Monday, July 16, 2007

Twenty Five Things

Several years ago I made a list entitled, "25 Things To Do Before I Die." Recently, I amended this list, and I thought I'd share it to edify, enlighten, and inspire you, my devoted reader.

Some of these are very earnest desires; some are quite whimsical. I've tried to come up with objectives that cover the gamut of my interests, as well as the full spectrum of mind/body/spirit. Many of these goals are travel related. Some will be pretty easy to accomplish once I put my mind to it, some will require quite a bit of luck, some will be more difficult, some will be exceptionally challenging, requiring years of preparation, and some are achievements to be completed over my entire lifetime.

These are not my only goals in life, and they are admittedly mostly self-centered. My greatest, most significant goals revolve around my family, church and career. But these twenty five things are geared towards keeping me challenged and interested in my own life . . .

I think a man who accomplished all of these things could say, at the end of his life, that he had done much and lived well. So far, I've completed three: #2, 4, and 10.

25 Things To Do Before I Die


1) Run a marathon
2) Swim with sea turtles
3) Sky dive
4) Hit a buzzer beater in a real basketball game
5) Read the entire works of Shakespeare
6) Sing in the choir in a session of General Conference
7) Set foot on all seven continents
8) Attend a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Austria
9) Write a novel
10) Publish a poem
11) Become a black belt in a martial art
12) Own horses
13) Give over $1,000,000 to charitable causes over my lifetime
14) Design and build our own home
15) Attend the Olympic Games
16) Climb Mt. Kilamanjaro
17) Open water scuba dive in the Carribean
18) Be in the temple with all of my grown children
19) Read the entire standard works in one year's time
20) Act in a musical
21) Compete in a triathalon
22) Ski a double black diamond
23) Kayak a class IV rapid
24) Publish a children's book
25) Make a citizen's arrest

*I reserve the right to further amend these goals at any time without explanation and without warning.
**Don't tell me what to do
***I yield to no man.