After the movie The Bucket List a lot of big dreamers, myself included, wrote down a scraggly list of “things to do before death” and stuck it on the fridge to immortalise our life goals, and remind ourselves to do them….some day.
The problem with a bucket list is that, though it sets goals, they aren’t accompanied by any deadlines, so it’s very easy to never get around to actioning any of them. Without any defined timeframe in which to complete each task, it’s almost impossible to find the motivation to make any of them happen. The idea of a bucket list is that you sit down, compile a list of things that you want to do before you kick ‘the bucket’ and then put the list somewhere with the intention of doing those things…at some stage: preferably before you are in a retirement home, drooling into a cup and unable to remember your own name. Bucket lists are something you keep in a drawer in case you ever get diagnosed with a terminal illness, but the Impossible List is different. You write a list of goals that you want to start aiming for right away – not because you are going to die, but because you are going to LIVE.
In the spirit of actually making the bucket list happen, I have created this “Impossible List” The idea is not mine, but rather was created by Joel Runyon, who decided that a bucket list needed to transcend its static state, and become an evolving, fluid list that builds on itself and is constantly in progress. (You can read more about the Impossible List here.) The idea is that the impossible list has small achievements that you can work on right now, mark off and then progress to the next goal. Goals are also added onto it throughout life, when smaller goals are achieved, when opportunities present themselves, or when your life changes direction and you feel that fresh priorities need to be included.
The following is my Impossible List. It’s obviously a very personal list, but public accountability is encouraged so that the motivation for achieving these goals is higher. I’ve divided it up into sections, and have left the ‘travel’ section until last, since it accounts for almost half of the list itself.
I will be striking out items as they are achieved!
Graduate with a diplomaGraduate with a degreeGet accepted into my master’s degreeBe accepted into an overseas university for undergraduate studiesReceive a partial scholarship for my undergraduate studies(Eight!)Receive a full scholarship for my master’s degreeReceive a TeachNZ scholarship for my graduate teaching degreeBe a mentor for another studentGraduate with a graduate teaching qualificationBecome a registered teacher (provisional)- Become a registered teacher (full)
- Take on a Middle Management role in a school
- Become a Principal
- Study abroad
Finish my arts diploma in EnglishPresent a paper at a conference- Present a paper at a conference overseas
Graduate with a Masters DegreeGet accepted into a PhD program- Be confirmed as a PhD Candidate
Receive a full scholarship for a PhD- Graduate with a PhD
Present my research at a universityGet a tutoring position- Have an academic article published in a peer-reviewed journal
- Have an academic book review published in a peer-reviewed journal
- Get a tenure track position
- Go overseas for research
- Receive a post-doctoral scholarship or bursary
Write a tertiary course
Writing / Reading Goals:
- Read 52 books in a year
- Read every GG book in You’ve Been Gilmored!
Write a children’s bookWrite a college courseWrite content for an appHave an e-book I ghost-wrote publishedHave a tree book I ghost-wrote published- Have a fiction book I wrote published
- e-book
- hardcover
Have a non-fiction book I wrote publishede-bookpaperbackhardcover
- Have a book I wrote made into an audiobook
- Re-release a one year anniversary edition of a book I wrote
Edit a magazineRead a poem I wrote aloud in front of othersGet a book signed by a favourite authorAttend a writer’s conferenceBe accepted into the New Zealand Author’s SocietyJoin Christian Writer’s NZBe the editor of a newspaper- Plan and take part in a literary pilgrimage
- Attend a writer’s group
- Go on a writer’s retreat
- Complete NaNoWriMo
- Start a niche blog
- Write a play which is performed on stage
- Mardi Gras, New Orleans
- Super Bowl
- San Diego Comic Con
- A Musical on Broadway
- A Musical at the West End
- An Olympic Opening Ceremony
- A Drive-In Movie
- The Macy’s Parade
A Steampunk event, in costume- A Cirque Du Soleil show
A Fashion ShowAttend a show at the Pop-Up Globe Theatre
- Serve as a prison aid or chaplain
Take the kids camping in a caravanBuild a tiny house on wheelsBuy land- Buy our first home
Get marriedHave a child3!4!
