“Oh my god, it’s Chris Martin!” My Sister shouted at the top of her voice. The young guy a few steps in front of me, dressed casually in a blue t-shirt and jeans, certainly from behind a striking resemblance to the Coldplay frontman, and surrounded by an entourage of five or six equally casual-looking young guys, turned laughing.
Briefly, our eyes met and I gasped. It’s not Chris Martin. It’s Mark Zuckerburg!
These days I think I would prefer to meet Chris Martin (sorry Mark), but back then I was in the throes of building a very successful Facebook-based business, so happening to run into Mark Z on the Great Wall of China of all places while on our annual Sisters on Tour trip was mind-blowing!
My sister & I had just been discussing, at length I would add, whether we were going to tackle the fairly steep steps up to Tower One. She wasn’t keen, and I was teetering on the edge (of my decision). I quite fancied the challenge but just as easily could be dissuaded for a shorter route and a cup of hot chocolate.
However, after seeing Mark & his entourage casually half jog past us up the steps towards Tower One, I turned on my heel and started to shoot up the steps.
‘I’m doing it Nat’, I shouted behind me. ‘I’m gonna make it to Tower One. Be back soon!’.
My Sister, looking slightly confused and equally unimpressed, simply shrugged her shoulders and turned to explore some less strenuous parts of the great wall.
I, however, was on a mission! I was determined to catch up to Mark, thank him for giving me the opportunity to build a lifestyle business using his platform, (which incidentally is why I happened to be in the very fortunate position of visiting the Great Wall of China), shake his hand and get a quick piccy.
What actually followed should absolutely be re-enacted in a future Will Ferell film. Entitled something like, ‘Extremely unfit middle-aged woman almost passes out trying to chase Mark Zuckerburg up the Great Wall of China.’ Perhaps something a little catchier but you get my drift.
If you’d like to read the full story (and learn more about visiting the Great Wall of China), please do so here – ‘Meeting Mark Z on the Great Wall of China.’
Hasten to add – ‘Visiting the Great Wall of China’ was on my bucket list. ‘Meeting Mark Z’ was not. He was just an added bonus.
What is a Bucket List?
The term itself is from the old saying ‘to kick the bucket’, in other words, ‘don the old wooden overcoat’, ‘push up the daisies’, ‘pop your clogs’ or ‘peg it’. You get where I’m coming from.
It was coined by screenwriter Justin Zackham in his screenplay for the 2007 film ‘The Bucket List’ starring Morgan Freeman & Jack Nicholson.
In the movie Freeman & Nicholson star as two terminally ill men, who make a list of things they want to do before they die (or kick the bucket), hence the term Bucket List. It’s actually a great film & I highly recommend it if you enjoy light-hearted sentimental comedies.
But that’s basically what a bucket list is. A list of things you’d love to do before you die. Or, as that’s a touch morbid, simply a big old list of stuff you’d love to have a go at, places you’d love to visit, dreams you want to explore, people you want to meet, experiences you want to have, etc.
And please take note. This list doesn’t have to be SMART goals set in stone, nor is it a list of things you must achieve to prove your worth or beat yourself over the head when you don’t achieve them.
A bucket list is what you make it. But my definition means it should be fun. It should be visionary and it should be full of dreams! And if you make sure it’s visible at all times, a great motivator for living your best life!
Why Create a Bucket List?
Do you remember when you were a child, your teacher would suddenly shout really loud, throw a ruler or smack your desk, shocking you out of whatever trance you were in? (Just me?)
You might have been knee-deep in a magical adventure, dreaming of lions and dragons, or princesses and castles. Perhaps you were thinking of a project you were working on with your siblings, dreaming of an upcoming holiday, doodling about ‘that girl, or boy’, or thinking about what you and your friends were going to do when you escaped on your bikes after school.
Whatever you were thinking and wherever you were in your mind, you were daydreaming.
Something that was passionately discouraged in my childhood. And what a shame that was.
