Nerd alert!! I'm about to share some statistics... Did you know that people who regularly write down their goals earn 9x more throughout their lifetime as those who don’t? Did you know that 80% of Americans have no future goals for their lives? No future goals!! How about the fact that only 4% of Americans actually write their goals down and only 1% reviews them regularly? Wow!

I went to the Spread the Love Workshop a few months ago and was given the challenge to look around and see how many people are sleepwalking through their own lives. The signs: stuck, not a lot of hope, easily overwhelmed, give in to a critical spirit because it’s easier to criticize than make changes in your own life. Yikes! I have found in my own life that grown up responsibilities can easily choke out some of the free spirit I had in my younger years. Double yikes!!

I am saying NO! to that nonsense right now and making a commitment to live the life I want, even if it takes a little more work to balance my responsibilities and my drive for fun and spontenaety- I'm making it happen because I do not want to wake up in 40 years and wonder where my life went.

My first step is to finish my list of 101 goals to be completed in 1001 days. I have been working on this list for like 2 months and I had to seriously restrain from listing boring and should-be-done-already stuff like cleaning my car (am I really so boring??)  I didn't want my goals to all be about me and I wanted to make my next 2.75 more than just status quo. I always said I wanted to be a doer, not just a talker.

If you want to keep tabs on my progress and help keep me accountable I'll be documenting it all right here on my blog. Maybe even my commitment to live the life I've always wanted will rub off on you and you'll make your own list (if you do link back to my blog so we can all share ideas and be inspired by each other)!

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. (My deadline is Thursday, December 27, 2012)

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

  1. Open an etsy store
  2. Go to Idaho
  3. Lose 100 pounds
  4. Be featured on a wedding blog
  5. Blog everyday for a month
  6. Go to the beach everyday for a month
  7. Learn to play the blues harmonica
  8. Get photos of myself taken by Jasmine Star
  9. Attend WPPI in Las Vegas, NV
  10. Write a letter to myself to open at the end of 1001 days
  11. Go on a road trip
  12. Finish decorating my room
  13. Go to a Jose Villa Workshop
  14. Do a photo shoot in film
  15. Develop all of the old film I found when I moved
  16. Go on a missions trip
  17. Get a video camera and make cool movies
  18. Take a photo walk around San Clemente
  19. Go squid fishing
  20. Do a bridal shoot at Salton Sea
  21. Record video of my dad telling stories
  22. Go Kite Surfing
  23. Put $10,000 into a savings account
  24. Finish a journal of stories from my childhood
  25. Get dressed up and go disco dancing
  26. Read the story books of the Old Testament all the way through (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah,  and Ruth)
  27. Go to a Coldplay concert
  28. Go back to Ukraine
  29. Write my ideal client profile
  30. Develop a new client kit
  31. Shoot a wedding in another state
  32. Finally finish reading The Brothers Karamazov
  33. Visit Tasha Kolar in DC
  34. Donate Blood
  35. Watch the sun rise and set on the same day
  36. Go apple picking
  37. Participate in a Seder Dinner
  38. Grow my hair out to my elbow
  39. Learn to fly a plane
  40. Buy a condo
  41. Sleep under the stars
  42. Go to a music festival
  43. Go on a road trip without a pre-set destination
  44. Go to Sedona, AZ
  45. Complete 3 short stories
  46. Mail all of the postcards I have collected over the years
  47. Attend a local theater show
  48. Go to a dinner theater show
  49. Complete 100 Push Up Challenge
  50. Host 5 board game nights
  51. Find a Geocache
  52. Send someone a care package
  53. Participate in a charity run/walk
  54. Go to a shooting range
  55. Complete A-Z challenge (visits a city that starts with each letter of the alphabet)
  56. Buy a Mac
  57. Buy a new vehicle
  58. Go to Sea World
  59. Learn to cook Japanese food
  60. Visit a ghost town
  61. Dine at the Ritz
  62. Plant and Cultivate my own vegetable garden
  63. Drive up the CA coast in a covertible
  64. Become friends with an old friend
  65. Stop ordering soda at restaraunts
  66. Attend a Renaissance Festival
  67. Complete a 26 Things project
  68. Go camping
  69. Go to 5 outdoor free summer concerts
  70. Read 5 biographies
  71. Sing at a Karaoke Bar
  72. Go to a TV taping
  73. Ride on a hot air balloon
  74. Go Hang Gliding
  75. Get a Driod phone
  76. Find a lotion that I like enough to use every day
  77. Learn to have good posture
  78. Save all of my phone numbers in a real phone book
  79. Buy an Opal ring that I love
  80. See the Rocky Horror Picture Show
  81. Attend a comedy show
  82. Eat only homemade meals for 30 days
  83. Go to a blues show
  84. Leave 7 pieces of art, or writing, in public places
  85. Say yes to 7 situations I'd normally say no to
  86. Comment on 5 other people’s blogs each week
  87. Watch a meteor shower
  88. Send a post card through Post Crossing
  89. Compliment a stranger every week
  90. Learn how to sew
  91. Fall in love
  92. Go to a drive in movie
  93. Do 10 actions on We Are What We Do
  94. Donate $5 for each goal that is not completed at the end of 1001 days
  95. Ride on a train
  96. Have Sunday Brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado
  97. Go SCUBA diving
  98. Donate 100,000 grains of rice via freerice.com
  99. Make a list of regrets and forgive myself for them
  100. Fly a kite
  101. Interview a photographer I like for my blog
And just because so many words need a photo to accompany them here is one from my trip to Anza Borrego Desert to see the wildflowers a few weeks ago.  Here is to adventure, spontenaety and busting out of you comfort zone!

6 comments

  1. Jessica Fletcher-Fierro on April 1, 2010 at 6:42 PM

    I love so many of those! And let's see stand up comedy together! :)

     
  2. Nicole on April 1, 2010 at 8:18 PM

    Nice! Reminds me that I need to write down my goals. :) Goal #1 - Write down goals

     
  3. Suzanne Thompson on April 2, 2010 at 10:32 AM

    Good luck with all the goals. Thanks for explaining what 1001 represented. I saw it on a couple other sites and couldn't figure out what it represented.

     
  4. Jeremiah Klein on April 6, 2010 at 9:56 AM

    That's a great list. I might have to steal some of your ideas.

     
  5. leeyangfamily on April 6, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    You can do #43 and #63 at the same time and just somehow end up on my doorstep...

    Miss you lots! Good luck with your list! =)

     
  6. Charleen Pestana on April 11, 2010 at 8:10 PM

    Awesome - you've inspired me to start working on my 101 list this week! Love your goals, Cole! It's go to be so fun to check them off! Yay!