Tuesday, July 13, 2010

What do you want to do before you die?

Recently I discovered a TV show on FOXTEL, called 'The Buried Life.' Really didn't appeal to me when I heard the name, so I skipped over it. Later that very night, I accidently turned on that channel, instead of the one I was actually intending to watch.
Change the channel however, I did not. For the plot line of this documentary is about 4 young guys, all friends, deciding to do something different with their lives, and compile a list of 100 things they would like to do before they die; and for each item on their list they cross off, they will do something for randoms that they come across during their travels/adventures.
Pretty cool concept, I thought. So anyway, it really got me thinking. The concept of a 'Bucket List' is only usually utilised by those that are terminally ill, or just a joke to see who can get the most outlandish things on their list. Personally, the most I'd thought about it, was when watching either the movie by that name. They were merely passing thoughts.
I don't know what it was about TBL (The Buried Life) that hit me so hard, but it certainly did. After seeing that episode, I spent the next few days creating my own list of things I wanted to do before I died. I didn't put any parameters upon the list (ie, no official number to stop at) thinking that I might get like 50 or 60 things ... shown below is the result of my deep thinking sessions ...

WHAT I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE – THE OFFICIAL LIST

1. Witness something amazing/majestic
2. Be in a movie
3. Start my own business
4. Overcome my fear of heights
5. Drive each of: a mustang, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a V8 Supercar, an F1 car
6. Go sky diving
7. Go on an aeroplane at least once domestically, and once internationally
8. Build a school in a Third World country
9. Fall in love
10. Have a family; so, wife and kids
11. Adopt a child
12. Sponsor a child
13. Swim with a shark and touch/pat it
14. Give a speech: A) at a school. B) at a political meeting. C) at a writers conference
15. Invent something unique
16. Gatecrash a party
17. Dress up randomly for a non dress up party
18. Cut a ribbon at a major opening
19. Make a substantial charity donation
20. Deliver a baby
21. Scream at the top of my lungs
22. Sing the national anthem at a big event
23. Send a message in a bottle
24. Buy someone their groceries
25. Volunteer in a soup kitchen
26. Make someone smile
27. Throw the first pitch at a World Series game
28. Climb a mountain
29. Wear a custom made suit
30. Tell someone how I really feel
31. Throw a surprise party
32. Be in a music video
33. Lead someone to Christ
34. Always be giving with my time, money, energy, etc
35. Find a cure to something; not necessarily having to be medical
36. Make a positive change in the World many times over
37. Kiss the girl of my dreams
38. Have my own radio program
39. Have my own newspaper column
40. Come up with a revolutionary idea in at least 5 different fields
41. Conduct a wedding
42. Chauffeur a celebrity
43. Meet royalty
44. Master as many forms as martial arts as I can in my lifetime
45. Learn how to dance – at least 2 different styles
46. Compete in a WWE or TNA ring (or both)
47. Sneak into different places; Buckingham Palace, Warner Brothers Studios, etc
48. Go hang-gliding
49. Visit every country in the World; every town/city if I can. At least every continent
50. Own and design my own house
51. Ride a Harley
52. Pass a bill in Parliament
53. Play/participate in a Grand Final in any sport/activity
54. Write a new national anthem
55. Go to work in a suit or dress ups (depends on where it is, and the dress code)
56. Do at least one random act of kindness a week
57. Break the sound barrier
58. Speak at a youth conference, and at a Christian conference
59. Write a Top 10 song
60. Have dinner with at least 3 celebrities
61. Go on, if possible, Gladiators, The Amazing Race, Master Chef, The Footy Show
62. Host a murder mystery party
63. Solve a crime
64. Be a knight for a day
65. Enter a jousting competition
66. Go snorkelling along the Great Barrier Reef
67. Win a Nobel Prize, or a Pulitzer Prize, or something of the like
68. Build an orphanage
69. Serenade someone
70. Go snowboarding
71. Get an AFL Record for Geelong v every other team
72. Create an alter-ego
73. Become fluent in multiple languages
74. Go into space
75. Have something named after me; name something after someone
76. Start my own publication
77. Star on a reality TV show
78. Pretend to work at a shop and help/serve customers
79. Share the Gospel with at least one person a week
80. Go to the Boxing Day Test once per every touring team
81. Create my own language
82. Get my own words added to the English language officially
83. Go to a leadership boot camp
84. Fly a plane and/or a helicopter
85. Read the Bible cover to cover
86. Write my own biblical commentaries
87. Be an impostor and/or a streaker at something
88. Surf in Hawaii and South Africa
89. Visit as many of the Worlds Theme Parks as possible