- Own a Brussels Griffon
- Get my full driver’s license
Gain 100 YouTube Subscribers- 250
- 500
- 1000
- 2000
- 5000
- 10000
- Meet my grandchildren
Take a film class- Live in another country for at least six months
- Gain dual citizenship
Record a song in a studio- Write a song
Perform on stage- Take an art class
Be a DJ for a day- Achieve fluency in:
- French
- Te Reo Maori
- Solve a Rubik’s cube
Own a designer purseOwn a designer handbag- Be an extra in a movie
Ride in a limo- Reach goal weight
- Go on a cruise
Celebrate my 10 year wedding anniversary- 20
- 30
- 40
- 50
Meet a celebrityAttend a red carpet premierGo to a concert- Buy an Amish quilt
- Cook every dish in a cookbook
- Have a White Christmas
Become a marriage celebrant- Become a Justice of the Peace
Entertain the elderly at a Rest Home- Start a charity
Join a church music team- Commit a random act of kindness every day for a month
- for a year
- Live off our own garden grown vegetables exclusively, for 3 months
- For 6 months
- For a year
- Read the Bible from cover to cover
Meet the Dalai Lama
Go to a Disney Park- Go to Walt Disney World
- Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
- Stay in a Disney hotel
- Take a class at the Walt Disney Animation Studio
- Become an annual passport holder
- Make all the meals in a Disney cookbook
- Go on a Disney cruise
- Wear only Disney clothes for a month
- Visit Walt Disney Studios in California
- Watch every Disney film, in order of their original release
- Visit Disneyland at Christmas
- Visit every Disneyland on earth
California- Florida
- Tokyo
- Paris
- Hong Kong
See a Disney Broadway show- Attend a D23 convention
See a Disney on Ice showHave a Disney themed room in my home
- Eat at every Hard Rock Cafe on earth
- New Zealand
HobittonStratford- Guinea Pig Village
- Carterton Stonehenge
- Taranaki Pioneer Village
Attend a show at the Civic TheatreTe PapaGo to Rainbow’s End- Silverdale Pioneer Village
MotatSky Tower- Go Skiing at SnowPlanet
Michael Parekowhai’s LighthouseThe Maritime Museum- Rotorua Maori Village
- Rotorua Bible Musem
Visit Weta WorkshopsHowick Historical VillageSee a display at the Stardome ObservatoryTip Top FactoryVisit the Holy Trinity CathedralAuckland Art GalleryWalk the Te Ara I Whiti Lightpath- Morrinsville ‘Cow’ Walk
Fairymead- Gisborne
- Marsden Point
- Go Swimming in Every Ocean
Pacific- Atlantic
- Indian
- Arctic
- Antarctic
- Visit all 50 US States
- 48 to go
Visit AustraliaMelbourneGold CoastBrisbane- Uluru
- Sydney
- Opera House
- Bondi Beach
- Harbour Bridge
- Port Jackson
- Fly First Class
- Visit 10 Countries
- Visit 20 Countries
- Visit 50 Countries
- Visit 100 Countries
- Visit Nevada
- Walk the Strip
- See a Show
- Caesar’s Palace
- Planet Hollywood
- Hard Rock
- Graceland Wedding Chapel
- Virginia City
- Visit Massachusetts
- Mark Twain House
- Salem
- Bewitched Statue
- Harvard
- Yale
- Plymouth Rock
- Emily Dickinson Museum
- Louisa May Alcott’s House
- Visit Pennsylvania
- Buy an Amish Quilt
- Liberty Bell
- Dutch Wonderland
- Hershey
Visit HawaiiWaikiki Beach, HonoluluGot Lei’d!Pearl HarbourHard Rock Cafe, HonoluluIHOP- Jurassic Park filming locations
- See the pink hotel
- Visit New York
- Grand Central Station
- Niagara Falls
- Time Square
- Central Park
- Empire State Building
- Statue of Liberty
- Rockefeller Center
- Museum of Natural History
- Guggenheim
- Ground Zero
- Chinatown
- Radio City Music Hall
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Shakespeare Garden, Brooklyn
- Madison Square Garden
- Strand Bookstore
- Chrysler Building
- Washington Square Park
- Visit Vermont
- Von Trapp Lodge
- Mr Darcy’s
- Visit Washington, D.C.
- Thomas Jefferson Memorial
- White House
- Smithsonian Museum
- Capitol
- Lincoln Memorial
- Washington Monument
- Madame Tussauds DC
- Library of Congress
- Visit Tennessee
- Grand Ole Opry
- Sun Studio
- Graceland
- Patsy Cline Museum
- The Cash Museum
- Visit Mississippi
- Lewis Ranch
- Visit Florida
- Walt Disney World
- Universal Orlando
- World of Harry Potter
- Kennedy Space Center
- Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
- Cocoa Beach Half Marathon
- Visit Arizona
- Grand Canyon
- Red Rock State Park
- Monument Valley
- Visit Utah
- Meet Extended Family!
