan to travel a lot more. If I died today I could call it “done” but for now I’m still exploring this wonderful country.

France

Czech Republic

Italy

Switzerland

British Isles (including Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales)

Scandinavia

Nepal

The Maritime Provinces, Canada

Skills and knowledge

Learn French to fluency

Learn conversational Spanish

Learn Jujitsu until it’s muscle memory

Learn photography

Learn my wines

Learn to boost a car without worrying I might zap myself

Learn proper etiquette for a full formal dinner, and use it

Become a respectable chess player; learn to play the most common openings without guesswork

Achieve a comprehensive knowledge of the events of the Second World War – PROGRESS

Learn to surf

Learn first aid and CPR

Learn to do one-arm pushups

Learn to dance well

Learn to drive a stick

Learn to throw a tight spiral with a football

Learn to swim properly - after all these years I must say I really don’t know what I’m doing

Master the GTD system

Learn to swing a golf club properly

Achieve a general understanding of the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Marcus Aurelius, Machiavelli, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Blaise Pascal, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Jean-Paul Sartre, Voltaire, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, Thomas Paine, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Albert Einstein, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Ayn Rand

Read about the lives of Napoleon Bonaparte, Albert Einstein, Marco Polo, Helen Keller, Benjamin Franklin, Michelangelo, Adolf Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, Leonardo da Vinci, Ernest Hemingway, Augustus Caesar, Jean d’Arc, Ferdinand Magellan, Lewis & Clark, Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Genghis Khan, Henry VIII, Mark Twain, Horatio Nelson, Peter the Great, Louis XIV, Elizabeth I and John Lennon

Achievements

Become self-employed

Complete the Secret Service Snatch Test in 200 reps

Play guitar in a working band

Get a university degree

Own a house

Speak in front of a large audience (500+)

Become debt-free - DONE

Assemble a comprehensive family tree

Sponsor a successful entrepreneur in a developing country (through kiva.org) – DONE – 12/11/09 – Julia Maria Vega of Nicaragua received her loan for expanding her food store.

Try a vegan diet for 40 days

Become a millionaire

Have my own website - DONE

Do 20 pullups in one set

Own a suit I feel great in

Make my living doing work I love

Achieve a physique I’m proud of

Go 21 days without complaining once – PROGRESS - Experiment No. 5 is underway and aims to do this.

Adopt a sustainable lifestyle

Achieve a “location independent” full-time income

Get my gmail inbox to zero

Write my will

Books/films to read/see

Schindler’s List – DONE9/13/09

Dr. Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)

Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad - DONE – 11/16/09 – Finished it on the beach in Ko Phi Phi. Fantastic book, everyone who loves the English language should read it.

On the Road – Jack Kerouac

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand – PROGRESSFound a copy of it staring at me from a hostel book exchange shelf. I left Heart of Darkness for another traveler. I’m on page 150. Update 2/10/10: I lost the book on the bus! I was on page 300. Will have to resume later.

Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes

Moby Dick – Herman Melville

The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

The Stranger – Albert Camus

Roughing It – Mark Twain- PROGRESSCurrently reading it.

Beyond Good and Evil – Friedrich Nietzsche

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Pirsig

Experiences to have

Become a parent

Plant and harvest a vegetable garden

Walk the Milford Track- DONE – 2/1/10 – Unforgettable hike. Some of the most dramatic landscapes I’ve ever seen. Had perfect weather.

Snowboard in the European Alps

Hike the Tongariro CrossingDONE – 12/8/09 – Incredible experience. Took no less than 228 photos.

Explore Yellowstone National Park

Go to an NFL game

Stay as a guest at one of the high-end hotels I toiled in as a housekeeper (in Panorama, B.C.)

