In just a few days I leave on a bucket list trip to Antarctica.
To me a bucket list trip is one you plan for over a year and fulfills an inner desire you have to experience that place. Travel is a big part of my bucket list and this is not my first trip to qualify, but is definitely the one that will test me most to date.
You see I don’t like being cold. I moved to Texas from Missouri because I hated winter weather, so my friends are very confused by Antarctica even being on my bucket list.
Penguins and being able to observe them in their natural habitat was my initial draw to visit Antarctica. However, now I’m looking forward to working through the mental challenges of the cold and four days of travel through the Drake passage, some of the roughest seas that can exist.
I also want to experience the energy of a place without human development, the stillness and fresh air. It’s also a place to practice my new hobby of photography with the landscape ice sculptures. Plus to visit all seven continents on earth, you must travel to Antarctica.
One of the things I love about travel is the personal growth that comes from the experiences. Life is put into perspective when you meet people from other cultures and realize we share the same basic goal: to be happy, peaceful and free.
My bucket list trips have focused on experiencing animals in their natural habitats. My first was a trip to Kenya in 1995, followed by Zimbabwe in 2000. Both were life-changing trips for me to start viewing my life through a bigger lens. Material stuff is not the basis for happiness and there is nothing like the peace I feel experiencing nature and observing animals in their natural habitat.
Actually documenting my bucket list is a new exercise that I started in the fall of 2013. This is the time I became focused on creating greater success in my life. Jack Canfield’s book The Success Principles was an important resource for me. He recommends that a bucket list contain at least 100 items…have you tried to do this? It’s a great exercise and I have just exceeded 50 items on my list.
As I reflect on the fact that I have struggled to find 100 items for a bucket list it is a little sad. On the one hand it tells me I don’t dream enough. On the other hand I have been blessed with opportunities to travel quite a bit already and am very happy with my life. However, I still love the challenge of growing my list and myself in the process.
Achieving items on my bucket-list is a primary motivator for me to make my business a financial success. Preparing for my current trip has required planning and implementation of systems so Crystal Canine programs continue in my absence. I can’t wait to tally up the revenue we make while I’m penguin watching. It will be a great reward for the past year’s work implementing a new marketing platform and creating new online programs.
I love having a bucket list and will continue working on getting to 100 items. It’s a great exercise for me to dream big and remain open to new experiences. If you have not started a bucket list make it a part of your success plans. If you have a list expand it to 50 and then 100 items.
My last tip is to go big on your bucket list items. A good friend recently shared she wanted to see orangutans in the Washington Zoo and my reply was for your bucket list go see the orangs in Borneo and Sumatra, not the zoo!
You see big dreams and big lists send a message to the universe that you are ready for big success.