This life list was inspired by Magaret Mason – Maggie, a blogger I met on the first Jamaica Tourist Board Bloggers Trip, that I had co-planned while consulting with Geejam Media. She was different and not just because she was a red head with wild hair, but she had a joy for life and living in the moment that was infectious!
It was there that she alluded to her Life List and some of the things she had on there that could be done while in Jamaica. We helped her cross some of the things she had on her Life List – like dog sledding – we took her to Chukka Adventures….like tasting 1000 fruits… so we made sure she tasted the otaheti apple and guineps which she blogged about in great details.
Every now and again I would visit her blog to see what she’s been up to. It happened again a few weeks ago. I went to her site for some other reason, maybe guided there. Why? Well, you know how we get when we are approaching another birthday and year end, we get all introspective and shit and ask ourselves and others around us- what it is that we have to be happy about, what have we achieved.Well I was no different.
In that zone, I went to one of my favourite blogs – The Art of Non Conformity by Chris Guillebeau – I read his blog post on How to Conduct Your Own Annual Review which was very instructive as I’d somehow felt that I had had a shitty year, but when I sat and wrote it all down and really loooked at it, I clearly had an awesome year. Yes a few things could have been better and I did have a couple of tough challenges, but in all, I had a fantastic year and I am thankful.
So that Life review plus Maggie’s Life List on her blog Mighty Girl, both kickstarted me on developing my own. I decided that on my birthday I’d share my life list – 100 things to do before I go. I’ve created a list of 84 things…I figured I’d share it anyway and build up to 100 eventually.
Today is my 44th birthday.
And I happily and humbly wrote this on my Facebook Status this morning.
I woke up this morning smiling….I am loved by an amazing partner, I do what I love everyday, I have the support of family, the anchor of great friends, I am healthy and am excited about my future. I am blessed and very fortune. #verythankful. Thanks so, so much for the birthday wishes.
And to add to that, here is my 100 things to do before I go – Ingrid’s LIFE LIST. Written as they came to me and to be done in any order.
Before you read the list, read this quote which Maggie shared while sharing the story behind why she created her own list.
“There is power in sharing your goals, in being vulnerable, and frankly, in being willing to fail. To really live out our dreams, we need to be prepared for the possibility that we won’t achieve them. It’s easy to make a list of things we can easily do (and there’s a need for that too), but to get to the heart of the matter, we need to dive in, leave fear behind, and say what we really, really want.” – Elizabeth Stark of Brooklyn Supper
Making a life list… It’s an exercise in trust, and an education in possibility.
2. Visit 3 countries on the African continent
3. Have a meal with Oprah Winfrey
4. Live in a foreign country, a great progressive, fun city of my choice for at least 2 years.
5. Write an ebook of poetry
6. Learn to Speak Spanish fluently
7. Drink wine while sitting and people watching in a cafe in France.
8. Be a full time and successful travel blogger for as long as I choose to.
9. Own a midnight blue Vespa scooter and ride it regularly.
10.
11. Visit all 7 continents…3 down, 4 to go.
12. Have my own mobile app.
13. Fly first class on a really long trip..to London…to Africa.
14. Have what I love to do change people’s lives positively.
15. Make a very significant contribution and impact on Jamaica and the Caribbean
16. Sing karaoke drunk
17. Attain my best health & fitness level and get rid of my health issue
18.
19. Learn how to dance salsa and merengue well
20. Own my very own villa by the sea and share it with family and friends.
21. Have a drink or two and a good round of laughs with Anthony Bourdain
22. Learn how to give a great massage.
23. Be a regular bicyclist
24. Attend a democratic presidential event in the USA
25. Learn how to dj work them ones n twos so I can play 80s and 90s music decently.
27. Plant the seeds and grow a small herb garden.
28. Own where I live..my own home for me and my family.
29.
30. Have celebrities I love n respect at one of my birthday parties
31. Take a mixology course and ace it.
32. Drive a dune buggy
33. Go on an african safari
34. Set up a multimillion dollar angel fund to invest in Caribbean Tech ideas from smart passionate caribbean people.
35. To go fishing on a yacht.
36. See my fave singers live in Concert – Barbara Streisand, John Legend, Cassandra Wilson, Maxwell, MeShell Ndegeocello, Prince
37. Become a multimillionaire in either of these currencies – usd/pounds
38. Attend an event with Seth Godin as a speaker.
39.
40. Give a TEDx talk
41. Write an article for Fast Company magazine.
42.
43.
44.
45. Own a drop top jeep wrangler and drive it top down, in jeans shorts a white tee, barefooted with sunshades on and music blaring on a long sea coast and cross country drive .
46. Have a wild weekend a hedonism 2 with my partner. yeah I said it! lol
47. Tour a famous vineyard.
48. Open the kinda cafe I would love to spend all day in…chatting with very interesting people, eating great food, sipping the best hot chocolate, having cocktails or wine and surfing on a super fast wifi.
49. See a Broadway play
50. Go to the opera
51. Own a loft apartment with a breath taking view of a harbour/lake
52. Have a vacation for two weeks without computers and Internet access. Whoa..did I say that?
53. Learn to make amazing hot chocolate from scratch!
54.
55. Attend Trinidad Carnival wearing a costume
56. Experience Mardi gras in New Orleans
57. Find the best local cafe in each city that I visit and try their hot chocolate.
58. Own a 100 awesome tshirts mostly vintage and colorful
59. Taste 100 different bottles of wine mostly red from all over the world and blog about the where, when of the experience.
60. Spend a long weekend at a W hotel. Looove them!
61. Eat fried chicken and waffles
62. Go parasailing
63.
64. Fly in a hot air balloon.
65. Go zip lining
66. Work on an awesome project with Google
67. Work on an awesome project with Facebook
68. Meet and take photos with Sheryl Sanberg
69. Meet and take photos with Mark Zuckerberg
70. Write influential & profitable ebooks
71. Create a killer online product/service that is super successful globally
72. Learn more about how money works.
73. Open a Swiss bank account in Switzerland
74. Go on a Caribbean Cruise
81. Have my own online tv show/video blog.
As I looked back to correct typos, I realised I can cross a couple of things off, but I will leave them up for now.