Fly first class

Drive a 300+ horsepower muscle car

Drive a 500+ horsepower sports car

Swim in the Mediterranean

Float in the Dead Sea

Orbit the earth in a spaceship - Yeah that’s right

Drink Irish beer in an Irish Pub

Fly in a hot air balloon

Look at the heavens through a huge telescope

Go rock climbing

See the Northern Lights - DONE but I want to do it again!

Take an epic multi-day hike in the Alps

See Radiohead live (in England if possible!)

Go snowboarding somewhere only accessible by helicopter

Travel by train through the mountains – DONE – 2/4/10 – Took the TranzScenic across the New Zealand Southern Alps from Greymouth to Christchurch.

Live in France for at least a few months

Live in Montreal for at least a few months

Walk the Abel Tasman Coastal Track – DONEI had planned to walk the entire length of the track on December 23-27, 2009. When I got to the first hut, I found myself to be the only solo traveler at a beach full of vacationing families. I had left friends behind at the beginning of the track, and decided I’d rather spend Christmas with them than do the rest of the track with all of these couples and families. So I went back the next day. I did not walk the whole track as I intended, but I’m calling it done. I saw everything I wanted to see. It was beautiful, I just didn’t need five days of it at that particular time.

Take a round-the-world trip

See an opera in a grand opera house

Dine at a ridiculously expensive restaurant

Stay at a ridiculously expensive hotel

Share a ridiculously expensive bottle of wine with someone

Go to a movie by myself

Participate in the making of a documentary

Fire a pistol

Play a song I wrote in front of other people

Get a massage from a professional – DONE - 10/14/09 – (There will be many more.)

Have a picnic on a green rolling hill with a checkered blanket

Eat a baguette and drink wine in France

Hike in a rainforest – DONE - 1/24/10 – Hiked through the rainforest at Franz Josef, NZ, up to the top of 1300m Alex Knob. I am so sore.

Sit on a beach with no trace of any people other than me

Order in French at a French restaurant

Hike in the Himalayas

Tour Medieval villages in Provence

Take a road trip via motorcycle

Record an album of my own music

Tour Le Marais in Paris

Tour a region famous for wine, and sample a lot of it

Work for room and board in the WWOOF program

Take an overnight camping trip by canoe

Take a coast-to-cost road trip across the US South, visiting Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada and California

Snowboard at Vail, Colorado

Go kayaking

Summit a mountain (10,000+ ft)

Attend Toastmasters

Ride a Harley Davidson

See Cirque du Soleil

Total goals: 152

Total complete: 14

Last updated: Major Revision on Feb 14, 2010 — I eliminated a 14 items that were added prematurely. After having traveled for a few months now, I’ve adjusted my priorities a bit. There are some countries (China comes to mind) that I no longer feel compelled to go to. I would still love to go to some of these places, but they don’t quite call me strongly enough to deserve a place here. I am knocking off list items steadily, and I want to made sure they really are important to me.


R

Photo by Dudu Viana

{ 2 trackbacks }

Taupo – The Heart of North Island — David Goes Kiwi
December 13, 2009 at 1:03 am
The Milford Track — David Goes Kiwi
February 13, 2010 at 4:20 am

{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }

Tonie September 17, 2009 at 11:05 am

wow.

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Javeed Ahmed M November 9, 2009 at 8:51 am

That is a Great List and a Long one too.. All the Best…Just a few More to Go….

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AndyBaxley November 23, 2009 at 10:09 pm

David- Your site gets me jazzed; thank you sir. Might I suggest adding a book called Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl) to your list. You of all people will find it profoundly inspiring, I am certain.

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Financial Samurai November 30, 2009 at 2:27 am

New to the site, good stuff!

Just wondering though, what are you doing for income in all your travels? I’d like to do this too one day, but I want to be financially secure before hand (by 40).

Cheers, Sam

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David November 30, 2009 at 5:27 am

On my current trip, I am living on my savings at the moment, which will not hold out forever. I will spend some time (probably in January) working for room and board in the WWOOF program (http://wwoof.org) as much for the experience as the room and board. After that I will find a paying job, and will be experimenting with internet marketing projects.

