In our modern goal-driven society, it's become a pretty common thing to create a list of "things to do before you die." There are quite a few of these lists floating around the Internet these days. I've put together an index of them for reference. Might share my own list at some point.
These lists are really, really interesting. Most of the items are experiential as opposed to achievement-oriented. What I mean is, "swim with a dolphin" isn't really an achievement so much as just something you do and count as one of life's experiences. It's not the same as "get my MBA" which takes serious planning and work. Swimming with a dolphin? That's just a matter of going somewhere and arranging a short excursion.
It's sort of voyeuristic seeing these lists of other people's goals. Inspiring, too. I've gotten a lot of ideas reading through them. There's plenty of overlap; many items on my list showed up on other people's lists as well. I've also included a small sampling of things people say they've already done. Kind of humbling, honestly, to see the unique and amazing things others have experienced. Can make you feel a bit behind even if your own life has been pretty adventurous. Take a look sometime and find your own inspirations.
"100 things to do before you die..."
"Things you should do in California"
"Ten Things You Probably Haven't Done"
"Ten Things I've Done That You Probably Haven't"
"The list of things to do before I die"