10 Years of Bucket Listing

Almost 10 years ago (February 2008) I posted the first note on this blog, explaining why I was embarking on a life-long journey to try some stuff and learn some things and become someone. In the last 10 years I've crossed off 21 of my 100 goals, and at least one of those goals has truly altered the course of my life. (Driving across the country in 2013 took me to Newfoundland, where I unexpectedly ended up living for almost two years and made a lot of friends and had an incredible time). I've also run a marathon, shaved my head, read the entire bible, and gone back to school (with the end goal of getting into grad school), among other things that were interesting, challenging, or just plain fun (like the police ride-along). 

Looking back on this decade-long run of dreaming and planning and attempting to get through it, I've realized that while many other goals and dreams have come up that I could add to this list, I'm still feeling jazzed about all these things that I wanted to accomplish, or try, or be at that time, and I still want to do and be and try. In fact, more than ever. I'm down another decade of life and I've gotten only one fifth of the way through my life list... I'd better get on the fast track! 

And I'm only becoming more and more obsessed by the whole notion of life lists/bucket lists and what it means to set personal goals and challenges to aim for in the time we have on this planet, whether in the short-term or begin a journey of a thousand miles (travelling the world), or 10,000 hours (becoming a proficient writer), or a new life path that will take you through the rest of your days (like becoming a parent). 

Why create a bucket list?

I think a list of life goals gives you an excuse to pursue things that will bring the greatest memories when you're on your deathbed, and which one might not otherwise get around to doing. Or maybe I'm just a list freak who feels it's absolutely necessary to complete any task I put down in writing. 

But whatever the reason, I'm not alone. A lot of people have bucket lists, some of which you can find online, often in the form of a blog like this. It's fun to check out what other people's life goals are. Most common include various international travel goals, earning a certain amount of money and/or starting a business, and an inordinate number of people dream about writing a book. 

Some of the best bucket lists I've found around the web are:

• Joel Runyon's Impossible List
• Thomas Frank's Impossible List
• Steve Kamb's Epic Quest of Awesome
• Tal Gur's 100 Life Goals List

How?

We all have goals and dreams of all kinds, and I think coming up with a list isn't the hard part for most of us. I like the idea that we're all living in a world in which sharing ideas for what kinds of things we want to accomplish in our lives, and sharing ideas on how to go about pursuing these things is becoming easier every day. Not the goals themselves, of course - the doing is always going to be just that - but the ability to aim high and turn ideas into action is now more possible than ever, mostly due to the Internet. Having the ability to communicate and connect with others anywhere on the planet who are pursuing the same things you are is mind-blowing when you really think about it. Anything you're into, there's a place (and an app) for that online. 

I think that's pretty flipping awesome. Anything you want to do, or learn, or acquire, or fix, or share, you can find a way via the world wide web. So there's no stopping you from going after whatever it is you want. Frankly, I think there are only two real obstacles to achieving whatever you happen to have on your life list.

The 2 Things You Need to Accomplish ANYTHING

Ready for it? I honestly think the only two things standing in my way, and in yours, are: 

1. Time

2. Money

Seriously, think about it. What's stopping you from getting crazy fit like you've always wanted to be? Time. And what's stopping you from jetting off to see the world like you've always dreamed of doing? Money.

If you won the lottery you'd have the funds and the freedom from having to work for the funds to pursue whatever goals you might have. (An obvious third requirement for most endeavours is health and vitality, which is why I believe health is imperative and something we should safeguard and promote if we're going to have the energy needed to get things done, but that's a topic for another post.) I truly feel like time and money are the two biggest obstacles to pursuing our bucket lists with a vengeance. I mean, most people have to work to earn the money needed to pursue cool adventures and projects, and most means of income mean trading hours for dollars. So what's the answer?

Smart investing. Crowd funding. Entrepreneurship. Side hustling!

Chris Guillebeau has a great podcast called Side Hustle School, and he recently published his latest best-seller, aptly called Side Hustle. I've been following his awesome quests (such as visiting every country in the world) for years, and have found inspiration in hearing about other regular people on his podcast breaking free of the barriers of time and money by earning multiple streams of income, and even passive income. It's how the above noted successful bucket listers have managed to accomplish all the goals on their lists. They found ways to earn money online, and thereby have both the freedom and the funds to go after the projects and pursuits that really lit their fire. 

So. Here I am, coming up on a decade of this bucket list, and planning to get into high gear to blast through a bunch more items in the next 10 years. It's exciting to dream of the adventures, but even more exciting to make them real. I just need to start a side hustle... more on this very soon!

What's your next bucket list goal, and how are you planning to fund it?

There's Something About Casey Neistat

Casey Neistat is my career idol. He knows about hard work, but he knows how to make hard work look cool. I'm obsessed with this guy. 

Like a boss.

Neistat comes from a working class background, never graduated from high school, sort of looks like a bulldog, got kicked out of his parents' place at 15, and got dumped by his girlfriend after she had his baby when he was 17... (so a bit of a rough start to life)... but he moved to NYC at 19 and decided to become a filmmaker... no matter what. And now he is a YouTube god who gets half a million views on his videos within an hour of posting them. Today is his 35th birthday and the one-year anniversary of his daily vlog. How did he get to where he is?