Long term, I plan to develop a location-independent self-employed income, so I can work while I travel via internet.

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Financial Samurai December 1, 2009 at 12:11 am

Hi David,

Sounds great man. I truly have always wanted to do what you do, but I’m afraid that once I leave my job and location in San Francisco, I’ll never be able to get it back. I have a fear that I truly do have a good thing going, and will regret my departure.

How do you know when it’s the right time to pack your bags and go solo? Was there an aha moment? How do you know when it’s the right time to come back and work at a traditional job? Never?

Finally, what about trying to montize your blog? It seems to get good enough traffic to earn perhaps $1,000+/month.

Best,

Sam

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David December 1, 2009 at 2:07 am

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing if you never get your job back. It sounds like it is keeping you from doing something you really want to do.

You may be able to negotiate a leave of absence or something, you just have to take the steps. If you want to travel it can be done. I don’t think I’ve never met anyone who has said they regret traveling, but I’ve talked to plenty who have regret not traveling.

I was ready to change jobs anyway, so it was rather easy for me to just get up and go. I was also nearing the age limit for a Working Holiday Visa, so it was sort of a now-or-never thing for me.

I will probably begin to monetize my blog soon. It does get good consistent traffic, I just want to make sure I choose the right way to do it.

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Financial Samurai December 1, 2009 at 8:04 am

David – It’s one of those things where I want it all, but obviously, that can’t happen. I’ve actually lived in 6 different countries for 2-4 years at a time and it was wonderful.

I’m thinking, why not plant my seed now (my site), and when I’ve got the financial wherewithal to really walk away and never return in 8-10 years, use the site as medium for supplemental income and as a hobby.

It’s not like I’m locked in a cage, as my firm provides 6 weeks a year vacation, which probably sounds like a joke to you :) Perhaps i’m looking for just balance. We get a 1-3 month sabbatical every 5 years, so perhaps I’ll take on next year for a month at least.

The ultimate scenario is probably to just have a healthy passive income stream from interest on cash, and then obviously a fantastic website to supplement so you’re never held down. One day!

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Susan January 5, 2010 at 8:21 am

Hi David,
I somehow stumbled onto your site when I was searching life lists. I teach health & am teaching a high school elective called “fit for life”. I am very impressed with Raptitude and your ability to articulate. I just finished a unit on life direction & I will print your article on “What Were Your Highlights in 2009?” and have my students read it. Thanks for providing an invaluable service. Best wishes on all of your adventures! I will definitely continue reading!
Sincerely,
Susan
Sag Harbor, NY

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David January 5, 2010 at 7:44 pm

Hello Susan,

Wow, thank you. I am humbled that you think my work is fit for the young minds in your classroom.

Thank you for the best wishes, I hope to hear from you again.

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tom February 9, 2010 at 9:55 pm

very inteesting its a long road i should say a wonderful road good luck to you.

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Hunter March 1, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Truly remarkable site. I stumbled upon this site using the website StumbleUpon (hah imagine that). But I thought I might suggest Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck to your list of books. Though you may have already read it and not quite consider it on the level of “The List,” I figured I’d at least suggest. It just touched me when I read it. Hope your current job search goes well! (With the exclamation point, too. Look at that.)
Best
HG

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David March 1, 2010 at 2:16 pm

Thanks Hunter. I have seen the play of Of Mice and Men. I remember being quite affected by it (but also a bit disturbed.) I will definitely read some Steinbeck one day.

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Aaron March 5, 2010 at 2:32 am

Robert Pirsig wrote a sequel to ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance’ called ‘Lila’ which I think is a must read if you’re considering Pirsig.

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David March 5, 2010 at 2:56 am

Hi Aaron. I’ve got a copy of ZAMM waiting for me when I get home. I’ll check out Lila when I’m done.

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