- Temple Square
Visit CaliforniaUniversal Studios- MGM Studios
- Disney Studios
- Alcatraz
Warner Bros. StudioHollywood Walk of FameMadame Tussauds Hollywood- Santa Monica Pier
- Hotel del Coronado
- USC Doheny Memorial Library
- Bubblegum Alley
- Newport Beach
Hollywood MuseumDisneyland and Disney Downtown DistrictDisneyland California ParkHard Rock, LALegolandSunset Boulevard, Hollywood BoulevardCelebrity Homes TourTitanic MuseumRide in a yellow taxiDrive up the 101Go to WallmartVenice BeachSee the Playboy MansionMarilyn Monroe’s grave- Pan Am Experience
- Other US
- Mount Rushmore
- Drive Route 66
- Stand on the Four Corners
- Forks
- Stay in the Bella Swan house AirBnB
- Missouri Toy Museum
- Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum
- University of Texas – Gutenberg Bible
- King Center, Atlanta
- Edgar Allen Poe Historic Site, Philadelphia
- JFK Museum, Boston
- Princeton University, New Jersey
- Billy Graham House, North Carolina
- Edgar Allen Poe House, Maryland
- Visit Maine
- Stephen King Writer’s Retreat
- Stephen King Tour, Bangor
- Visit Kansas
- Oz Museum
- Columbian Theatre
- Friendship House
- Visit Illinois
- The American Writer’s Museum
- Abraham Lincoln Home
- Playboy Office
- Visit Wisconsin
- Marquette University
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
- Visit Virginia
- Mountain Lake Lodge
- Edgar Allen Poe Museum
- Franklin Institute
- Visit Alabama
- The Dexter Parsonage Museum
- Fitzgerald Museum
- Erin!
- Helen Keller House
- Visit Italy
- Trevi Fountain
- Tower of Pisa
- Ride a Gondola in Venice
- See Michaelangelo’s David
- No 17 Basilica of St Francis of Assisi
- Write Something For Juliet’s Wall, Verona
- Colosseum
- Roman Forum
- Pantheon
- Vatican City
- Visit Austria
- Sound of Music tour
- Austrian National Library
- Freud Museum
- Literature Museum
- Visit Egypt
- Pyramids of Giza
- Sphynx
- Sinai
- Visit The Holy Land
- Float in the Dead Sea
- Church of the Holy Sepulchre
- Sea of Galilee
- Dome of the Rock
- Mount of Beatitudes
- Golgotha Hill
- Western Wall
- Church of the Nativity
- Garden Tomb
- Gethsemane
- Mount of Olives
- Petra
- Visit France
- Notre Dame
- Moulin Rouge
- Crazy Horse
- Eiffel Tower
- Louvre
- Disneyland Paris
- Paris Opera House
- Monet’s home in Giverny
- Shakespeare and Company bookstore
- Versailles
- Paris Marais Doll Museum
- Arc De Triomphe
- Sacre-Coeur
- Visit London
- Abbey Road
- Buckingham Palace
- Ride a Double Decker
- Use a Red Phone Box
- Holy Trinity Church
- Go on the London Eye
- Colmar Commune
- Madame Tussauds London
- Tower Bridge
- Big Ben
- Westminster Abbey
- Trafalgar Square
- Globe Theatre
- Harrods
- Look at Sylvia Plath’s work at The British Library
- Wembley
- The Shard
- Charles Dicken’s Old Curiosity Shop
- Charles Dickens Museum
- Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
- Platform 9 ¾
- Other UK
- Stonehenge
- Chawton House
- White Cliffs of Dover
- Guernsey
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- Chatsworth House
- Cotswolds – Tolkien Locations
- Beatrix Potter House
- Monk’s House
- Ashdown Forest
- Brighton Toy Museum
- Bath
- Roman Baths
- Jane Austen Centre
- The Circle
- Ireland
- Oscar Wilde’s House
- Titanic Museum in Belfast
- James Joyce statue in Dublin
- The Blarney Stone
- Scotland
- Loch Ness
- Edinburgh old town
- Fife
- Inverness
- Loch Ness
- Rosslyn Chapel
- Callanish Stones
- Doune Castle
- Orkney Islands
- Elephant House
- The Writer’s Museum
- The Harry Potter Bridge
- Holyrood House
- Urquhart Castle
- Stirling Castle
- Culloden Battlefield
- St Giles Cathedral
- Camera Obscura
- Calanais
- Visit Gisbourne
- Meet whanau
- See my grandfather’s picture hanging in Penu marae
- Stand on the Maori land my family inherits
- Visit India
- Taj Mahal
- Visit Netherlands
- Meet Stephen’s extended family
- Eat at Lekke Ite
- Anne Frank’s house
- Van Gogh Museum
- Amsterdam
- Visit the Efteling theme park, and stay in the Snow White room
- Visit Germany
- Berlin Wall
- Bernkastel
- Visit Belgium
- Visit Denmark
- Hans Christian Andersen House
- The Little Mermaid
- Legoland
- Friends Cafe
- Visit Switzerland
- Greisinger Museum
my gosh, youll need to live to 300 and win the lotto twice!
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