by Ron N. Sullivan

Created on: January 13, 2009   Last Updated: February 26, 2009

Climb Mount Everest. Row the Pacific. Forgive a sibling.

Madame Curie once wrote this about achievement: "One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done."

Across North America, people of all ages are creating their life list - personal aspirations they wish to achieve before they kick the bucket.

At age 15, John Goddard set down his list of 127 lifetime goals - his personal bucket list. Now, 70 years later, he has completed 109 of these goals. How did he do it?

Motivation and focus

Lots of people make a bucket list. But buckets can develop holes. Why? Because motivation and focus have not been added to the equation. Don't think about your goals, write them down. Listing your life goals on paper make them real and will motivate you and give you focus.

Remember, the whole is made up of the some of its parts. If your goal is to climb a mountain in Nepal, familiarize yourself with all aspects of rock climbing. List them under your main heading, "Climb a Mountain in Nepal." As you progress through each sub-heading, cross them off your bucket list. Now you have a road map.

Soon you'll not only be staring up at that mountain in Nepal, but you will have educated yourself in the art of rock climbing as well.

Guidelines to achieve and succeed

First, test this life list theory for yourself. Call it your mini-bucket list. Organize one room in your home every day, walk or run five minutes every day, or spend ten minutes every day doing something you really enjoy - like writing, gardening, or painting. Each day, cross these achievements off your mini-bucket list. At the end of one week, you'll likely scream, "Eureka! It really works."

Your life list or bucket list doesn't have to include curing cancer, ending terrorism, or alleviating global warming. Goals can be simple: help the older person next-door; volunteer at a homeless shelter; spend quality time with your kids.

Since travel is high on the priority list of many people, you might want to hike the length of England, swim in the Red Sea, or scale Mount Fuji. If so, go for it. You don't have to be 15 years old like John Goddard to start a bucket list. Do it now. Age doesn't matter.

Take control

Remember the words from George Bernard Shaw's poem "True Joy of Life": "For the harder I work the more I live."

Control the forces of nature before they control you. Your life on this earth is short. Don't waste one precious moment of it.

Enjoy.

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