Limitless List

Welcome to the Limitless List

From jumping out of a plane to attending a Hollywood premiere to meeting Tim Ferriss, I had 100 things I wanted to do by the age of 31 and completed all of them. Now it’s time for a new list.

Just for fun, I’m making this list even more epic and more challenging. I’ll be adding in a lot of fun travel adventures to stay fresh but I’ll be focusing a lot more on what I’d like to accomplish creatively and financially as well. All by the age of 41. Might as well continue the trend.

Ultimately, I’ll be asking myself;

What do you want to do before you die?

Back in 2004, I started mentally writing down a list of things I knew I had to do in life.  In the beginning, it wasn’t a set number of things, nor was it physically written down. It was just stored in my head and always there, calling out to me.

As I accomplished each item, my confidence snowballed. I felt limitless. Eventually, I wrote out the list, compiling 100 things I’d like to accomplish. Now that it’s complete, I started a new one, which you’ll see below.

If you’re stuck or if you’re trying to re-invent yourself, I really recommend trying new things. If you’re bored or not sure what to do (but want to do something), I really recommend just trying new things. Whatever interests you in the slightest, just go try it out. Say yes to everything. You’ll be surprised as to how quickly you’re life will change.

 

Here’s the list that changed my life.

100/100 complete.

1. Move to a new city
2. Go to college
3. Move into my own apartment
4. Be an extra in a movie
5. Try out for an olympic team
6. Learn to public speak
7. Complete the Body-for-Life 12-week fitness challenge
8. Go white-water rafting
9. Learn to sail
10. Cliff jump
11. Learn to dance
12. Buy an apartment
13. Buy a rental property
14. Be the talk of a party
15. Graduate university
16. Go to university in a different country
17. Meet Tim Ferriss
18. Be a lead actor in a movie
19. Act in a live play
20. Travel alone
21. Go skydiving
22. Bungy-jump off of a bridge
23. Abseil into a cave
24. climb a volcano
25. Climb a mountain
26. Go zip-lining
27. Go sea-kayaking
28. Go hang-gliding
29. Go river-kayaking
30. Go para-gliding
31. Go para-sailing
32. Road trip with strangers
33. Scuba dive with sharks
34. Scuba dive at night
35. Scuba dive with Manta Rays
36. Snorkel with Jellyfish
37. Scuba dive in a cenote
38. Scuba dive from a live-aboard
39. Swim with bioluminescence plankton
40. Play with elephants
41. Go on an African safari
42. Travel in business class
43. Travel in first class
44. Speak in front of 100+ people
45. Ride in an olympic bobsleigh
46. Ride in a helicopter
47. Fly a plane
48. Attend Burning Man
49. Work on a farm
50. See Snow Monkeys in Japan
51. Visit Hiroshima
52. Visit the Galapagos
53. Climb the great wall of China
54. Organize a crazy activity for a group of people
55. Break a World Record
56. Propose somewhere incredible
57. Get married on the beach
58. Hike Machu Picchu
59. Volunteer at an animal refuge
60. Visit the Amazon
61. Drive across Canada
62. Drive across the USA in a Ford Mustang
63. Look over the Grand Canyon
64. Ride the world’s fastest rollercoaster
65. Ski a black diamond
66. Be a manager
67. Sell something door-to-door
68. Be interviewed by a national newspaper
69. Become a dual citizen
70. Get paid to write
71. Start an online business
72. Chill in a coffee shop in Amsterdam
73. Join the mile high club
74. Travel internationally with my family
75. Fly in a balloon over Cappadocia
76. See the Himalayas in Nepal
77. See bodies burning on the Ganges River in India
78. Ride a camel
79. Go horseback riding in the Rockies
80. Learn to surf
81. Rappel down a waterfall
82. See Angkor Wat
83. Eat a tarantula
84. Ride a motorbike throughout Asia
85. Drive a Ferrari
86. Crowdsurf 
87. Be an inspiration
88. Become an advanced scuba diver
89. Stand next to lava
90. See mountain gorillas in Africa
91. Go to a hollywood movie premier
92. Volunteer to go in front of a crowd
93. Visit Myanmar
94. Jump off a waterfall
95. Hike through a jungle
96. See whales in the wild
97. See dolphins in the wild
98. See the Monarch butterfly migration in Mexico
99. Write a book
100. Visit 31 countries by the age of 31

