Years ago, my dad used to drag the family through a tortured drill of planning our goals for the year. For some reason, the effort always seemed more like "work" than fun. But, we went through the exercise, and over the years, many of our individual and family goals were realized: two trips to Hawaii, annual trips to Hilton Head, stereos, cars, and much more.
As time wore on, I found myself working on my own goals, gradually evolving from places and things, to include hobbies, exercise/heath, investments, personal development, reading, entertainment (TV, movies, PC/video games), and relationships.
NetFlix.com totally changed the tracking of movies. With an endless queue, and eight movies at a time, once I got started in 1999 there has always been something to watch. And their rating system has made it easy to track what I've seen; almost too easy. With over 1,553 movies rated, it's safe to say that "Movies" have moved from status as a "goal" to merely one of many sources of entertainment available to us in the 21st Century.
At Legend, we adopted OpenWiki as our standard for tracking project information, including task lists. This led to the usage of "ToDo" lists - so named, because the use of two uppercase letters causing the "ToDo" tag to be interpreted as a link to a subordinate page. As you may have guessed from my book list, I've always been a big fan of lists, so the Wiki ToDo list was a natural for me.
Ted Leonsis's blog's "My 101 List" has a depth and breadth that are amazing to behold. Few can aspire to such lofty goals, and even fewer will ever check off even a fraction of the goals listed. But, whether Ted's goals are attainable by average folk, they're certainly worth examining to encourage stretching one's horizons: Own a restaurant or club? Change someone's life via a charity? Go to White House / Meet President? Why not!?
My wife recently gave me a book "101 Things To Do Before You Die." It includes such gems as Swim With... Sharks, Whales, Dolphins, Tropical Fish. (readers choice) and warns under Tropical Fish, "be wary of piranha." Others include: "Meet Your Idol", "Experience Weightlessness", "Read the Greatest Books Ever Written", "Live in the Place You Love", "Take Part in a Police Line-up", "Have Adventurous Sex", "Answer a Personal Ad". (Maybe you could kill two birds with one stone, there. ;-))
In any case, the combination of a habit of making lists, Ted's blog, the book, and contemplating dream-homes while watching the sun set got me started on a new goals list of my own. And, as suggested by the book and Ted's list, rather than focusing on the year, I expanded my list to life-long, including past, present, and future. It's a fun exercise. Try it, you might surprise yourself with how much you've accomplished already - I did! But, more importantly, you'll develop a clearer vision of what you're seeking from life, and improve your chances of seeing opportunities to achieve your goals when they come along.
Next up... My Goals.
As time wore on, I found myself working on my own goals, gradually evolving from places and things, to include hobbies, exercise/heath, investments, personal development, reading, entertainment (TV, movies, PC/video games), and relationships.
NetFlix.com totally changed the tracking of movies. With an endless queue, and eight movies at a time, once I got started in 1999 there has always been something to watch. And their rating system has made it easy to track what I've seen; almost too easy. With over 1,553 movies rated, it's safe to say that "Movies" have moved from status as a "goal" to merely one of many sources of entertainment available to us in the 21st Century.
At Legend, we adopted OpenWiki as our standard for tracking project information, including task lists. This led to the usage of "ToDo" lists - so named, because the use of two uppercase letters causing the "ToDo" tag to be interpreted as a link to a subordinate page. As you may have guessed from my book list, I've always been a big fan of lists, so the Wiki ToDo list was a natural for me.
Ted Leonsis's blog's "My 101 List" has a depth and breadth that are amazing to behold. Few can aspire to such lofty goals, and even fewer will ever check off even a fraction of the goals listed. But, whether Ted's goals are attainable by average folk, they're certainly worth examining to encourage stretching one's horizons: Own a restaurant or club? Change someone's life via a charity? Go to White House / Meet President? Why not!?
My wife recently gave me a book "101 Things To Do Before You Die." It includes such gems as Swim With... Sharks, Whales, Dolphins, Tropical Fish. (readers choice) and warns under Tropical Fish, "be wary of piranha." Others include: "Meet Your Idol", "Experience Weightlessness", "Read the Greatest Books Ever Written", "Live in the Place You Love", "Take Part in a Police Line-up", "Have Adventurous Sex", "Answer a Personal Ad". (Maybe you could kill two birds with one stone, there. ;-))
In any case, the combination of a habit of making lists, Ted's blog, the book, and contemplating dream-homes while watching the sun set got me started on a new goals list of my own. And, as suggested by the book and Ted's list, rather than focusing on the year, I expanded my list to life-long, including past, present, and future. It's a fun exercise. Try it, you might surprise yourself with how much you've accomplished already - I did! But, more importantly, you'll develop a clearer vision of what you're seeking from life, and improve your chances of seeing opportunities to achieve your goals when they come along.
Next up... My Goals.
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