| For instance, you haven't really lived, in my opinion, if you haven't peered over the rim of the Grand Canyon, read The Code of the Woosters, enjoyed a candlelight dinner to the sound of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, or visited the north point of Anna Maria Island, Florida, to watch the sunset. Of course, the reason for a bucket list is to get away from what someone else wants and finally do what you want. What's the process? According to my research - which includes nearly 20 minutes of digging around online - here's the best way to create and manage your bucket list: - Make your goals realistic and achievable.
- Put your list in writing and review it regularly.
- Don't be reluctant to change or modify it.
- Planning is not optional. After making your list, decide exactly how and when you intend to get there.
- Cross off each item as you achieve it.
- If you live long enough, repeat.
Some may feel a list like this is self-indulgent. After all, folks are busy. They have commitments and responsibilities. Where is the time for a cooking class, blue marlin fishing, or a reef dive? Ironically, these are the people who would benefit the most from this exercise. Are we really too guilt-ridden or tied to the grindstone to live life on our own terms? Will we delude ourselves that we will get around to doing the things we really want "eventually"? As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "We are always getting ready to live, but never living." We all have obligations, true. But life can't just be about pleasing your parents, your boss, your spouse, and your children. It has to be about more than meeting your quota, making the mortgage, picking up the kids, and socking something away for a rainy day. For too many of us, there is a gap between how we spend our time and what is really important. If you have a friend or partner who shares your dreams, that's great. But sometimes it takes courage to do what you want. Other people have a lot of plans for you. They want you to go on "their trip." Mythologist Joseph Campbell described this as a slave morality, a path to disintegration of both body and spirit. "We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned," he said, "so as to have the life that is waiting for us." A bucket list requires you to confront your mortality and recognize that you have only so much time to do whatever it is you really want. It makes you stop and enumerate those things. It encourages you to plan for them. And it motivates you. As management consultant Brian Tracy writes... When you have clear, exciting goals and ideals, you will feel happier about yourself and your world. You will be more positive and optimistic. You will be more cheerful and enthusiastic. You will feel internally motivated to get up and get going every morning because every step you are taking will be moving you in the direction of something that is important to you. After all, it's not how fast you're moving - it's where you're headed. A meaningful life is not about speed and efficiency. It is more a matter of what you do and why you do it. Some individuals aren't comfortable branching out, experimenting with their lives. But by avoiding risk, they risk something even greater: an unlived life. Survey the residents at your local nursing home, for example, and they will tell you their greatest regrets are not the things they did or the mistakes they made, but rather the things they didn't do, the risks they didn't take. A bucket list is a step in the right direction. It may sound frivolous to some. But is it such a bad idea to jot down what you really want to do before you ditch this mortal coil? We take so many freedoms for granted. Freedom from regret, however, is up to you. Good investing, Alex | 
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