Die Happy! How to make a Life List

August 22, 2007

Ten Steps to Building Your Life List

by Renaissance Jack

Have you ever made one of those “100 Things To Do Before You Die” lists? I have. Actually, I’ve been through a couple drafts. On the most recent one, I did manage to get all the way up to number 72 before I ran out of ideas. Now, I know there are at least 100 things I want to do before I die, and most likely quite a few more.

Renaissance Jack is going to start as a way to compile the best of the best in life lists. But we’re not stopping there. We’re going to actually do these things, and report back on our results. We’re all going to die happy here at Renaissance Jack!

Hopefully, at Jack’s 6 month birthday, we’ll have multiple lists divided into a variety of sub-categories (adventure, academic, etc). So, let’s get started. I need your help thinking of things to do, deciding whether things are list-worthy, ranking them, etc. Then, we’ll start completing our life lists, and that’s where the fun really starts.

Make Your List

So you think you’re ready to join Jack? The following 10 steps will serve to get your life list started and finished! These easy steps are the starting point for all new Renaissance Jack wannabe’s, so let’s get started!

1. Make use of other’s lists…but be wary. As a service to you, esteemed Jack reader, I’m going to build a life list from scratch right here on Renaissance Jack, right before your very eyes! You’ll be able to use my example list, along with those of your fellow Jack buddies, to get over any writers block. There are also several lists available online, but I recommend creating your own first. After all, making your list based on someone else’s is kind of like taking a vacation while simultaneously reading the travel book.

2. Be in the right state of mind…or at least halfway awake. You know yourself. When are you the most awake, alert and adventurous? That’s the best time to work on your list.

3. Use the everyday grind. Think of all the things you do on a regular basis. Now take a step back. What can you check off of your list without going far away or spending too much time? Ask yourself these questions:

What tasks do I do routinely?
What tasks do I choose to do on the weekends?
What tasks do I routinely outsource to others?

For example, do you drive a car to work every weekday? If so, have you ever changed your own oil? Or changed a tire? (The tire doesn’t have to be flat to do this!) Consider doing something out of your comfort zone for your list’s sake! Have you ever driven over 100 mph? (**Don’t send me your speeding tickets. I’m just trying to get your mind working**)

4. Stay at home. Sometimes it’s easy to think outside of your everyday world. In fact, 75% of life lists are probably travel- or world- related. But this taste for the foreign might be able to be met right where you are. Think you want to run with the bulls in Pamplona? Why not start by learning Spanish? Focus in on your wandering spirit- it’s a great asset!- but see what you can complete from where you are today.

5. Focus on this very minute. If you could do anything you wanted this very minute, without limits, what would it be? Often, the answer I hear runs along the lines of “take a nap” or “call in sick.” Why not take some time to yourself on this small scale? Have you ever played hooky from work? Have you ever sat alone in the movie theatre while the rest of the suits played office politics? I guarantee this would be a refreshing experience you’re sure to remember, and one worthy of your life list!

6. Expand your horizons. Now it’s time to let your mind wander. Think outside your immediate world. This tends to be easy to most people making life lists, and almost goes without saying. For example, let’s say you really think (for whatever reason) that you’d like to see a whale someday. Why stop there? Go a little further!! Expand this number on your list to say “track whale on a whaling boat in the North Atlantic,” or a similar endeavor…which brings us to our next number….

7. Be the Donald. Make your list as if money is no object. This is your life list we’re talking about, after all! Don’t limit yourself based on greenbacks. Unless you’re reading this at the ripe old age of 93, you’ve got plenty of time to plan, budget and bargain hunt. Want to visit London, but worried about the costs? Stay in a hostel! In fact, put a hostel experience on your life list, and you’ll get to cross out two numbers at once!

8. Don’t live on your knees. Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata once said: “Better to die on your feet then to live on your knees.” Fear has no place in making a life list, unless it’s for inspiration. If you want to go down that road, then face your fears. Arachnophobic? Add a visit to the world’s largest spider exhibit to your list!

9. Be a child again. So, things turned out a little different than what you thought they would on graduation day huh? Don’t worry, it’s happened to the best of us! But take a look at where you thought you were heading, and use those ideas to shore up your ramshackle life! Thought you were going to be a veterinarian? Volunteer at the humane society! Were you supposed to be rich and famous? I hear American Idol is auditioning again…

10. Use what your momma taught ya. Surely she endowed you with some values, right? Think about the causes you support, the people you want to help, the kind of government you’d like to see in office, and then consider volunteering for organizations, political candidates, or worthy causes such as Habitat for Humanity or Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Following the steps above should get you well up toward a three digit life list, if not beyond. The hard part is over, it’s time to start checking some things off!

Tomorrow, we’ll start to go through the ten steps one by one, and begin building a sample ‘100 Things’ list with Renaissance Jack users contributing! Be sure to look for it here.