90. Write some theological books; and some practical Christian living books
91. Be a contestant on a game show
92. Take a child on a toy shopping spree
93. Call a game of AFL and Cricket; on radio and/or TV
94. Play a practical joke on a celebrity
95. Work in an animal shelter
96. Teach somebody English
97. Interview a celebrity; gatecrash red carpet?
98. Have my own TV show
99. Organise a charity concert
100. Go dog sledding
101. Be a fireman for a day
102. Be a paramedic for a day
103. Eat a raw chilli
104. Start an internationally recognised annual day of prayer
105. Build Churches/share the Gospel wherever required
106. Pioneer something new/unique
107. Be an instigator in Christianity becoming ‘big’ within society again
108. Start my own ‘brand’ of humanitarian agencies
109. Be ‘the face’ of something
110. Write a best selling novel
111. Create an Academy Award winning movie
112. Be in a successful band
113. Save someone’s life
114. Help others to achieve their goals
115. Be a living sacrifice/example of and for Christ
116. Watch both a sunrise and a sunset from a mountains Summit
117. Try new things as often as possible
118. Start a conga line in the middle of a mall
119. Host a cooking show
120. Start a ‘hug’ fest; free hugs brand somewhere
121. Do a sketch with a comedian; or solo
122. Re-create a movie and/or an historical event
123. Be a waiter for a day
124. Be in a stage play and/or a musical
125. Learn at least 5 different musical instruments
126. Visit each of the 7 ancient, 7 modern, and 7 natural wonders of the World
127. Be in two places at once
128. Take a photo of something from each day of my life( from 21st onwards)
129. Fire a gun
130. Go water skiing
131. Go on a jet ski
132. Visit various real life movie locations; ie NZ for LOTR locations
133. Walk the entirety of the Great Wall of China
134. Make a movie
135. Sell something
136. Create a new advertisement for any product
137. Perform a rap song
138. Enter a darts competition
139. Break a World Record
140. Enter a ‘dance off’
141. Get a full body massage
142. Be the mascot for an Australian sporting team
143. Pretend to be a celebrity I look like
144. Get on the cover of TIME Magazine; Rolling Stone as well?
145. Go on Good News Week
146. Go to/host an op shop party
147. Ride a bull
148. Run with the bulls
149. Make a toast at a strangers wedding
150. Stand under a plane whilst it lands
151. Make the front page of a newspaper
152. Catch something and eat it
153. Sleep in a haunted house
154. Go to a rock concert
155. See the sunrise twice in one day
156. Buy a souvenir from each continent
157. Spend a day with various celebrities individually
158. Yell ‘BINGO!’ or other random catchphrases in public
159. Make my own brand of evangelical/inspirational Christian videos/movies
160. Climb the Eiffel Tower
161. Visit the Pyramids
162. Speak at a UN forum
163. Do Army Reserve training
164. Write an autobiography
165. Be a pirate for a day
166. Create a new board game
167. Be involved in a protest
168. Sing in the rain
169. Explore a cave
170. Create a new dessert
171. Ride a horse
172. Cook dinner for a celebrity; ideally Matt Preston
173. Attend an Olympic Games Opening and/or Closing ceremony
174. Go to an EPL match at both Wembley and Anfield
175. Take part in an American Civil War re-enactment
176. Lead a parade
177. Open the 6pm news
178. Plant a tree
179. Become a licensed minister/pastor
180. Tell a joke on late night television
181. Get a university and Bible College degree
182. Go on a blind date
183. Take a stranger out to dinner
184. Dance on stage at a major concert
185. Go paragliding
186. Spend a week in silence
187. Draw a mural
188. Smash a guitar on stage
189. Learn how to sail
190. Compete in a soapbox derby
191. Experience zero gravity
192. Tour with a major band
193. Throw the most badass party … EVER!
194. Jump off a waterfall
195. Ride a dune buggy
196. Host a lemonade stand
197. Represent Australia in an international competition of some sort
198. Be in a boxing match
199. Party with a rockstar
200. Busk … and earn $100
201. Watch a meteor shower
202. Umpire a game of AFL football
203. Run through a banner
204. Teach a Primary School class
205. Go white-water rafting
206. Ride in a hot air balloon
207. Sing in front of a large crowd
208. Roadtrip across all of Australia, Canada, France, and the US
209. Visit numerous castles
210. Help create a global renaissance (or be a part of one)
211. Finish a rubics cube
212. Meet my inspirations; including the boys from ‘The Buried Life’
213. Pull an all nighter around a bonfire at the beach
214. Go scuba diving
215. Give someone away at their wedding
216. Have a carriage/wheelbarrow/shopping trolley race in a car park
217. Re-enact a zombie apocalypse
218. Organise a music festival
219. Adopt some animals; start my own pet/animal shelter
220. Chase a storm
221. Backpack across Europe
222. Have my own clothing line/shoes
223. Give 100 compliments in a day (all need to be genuine)
224. Help feed a village
225. Walk the Kokoda Trail
226. Climb Mt Everest; or, at least, attempt to
227. Go to a Native American sun-dance ceremony in South Dakota
