- Join the military: 1985
- Blow something up (hulk of a tank in this case): 1987
- Become an artist (or at least in this case to go art school): 1987
- Jump out of an airplane: 1988
- Drive to Tiajuana (from Vancouver): 1989
And bit by bit, as I aged so did my 'things to do'. Some things didn't get done just because it was too complicated or beyond my meager means (space flight is unlikely). And yet, I was still able to accomplish many of my other check-points:
- Build and sell a company: started in 1992 and sold in 1999
- Find the love of my life and get married: 2000
- Go to a Full Moon party in Thailand: 2000
- Buy a house: 2001
- Run with the Bulls: 2002
- Have a family: 2003
- Create a career where I get to travel (and have it paid for): 2004
You might start to see a pattern here. Some of my list items are mundane and some are a bit more adventurous and thats ok. Getting married and having a family were really, really important to me. As was buying a house in Vancouver. Considering how much a house cost in Vancouver, you can see why its on par with jumping out an airplane. In my 40's my list becomes somewhat more desperate:
MBA: 2007
Oktoberfest: 2008
Attend High Mass in St Peters: 2009
Become a war artist: 2010
Go to Afghanistan: 2011
Attend Burning Man: 2012
Write a book: 2013 and ones not yet in planning
Run A Marathon
Climb Kilimanjaro
Attend Mardi Gras or Carnival
See my daughters get married
See my grandkids
Retire to paint full-time
Sell a painting to the VAG
ect...
I guess, that in the end your list should never end. It should always adapt to the outer limits of your ability, push you close to personal bankruptcy and make your family look at you in wonder (as they shake your head). I will note that on that last one, they only tsk-tsk me when I'm planning it because when I actually get it done (and I almost always get it done) I get a bit of begrudging respect ;)
