By Jaime Willis
A few years ago, veteran blogger and internet maven Maggie Mason decided to write a Life List. This isn't a new idea, and Maggie certainly wasn't trying to start a revolution -- she just wanted a list of things that she could accomplish written out for her and her readers to see. The difference with Maggie's Life List is that she's doing it. Making plans, big and small, to cross off items on her life list. Her Life List truly has taken on a life of its own -- companies have sponsored some of her items and she created an 'summit' to bring together some of her favorite internet friends together in person to life-list-it together.
This year, Maggie went even further. With her partner in crime, The Queso's Laura Mayes, they've created "Camp Mighty." Camp Mighty is a three-day 150 people super-summit for regular folks to tackle their life lists in a really neat way.
Of course, I'm going.
I'll be honest -- I'm so excited to be a part of this because Maggie and Laura are so fun in their blogs, I'm certain they'll be as fun in person. But I'm also a little bit nervous. I'm not bringing anyone with me -- so it'll be just like real camp -- walking into a room with a 150 strangers and hoping you walk out with 150 (or at least one or two!) great friends.
One of our homework assignments is to create (or update) our Life List. Since I've never really sat down and written a full list of awesome things I want to do, I'm creating mine now.
And, fair warning, I'm going to cheat a little bit to add in some of the really cool things I've already accomplished that I'm pretty proud of. I'm sure I'll be adding and subtracting, but here's what I have so far.
Travel/Location
2. Visit all fifty U.S. States (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
3. Visit the top 50 cities in the Foreign Policy Index (New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, Chicago, Los Angeles, Singapore, Sydney, Seoul, Brussels, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Toronto, Beijing, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, Boston, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Stockholm, Zurich, Moscow, Barcelona, Dubai, Rome, Amsterdam, Mexico City, Montreal, Geneva, Miami, Munich, Sao Paolo, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Houston, Taipai, Atlanta, Istanbul, Milan, Cairo, Dublin, New Delhi, Mumbai, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv)
1. Zipline through the rain forest of Costa Rica.
2. Climb the Wallace Monument in Scotland.
3. Watch the sunset in Oia, Greece.
4. See the Sistine Chapel.
5. Touch a real Van Gogh (don't tell, but I touched it very carefully!).
6. See inside a Volcano (at Pompei and New Mexico).
7. Visit the remains of Pompei.
11. Have a hot-air balloon ride.
16. See Wootstock live.
20. Write a book. (Want to write another one though).
34. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
A few years ago, veteran blogger and internet maven Maggie Mason decided to write a Life List. This isn't a new idea, and Maggie certainly wasn't trying to start a revolution -- she just wanted a list of things that she could accomplish written out for her and her readers to see. The difference with Maggie's Life List is that she's doing it. Making plans, big and small, to cross off items on her life list. Her Life List truly has taken on a life of its own -- companies have sponsored some of her items and she created an 'summit' to bring together some of her favorite internet friends together in person to life-list-it together.
Of course, I'm going.
I'll be honest -- I'm so excited to be a part of this because Maggie and Laura are so fun in their blogs, I'm certain they'll be as fun in person. But I'm also a little bit nervous. I'm not bringing anyone with me -- so it'll be just like real camp -- walking into a room with a 150 strangers and hoping you walk out with 150 (or at least one or two!) great friends.
One of our homework assignments is to create (or update) our Life List. Since I've never really sat down and written a full list of awesome things I want to do, I'm creating mine now.
And, fair warning, I'm going to cheat a little bit to add in some of the really cool things I've already accomplished that I'm pretty proud of. I'm sure I'll be adding and subtracting, but here's what I have so far.
Jaime's Life List
Travel/Location
1. Visit all seven continents (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Antarctica)
2. Visit all fifty U.S. States (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
3. Visit the top 50 cities in the Foreign Policy Index (
4. Visit at least 50 countries (Antigua, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbardos, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Northern Ireland, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wales)
5. Live in New York City (at least part time).
6. Buy a cottage in Michigan.
Health
1. Reach Goal Weight (-35 lbs from today's weight); Maintain it (+/- 10 lbs) for 2 years in a row. (I've reached the goal weight in question in 2009, but didn't keep it off. I'd like to get down there again and keep it off!) Total weight lost: -25 | -50 | -75 | -100 | -125 | -150
2. Run, run, run! (5k, 8k, 10k, 15k (Running Hot Chocolate 15k in December 2011), Half-Marathon, Sprint Triathlon, International Triathlon, 50 10ks in 2011)
3. Be stronger! (50 real pushups in a row (10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50), 1 pull-up, 100 sit-ups in a row, 3-min plank)
Education
1. Graduate! (Bachelors, Juris Doctor, Masters, Medical Doctor (I know this one is not likely to happen unless I get fabulously wealthy, but I don't want to give up all hope!))
2. Credentials (Pass New York Bar Exam, Get Sworn In, Get ELI-MP Certified, Get Associate Certified Coach Credential)
Finances
1. Pay off Student Loans.
2. Have eight months of savings.
3. Buy a house.
4. Pay cash for a car.
5. Be able to work for myself full-time.
Cool Experiences
8. See Stonehenge.
9. Ride a camel to the Egyptian Pyramids.
10. Ride a boat in Cambodia.
12. Take a class at Trapeze School.
13. Parasail over a Tropical Island.
14. Take a Zero-G ride.
15. Go on a vacation with the whole big family.
17. See a TED talk live.
18. Be on a Oprah show.
19. Be interviewed by the Today Show.
21. Take a flight booked the same day.
22. Try Parkour.
23. Rappel down something.
24. Run an obstacle course confidently.
25. Play in a Scrabble Tournament.
26. Run the bases at Yankee Stadium.
27. Make cookies with my nephews.
28. Visit the first Starbucks store.
29. Spend a summer at the beach.
30. Set up a college scholarship.
31. Make a (silver jewelry) ring from scratch.
32. Chase a Tornado.
33. Eat at a 4-star restaurant, watch a Broadway show, and stay in a glitzy hotel in New York City.
35. See the Northern Lights.
36. Do a talk in front of a crowd of 1,000+.
37. Pick a lock.
38. Be quoted.
39. Learn at least one dance.
40. Take a painting class.
41. Climb Dumyat.
Jaime, this is not only entertaining but completely inspiring! I can't wait to make my own list!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Danielle!
ReplyDelete