228. Finish a half-marathon
229. Visit WWII historical sites
230. Learn the history of ‘everything’
231. Sleep on the beach
232. Climb all 14 mountains above 8000 metres (?)
233. Be the one to break a piƱata
234. Create a massive scavenger hunt meets the Amazing Race somewhere
235. Become moderately successful on YouTUBE
236. Swim with dolphins
237. Go to an airport and get on the next available flight anywhere
238. Have a water balloon war
239. Put someone’s house up for sale, and host inspections
240. Read as many books as I possibly can in my lifetime
241. Make a friend in each and every Australian and American state
242. Get my drivers license
243. Witness the birthing of an animal
244. Walk all day
245. Finish a triathlon
246. Take photos of myself and my friends remaking famous movie and album covers
247. Be an inspiration to everyone and a positive change within the World
248. Go on many missions trips
249. Ride a gondola in Venice
250. Bury one, or multiple, time capsules
251. Be a cheerleader for a day
252. Help one stranger a week, for one year
253. Enter a golf buggy race
254. Tell a stranger they are beautiful
255. Be a part of a pit crew for either, or both, a V8 Supercar team or F1 team
256. Help the impoverished and those who cannot help themselves
257. Direct a feature length film
258. Join a secret society
259. Sign my name somewhere on the ‘HOLLYWOOD’ sign
260. Go on a safari, a cruise, a contiki tour
261. Spend a night in a library, a museum, a hopping complex
262. Learn to be a bartender, a barista
263. Get my CPR and first aid certificates
264. Do plenty of environmental and human rights activities
265. Start the Mexican wave at some sort of large scale event
266. Hike the Inca trail in Peru
267. Visit, and hike the Grand Canyon
268. Have a laser tag battle in a shopping centre
269. Attend a Hollywood premiere
270. Throw someone their bucks party
271. Crowdsurf
272. Spend a fortnight living in Third World conditions to raise awareness; documentaryialise it
273. Take the ‘Live Below the Line’ challenge
274. Live out the commandments of the Bible
275. Have a sing/dance off with a celebrity
276. Celebrate Chinese New Year
277. Hold my own fireworks ‘show’
278. Start my own club
279. Have a 24, LOTR, HP, and others marathon – dress ups and everything
280. End World injustices
281. Work at/for the UN
282. Join a political party
283. Host a master class
284. Speak like Yoda for a day
285. Speak solely in movie quotes, questions for a day
286. Decorate a wedding cake
287. Ensure that everyone in the World hears the Gospel in one form or another
288. Stand somewhere that no-one has set foot upon before
289. Send someone a dozen long stem red roses
290. Help someone to overcome an addiction
291. Leave a letter in a library book
292. Give back to those who have given to me
293. Cook a few popular dishes from at least one country on each continent
294. Pay for my parents to have the honeymoon they never had
295. Go to a masquerade ball
296. Touch a killer whale
297. Compete in a talent show
298. Hitchhike across a state line
299. Take photos in a photo booth with a complete stranger
300. Be eco-friendly in how I live; and social justice issues
301. Have/create my own biblical TV shows
302. Create my own moving, challenging, and inspirational Gospel skits & videos
303. Build a school in a Third World country
304. Video/photograph myself going through each item on this list
305. Ride on the outside of a car through an automatic car wash
306. Create a TV show
307. Write articles for major publications; Buck Williamsish
308. Have my photo taken with/interview, at least 100 different celebrities
309. Play a game of tennis against Roger Federer/John McEnroe
310. Have a goal kicking competition against Matthew Lloyd
311. Bat against the bowling of Shane Warne
312. Accept a dare; poll friends and strangers for the ‘coolest’
313. Make the news/front page of the newspaper as a superhero defending the city from the smallest things as coffee burns, to whatever

Items appearing red text, are items I have achieved. I know that there is only one down so far, but as I have the rest of my life ahead of me, some amazing friends, and a God that just keeps on looking after me, I am willing to attempt each item on this list. Some people deem this as self-centredness, perhaps it is, but I fully and completely intend to serve and glorify my loving God through each of these activities.
Anyone willing to join me in some of these, feel free to tell me, and tag along.

3 comments:

  1. thats a pretty extensive list...
    but...26. should probably be in red as well
    and i will join you for 6 whilst completing 4 :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeah, I'll see how I go completing it - do as many as God permits. Doing all to serve Him through meeting new people, and exposing them to the contagious joy we all have in Him.

    You're on, for 4 & 6 Stef =P and as for 26, have I made you smile?

    ReplyDelete
  3. mebbe...but im a naturally pretty smiley person :)

    (see....i even unconsciously smile in text)

    ReplyDelete