If you think about it, the world we live in is built on people’s dreams. Dreams of human flight, dreams of entertainment in every living room, dreams of a home PC in every bedroom, dreams of a global communication network that could connect the world instantly, dreams of space travel, dreams of electric-powered self-driving cars, dreams of decentralized banking, and the list goes on.
Dreaming unleashes the creativity in all of us and should be actively encouraged! And it’s the skill of daydreaming which creates the best unique bucket list ideas!
It’s time to revive the child, my friend. It’s time to ignore all the naysayers through life who told you, you couldn’t, can’t, won’t or to ‘keep your feet on the ground and get your head out of the clouds.’
My old Grandmother (God rest her soul) used to ask me ‘When are you going to grow up and stop daydreaming?’ ‘Champagne taste and beer money,’ she would mutter as she walked away.
Never! Thankfully I never stopped daydreaming and it’s those dreams which have allowed me to create financial freedom in my life!
It’s those dreams which have given me the opportunity to travel the world, raise my daughter abroad, experience new cultures, make friends across the globe, and spend my days doing what I love to do!
A bucket list is quite simply a list of dreams or experiences that give us something to go for; something to aspire to and something to look forward to, in a world where very quickly the minutiae of life can shout, throw a ruler, or smack our desk and shock us back to reality a little too fast.
How to Create a Bucket List
So let’s have a look at some fun ways to go about creating your bucket list and then below I have loads of crazy, whacky & wonderful ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Pick the right environment
The chances are you won’t create a full bucket list all in one go. It will be an ever-changing, fluid, movable list, as you grow, change and adapt as a person.
However, as with everything, the first step is the hardest, and so being in the right environment and frame of mind to dream, and envision different experiences will help the process.
For me, it’s always being by the ocean. Whether on a beach, a boat, or a clifftop. The ocean always seems to unlock my frontal cortex and unleash my creativity!
For you, it might be sitting in the garden, curled up on your sofa, or sitting in an outdoor cafe in the middle of a bustling city. You might have a cuppa, a glass of wine, or be listening to a playlist you love.
Whatever works for you. But when you get started don’t just have ‘create my bucket list’ as the 5th ‘to do’ today in a list of 20 things. Be intentional and take a morning or afternoon to go somewhere to start really considering your ultimate unique bucket list ideas.
I know I’m sounding pretty serious about this, but creating a bucket list you’re truly excited about is potentially life-changing. It could be the starter motor for all sorts of amazing journeys in your life, so if you’re a big thinker and want some big things to happen, take the time to dream about it!
Have a Bucket List Brain Dump
How many times might you scroll through Instagram, see an incredible landscape or scene and think ‘I would love to go there/visit that’.
Perhaps a friend talks about an amazing restaurant with a 6-month waiting list they’ve recently visited or you see an activity on TV you’d love to try at some point.
There is a deluge of information coming at us 24/7 and our minds can’t possibly remember everything we experience each day, so carry a bucket list brain-dump with you at all times.
I use Evernote and have a notebook dedicated to my unique bucket list ideas. I add images, links, notes, anything I think I might want to add to my main bucket list at some stage.
Evernote is just one option. You could use the notes app on your phone, create an album and take photos of all the ideas you see, carry a physical notepad with you, start a Pinterest board, whatever works for you.
Create Some Quick Wins
It’s very easy to create your bucket list and then forget about it. To build some momentum early and keep it top of mind, it’s a good idea to include some quick wins.
Try that new class, eat at that fancy restaurant, go paintballing, etc.
When people think of ‘bucket list ideas,’ they usually immediately think of exotic travel, which if that’s your jam can absolutely be part of it. But it might take a while to achieve any exotic travel goals, especially in the current climate.
So create some achievable bucket list ideas that you can do right now as opposed to in the years to come.
As humans, we are wired to feel a dopamine rush when we have a sense of achievement so make it easy to tick off some of your bucket list ideas, by creating yourself some quick wins.
