Movie- The Bucket List
When I was 13 I starting writing a list of all the things I wanted to do in my lifetime. In 2007 a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman came out with this same idea and lists of this nature are now referred to as “Bucket Lists”.
The two terminally ill patients in this movie create lists which include some of the same goals I have on my list. I, however, never limited myself to “realistic” goals. Some of my loftier goals include traveling to space and walking on the moon. With Virgin Galactic’s constant progress these goals may soon be very attainable. (http://www.virgingalactic.com/)
Why is it that so many people can dream so big as children and then settle for so little when they grow older? It’s not a matter of resources, especially in the United States! Immigrants come here (you know…the land of opportunity) to make their fortunes and live free. Why are so many “privileged” people so unhappy in a country that offers so much? Because we settle. We settle for less than our best, for less than our full potential, for the standard and we let every other person in that same predicament drag us back down if we start to get too ambitious.
A personal hero of mine, Dave Ramsey, gives this excellent example of how people settle.
– A group of monkeys were locked in a room with a pole in the center. Some luscious, ripe bananas were placed on the top of the pole. When a monkey would begin to climb the pole, the experimenters would knock him off with a blast of water from a fire hose. Each time a monkey would climb, off he would go, until all the monkeys had been knocked off repeatedly, thus learning that the climb was hopeless. The experimenters then observed that the other primates would pull down any monkey trying to climb. They replaced a single monkey with one who didn’t know the system. As soon as the new guy tried to climb, the others would pull him down and punish him for trying. One by one, each monkey was replaced and the scene repeated until there were no monkeys left in the room that had experienced the fire hose. Still, none of the new guys were allowed to climb. The other monkeys pulled them down. Not one monkey in the room knew why, but none were allowed to get the bananas. Story from The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey Pg. 19-20
In another post I will discuss my 30 day challenges that will be called, “Be a Better…”. These are basically an excuse to cross off some goals on my list while inspiring readers to go out and do something now. Stop waiting for the perfect moment. Go out and make some progress right now towards whatever makes you happy! No more waiting for the stars to align, your life is in your hands. So start living…on purpose
Zack Gallinger-Long 