I was
thinking about goals and New Year’s resolutions when I came upon the story of
John Goddard—an adventurer, lecturer, and perhaps “the world’s greatest goal
achiever.”
If
you’ve ever read the book Chicken Soup
for the Soul, you might be familiar with Goddard’s name. (His story was included in the book.) But in case you don’t know who he is, prepare
to be amazed. He was the first man in
history to explore the entire length of the Nile. Still thirsty for more, he also was the first
man to ever explore the length of the Congo.
He’s climbed the Matterhorn, lived among native tribes in Brazil,
Borneo, and New Guinea (among others), and somehow found the time to learn how
to fence, fly a jet, and play the violin.
How did
he manage to do all these things?
It all
started like this. One rainy afternoon,
when he was 15 years old, he sat down at his kitchen table and wrote three
words:
“My Life List”
His
list consisted of 127 goals. Climb Mt.
Kilimanjaro, Fuji, and Vesuvius. Visit
every country in the world. (He has 30
to go.) Photograph Victoria Falls in
Rhodesia (where he was chased by a warthog).
Dive underwater to explore the Great Barrier Reef. Visit everywhere from the Great Wall of China
to the Taj Mahal, and 119 other goals in between.
Half
a century later, Goddard has completed 109 of the goals on his amazing
list. You can see the entire list, and
which he has achieved, by visiting his website at www.johngoddard.info/life_list.htm. Or, just Google his name.
Looking
at his list, I’m struck by how it mixes the grandiose (explore the Amazon) to
the romantic (swim in Lake Victoria) to, well ... the normal. Goddard didn’t just
want to travel, he wanted to accomplish. That’s why he set (and met) goals like
“Become an Eagle Scout,” “Type 50 words a minute,” “Learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano,” or “Teach a
college course.”
It
goes without saying that Goddard is inspiring, but I think he’s a great example
as well. While not all of us may “study
native medicines,” like he did, or even want to, we all can sit down and decide what we really want in life. There
are two things about Goddard that I think contribute to his success:
·
He wrote
down his goals and kept that list with him.
His original list still exists today.
I
think writing your goals down is important.
If it’s just in your head, it’s a fantasy. But if it exists on paper, it’s a plan.
You can always have it with you to look at, so at any given moment you
can study your list and decide if what you’re doing is really what you want … or
if you’re giving up what you want the most for what you only want right
now.
·
Once he wrote his list, he stuck to it.
Often
when we set our New Year’s resolutions, or any goals for that matter, we change
them before we ever meet them. Maybe
that’s because we too often choose goals we think we should achieve, rather than ones we actually care about. Goddard wrote down goals that actually meant something to him. Maybe some were small, or even a bit
eccentric (“light a match with a .22 rifle”), but he wrote them down because he
wanted them. Not because he needed them. That way, achieving his goals was never
work.
This
year, I think it would be good to look at John Goddard’s amazing list, and then
write your own. The list doesn’t have to
be long, but it should be yours. The dreams of your childhood self. A Christmas List for life. Because if your New Year’s resolutions
consist of what you truly want, well …
Why
wouldn’t you achieve them?
So
start today. Grab a yellow pad and write
the words, “My Life List.” Then fill it
up. And as you go through life, whether
you’re nine or ninety, remember:
Don’t give up the things you want most for the things you only want right now.