As you can see, I’ve now completed my entire list and did so by the age of 31, which is pretty cool because my birthday is July 31st. Sometimes I forget how far I’ve come but as I physically wrote out and crossed off items on my list, I was surprised by how much I’ve accomplished in a relatively short period of time. Writing it out inspired me to keep going and to keep exploring life’s possibilities.

It was a lot of fun completing the 100 things above (plus hundreds of other items not on the list) so I’ve decided to make another list. The list 2.0. I’ve added a lot of travel goals to keep exploring the world but I’ve also decided to focus a lot more on creative and business pursuits since the original list wasn’t focused on that aspect of life. It’s something that’s actually been gnawing at me much more than travel lately.

I’ll give myself until the age of 41. Ten years! Think I can do it?

And if you can help me complete any of these things, please let me know!

Here it goes – The List 2.0

I’ve gone over this list many times to make sure it’s fun, challenging, interesting and important to me. As time goes on, if something becomes unimportant, I’ll replace it with something important but equally epic. After all, it’s important that YOUR list – your bucket list – is important to you. Don’t add things just because someone else did. Really ask yourself; Is this something you want to do before you die?

For 2018: I’ve highlighted the goals I’m focusing on in 2018. Will I complete all of them? Perhaps. Will I complete one that I’m not focusing on? Perhaps as well. But I find this helps me get more practical without getting lost in all the other goals that aren’t as important to me at this moment.

7/100 complete.

1. Chill with Seth Rogen
2. Appear on TV
3. Be the host of a travel show
4. Be the host of a TV travel show
5. Visit every province and territory in Canada (completed August 2019)
6. Create a massive nationwide event
7. Appear in a blockbuster comedy movie
8. Sell a screenplay or novel or make it into a movie
9. Write a screenplay or novel
10. Write a NY-Times Bestseller
11. Write a children’s book
12. Act in an online comedy sketch
13. Pull a prank with Jonah Hill
14. Attend a Hollywood party
15. Hang out with Jim Carrey
16. Spend a day at Pixar
17. Scuba dive every continent on Earth (two left!)
18. Visit every continent on Earth (one left!)
19. Appear on a national talk show
20. Stay with my wife somewhere romantic under the Northern Lights
21. See Narwhals in the wild
22. Design a hat
23. Design a t-shirt
24. Experience zero gravity
25. Drop the puck in the Stanley Cup finals (or watch a game 7 live)
26. Get featured on the 4HWW blog or the Tim Ferriss Show
27. Get interviewed by James Altucher
28. See my 6-pack
29. Benchpress my bodyweight
30. Drive to the Arctic Ocean
31. Appear on the Conan show with Conan O’Brien
32. Rap with Eminem
33. Create an iPhone game
34. Create a six-figure online business
35. Get paid to speak
36. Help design an art installation for Burning Man
37. Scuba dive with a massive whale
38. Build/Design my own house or cabin
39. Become a father
40. Create a dance beat/song
41. Learn bachata dance and perform in front of an audience
42. Create artwork or photography and have it featured in a famous art gallery
43. Drive a rally / race car
44. Talk about life with Tom Shadyac
45. Organize and break a world record
46. Make 1 Million Dollars in one year
47. Live in Europe for 6 months
48. Live on a beach for 6 months
49. Live in a lakeside cottage for a summer
50. Throw a super awesome epic party
51. Help make someone’s last wish come true
52. Learn Spanish
53. Paint an abstract art piece
54. See polar bears in the wild
55. Scuba dive the blue hole in Belize
56. Buy a house for someone
57. Be the voice in an animation film
58. Be on a game show
59. Hang out with Chris Hadfield
60. Take a 10-day Vipassana Meditation course
61. Be on the cover of a magazine
62. Go storm chasing
63. Have a photo featured in National Geographic
64. Speak at a TEDx event
65. Buy a boat for my dad
66. Find my roots in Ireland with my family
67. Create a fun city-wide event
68. See the crab migration on Christmas Island
69. Visit Madagascar
70. Take my wife on an Alaskan cruise
71. Stay in an underwater hotel
72. Road trip Route 66 in a vintage car
73. Hang out with George Stroumboulopoulos
74. Road trip around Iceland’s Ring Road
75. Drive the Pan-American Highway (Alaska to Argentina)
76. Drive the Icefields Parkway
77. Sail/island hop through the South Pacific
78. Sail around the Caribbean
79. Dive with Great White Sharks (if sustainable)
80. Visit Cuba
81. Witness the spectacular Catatumbo lightning phenomenon in Venezuela
82. Talk about the future with Kevin Kelly
83. Ride the Pride of Africa
84. Stay in a traditional Japanese Ryokan
85. Hang out with Brian Grazer
86. Ride a train through Mexico’s Copper Canyon
87. Ride the Royal Scotsman train
88. Ride the Trans-Siberian Railway
89. Sail the Northwest Passage
90. Visit the North Pole
91. Visit Norway’s Fjords
92. Hike Patagonia
93. Go on a multi-day canoe/camping trip
94. See the Yangtze River by slow boat
95. Attend the lantern festival in Thailand
96. Organize a scuba diving event for entrepreneurs/friends
97. Organize a ski trip for entrepreneurs/friends
98. Road trip around Australia with my wife
99. Raft the Lochsa River
100. Go to space