Review Regularly
You will change over time and as such so will your goals and dreams. When I recently looked over my bucket list ideas from my teens & twenties, there were a lot of items that just aren’t important to me anymore (or even relevant) such as;
- Star in a music video (top of the pops style!)
- Buy my Dad a Rolls Royce (he sadly passed before I achieved that goal)
- Get a Guinness world record (in what I don’t know!)
- Build my own house (absolutely no desire for that anymore)
- Run the London Marathon (never gonna happen with my cruddy knees)
- Make a record (a record! Remember them? – yep I’m talking vinyl & showing my age)
There were also a fair few I’d already achieved;
- Live in an open plan beachfront apartment (have now lived/stayed in many during our travels)
- Drive a car around a grand prix track (with STIG! My husband’s birthday present to me a few years back)
- Have a ride in a hot air balloon (Beautiful Bagan, Myanmar)
- Spend a New Year in Sydney (watched the fireworks from a boat in Sydney harbour)
- Watch the Epcot fireworks with the man of my dreams (my lovely husband and beautiful daughter – double whammy there, who knew I’d have a daughter when I set that goal!)
- Go for a trip on the Nile (one of the first romantic trips myself and my hubby took, A cruise down the Nile)
- Visit the 7 wonders of the world – so, there’s a lot more than 7 as the list has developed over the years and I’m not quite there yet, but definitely heading in the right direction!
The key is, however, don’t cling to old goals. Review your bucket list on a regular basis and update your list of ideas for where you are in your life right now.
Make It Fluid & Fun (Don’t make it a weapon)
I mentioned in the ‘what is a bucket list’ section, not to use it as a list to beat over your head when you don’t achieve some of your goals.
It’s so important to retain your bucket list as an aspirational, movable, fluid list of dreams which changes and grows with you. If it becomes a list of hard goals with absolute deadlines, it won’t be long before you start to ignore it as it will just become a reminder of the things you haven’t done.
As often as you feel is relevant, pull out your bucket list, review your dreams and goals, add to it, take away from it, create some quick wins, add some long-term targets or some goals with friends, family, etc.
Gamify it if you like or create a picture board. Whatever it takes for it to become a source of inspiration and motivation.
Create an Active Bucket List
I found my old bucket list in an obscure folder I must have saved from an old computer in a file I would never have looked at if I hadn’t been actively searching for a list I knew I had created back in my 20’s!
No good there! I hadn’t looked at it for twenty years!
Interestingly I had achieved some of the things on the list. Many were now irrelevant or no longer important and some were a reminder of some things I haven’t achieved in my life.
Hence the importance of creating an ‘active bucket list.’ Make it visible. Make it part of your everyday life. Put it up in the kitchen, create a screensaver, and have it as a note you look at each morning (rather than reading the depressing news or scrolling Insta).
Don’t just have an afternoon of inspiration, write a big list and then file it away never to be seen again. Your time is precious. If you’re going to put the effort into creating your bucket list, be sure to continue your efforts to review, update, and keep dreaming!
Take Massive Action (TR)
Tony Robbins always said ‘never leave the scene of a decision without taking massive action.’ Pick one of your bucket list items and make it happen as soon as is humanly possible
Create some momentum! Kick things off positively and most importantly be sure to tick off your list of ideas as you achieve them with a big fat marker pen!
So without further ado, here’s a big list of bucket list ideas meant to spark some inspiration for your own list. Some of these things I have done, some are on my bucket list and some are just completely random ideas I swiped off the net!
As I said, they’re meant as inspiration to get your own creative juices flowing. I hope they help! 😁
203 Unique Bucket List Ideas
Cultural Unique Bucket List Ideas
1. Get a backstage tour of the Sydney Opera House
I first visited Sydney Opera House back in the early 2000s and just so happened to be working in the theatre/concert world myself at the time and so managed to wangle myself a private backstage tour which was fantastic! These days though you can actually book a backstage tour and if you’re a music lover I highly recommend it!