No Opportunity Wasted

                Several years ago at the public library, I stumbled across the book “No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a List for Life” by Phil Keoghan.  

          This book really changed my philosophy about goal setting.  Like most of the population, before reading this book I had a “bucket list.”  I had a list of things I wanted to do someday, before I die.  Part of the problem with that philosophy is I don’t know when I’m going to die, so it’s hard to plan events leading up to it.  The other part of the problem – at least for me – is that putting anything in the context of “someday” puts it too far out there for my nerd brain.  I need more structure than that.

          I changed my mind from a “bucket list” to a “NOW list.”  One of the goals that came out of reading this book the first time was a cross-country bike trip.  When I say bike I mean bicycle, not motorcycle.  I put a five-year timeline on that goal, not even owning a bicycle or knowing that two years into that timeline I would be climbing back into a truck.  So, no, I didn’t reach that goal; but I do own a bike now, I’m working on increasing my endurance, and I’m in the beginning stages of planning a bike trip next summer with my niece.  One of the tricks to reaching a goal is knowing when to be flexible.  That initial five-year timeline is out, but I’m still working towards accomplishing that goal.

          I bring this up because my first idea for the bike trip was to ride US 50 from Sacramento to Washington D.C.  I have run a portion of US 50 twice in the past three weeks that I’d never been on before so I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.  People think I’m crazy when I tell them I want to do this.  I don’t remember which personal development coach said it, but I heard one say, “If at least three people don’t tell you you’re crazy, then you’re not being creative enough.”

          I’m okay with people thinking I’m crazy.  After all, not every driver is writing a blog for their company.  If I hadn’t had that “crazy” idea and acted on it, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now, living out my dream of being a freelance writer.