Do you have a list of things you’d like to accomplish over the next few years?

Share it below!

If you don’t have one, I highly recommend making one!

Make Your Own Bucket List

I’m not a fan of the term bucket list, which is why I call mine a limitless list or life list. However, it’s basically the same thing. The only thing I don’t like about “bucket list” is that it’s become so mainstream that it’s lost a lot to its meaning in my opinion. I see people making their entire bucket list by copying others. If you’re just making a list for the sake of having something to do, I don’t recommend it.

A true bucket list should be true to you. It should come from your heart and from your own dreams. Why put effort and money into a list that’s not very important to you?

Start like this

1. Write down a whole bunch of goals you’d like to achieve. Think of personal goals, professional goals, health goals, love goals, and travel goals, to name a few. Don’t let your limiting beliefs win. Just write them down, no matter how far-fetched they are. I write “go to space” as one of my goals. That’s about as unlikely as it gets for me at this point in time. But hey, think big!

2. Pick 10 or less from that list. Choose the most important ones and accomplish those first. If you can, choose the easiest one first to give you a confidence boost for the rest.

3. Determine a length of time for completing the list. A lot of people fail at this step. A list is great but without a timeline, it can easily become another forgotten thing on the to-do list. Look over your list or at your 10 (or less) most important goals. What length of time do you think you could complete them in? The trick is not to give yourself as much time in the world but also not to cut yourself short with a ridiculous timeline. Don’t give yourself 20 years to complete 10 relatively simple goals and don’t give yourself an unreasonably one month to complete them either. Think of a time that’s inspiring, challenging, but doable.

4. Examine your list every 6-12 months depending on the timeline. For mine, I have 10 years to do 100 fairly difficult goals. However, our dreams and interests change over time and so, if a goal is no longer important to you, cross it off and put something more important in its place.

5. Next, choose the most important goals you’d like to complete first. Now brainstorm ideas for making them happen. Create a plan for each goals. Some goals might be interconnected. Some not. However, if you don’t make a plan for it, it likely won’t happen.

Once you’re finished, feel free to share it with me. You can either contact me by clicking here or by tweeting me @MatthewGBailey so everyone can see it!

Live Limitless,

-Matt