• Despite having no money, he got a joe job as a dishwasher and bike courier to support himself
• Despite having no training, he figured out how to fix stuff and he's great at DIY jobs (and is extremely competent)
• Despite having no resources, he taught himself to edit video on the first Apple DV
• Despite having less than flawless genetics, he exercises every single damned day – runs, bikes, swims and works out – so he's got a killer body and can run a sub-three hour marathon (plus, with an awesome sense of style, like serious panache, and unlimited self-confidence, he's one sexy beast)
• Despite getting dumped by his baby mama, he's now married and has a great relationship with his family
• Despite his HBO show not doing well in 2010, he re-set his focus and started making movies, which just keep getting better

The guy takes great care of himself, works damned hard, and keeps trying new things. He never feels sorry for himself, and he has never sat around doing nothing. He doesn't let a lack of education stop him from doing great things. He keeps going, keeps amping up his creative output. He's willing to lose, to look like a fool, to be noticed in sometimes unflattering light. He's willing to be imperfect a lot. He does things his own way. And he's one of the best, if not, the best story-teller on YouTube. 

What can you and I learn from him?

We don't need fancy equipment or any more education or training. We just need to keep in motion, to keep doing things, keep trying, keep failing, and expect to keep failing and revel in the failing because that will mean we're making things happen, we're producing, not just passively consuming (Did someone say Netflix?) We need to stop worrying about money and just take any job to pay the bills while we pursue the work that drives us, that gets us excited, that we'd do if we were already rich and could do it just because it lights us up inside. We need to focus. We need to work hard. We need to take great care of our bodies so we have more energy for work, and so we have more self-confidence to try new things and put ourselves out there. We need to jump way outside of our comfort zones. We need to put the past behind us and just look to the future. We need to look for opportunities and grab onto them, no matter how small and insignificant or how big and intimidating they may seem. We need to DO MORE and we need to MAKE IT COUNT. 

Best rejection ever

Last September I started a two-term creative writing diploma at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, and it was great to get me going on a regular writing schedule. I've been wanting to get some serious writing time in for a long while and it was good to have hard deadlines. And also to be surrounded by other aspiring and accomplished writers. Over the last few months I entered a handful (three, I think) of writing contests and I got rejected from all of them, including the 2015 Writers' Union of Canada Short Prose Competition, for which I submitted three short stories. 

Except today I heard that I made the short list , which means I didn't win, but the judges liked it enough to put it in the "maybe" pile before they rejected it. I came in 13th out of 400 entries. So that feels pretty good when you're a new fiction writer and have never heard anything but "no thanks" or worse, nothing at all, when you submit a piece for publication or to contests. 

So this feels like my first step to becoming a "real" writer. 

Fitness update – Jan. 15

On Dec. 31 I made a mini resolution to exercise every day for 30 days starting Jan. 1. So far, so good – I'm halfway there. 

Exercise has meant a two-hour hike, a one-hour yoga class, some long city walks (min. 30 minutes), but most often a trip to the gym for 45 minutes of hard cardio (bike, elliptical, or stair climber) followed by another 20 minutes of weights. Mostly, my inspiration to get into this routine came from the book Younger Next Year. Whatever works, right? I know it's not a major accomplishment – exercising daily for a couple of weeks – but dammit, it sure is better than nothing. Starting small and building a foundation is working for me and I feel good about it. I was definitely not exercising every day in the last year or so. To be fair, I was on disability for about six months last year after a back injury, but now that I've recovered, there's no excuse. Exercise simply has to be a priority if you're into being fully alive. 

I'd left off Convict Conditioning a few months ago, and getting back into it, I've discovered I'm set back, but not by as much as I'd expected. Here's what I can do at this point:

• wall pushups – 3 x 40
• half squats – 2 x 30
• chin ups – 5 (pull-ups – 0)
• short bridges – 2 x 30
• knee tucks – 2 x 20
• tripod headstand – 10 seconds (wall assisted)

And I can bench press two sets of 12... just the bar (45 lbs.). I'll see how much progress I can make in the next two weeks.

Younger Next Year: Book Review

In December I picked up a copy of Younger Next Year, For Women: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy – Until You're 80 and Beyond and read it just before the end of the year. 

It's basically a new take on the old tale of eat, sleep, and exercise better for lasting health, but it's well worth a read because the information is packaged in an easy to read style and the book is jammed with really interesting and motivating health tidbits. For example, according to the authors, lifting heavy weights every couple of days essentially halts bone loss and muscle loss that otherwise would be inevitable after about age 50. Also, 70 per cent of the horrors of old age – weakness, falls, aching joints, heart attacks, etc. – is optional. With just 45 min. of daily exercise, even if you only start in your 50s or 60s, you can eliminate all that "natural" aging horseshit.

Our bodies can continue to grow and are renewed, even as we age.

The best part of the book is it's aimed at the 50-something female demographic, which means I'm a couple of decades ahead of the game when it comes to getting in shape and making sure I don't wear out before my time.

Here are the book's seven "rules" to stay fit, healthy, and happy in every decade of life: 

1. Exercise six days a week for the rest of your life.
2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week. 
3. Do serious strength training, with free weights, two days a week. 
4. Spend less than you make. 
5. Quit eating crap!
6. Care. (Have a passion and pursue it.)
7. Connect and commit. (Have a passion for people and foster a sense of community and connectedness.)

The only thing I don't like about the book is the stupid, sexist, condescending tone taken by one of the two authors – Chris Crowley. This guy needs a smack across the back of the head. If he didn't write things like, "You clever girl, you," I would say the book is excellent. Unfortunately the doctor, Henry S. Lodge, who is in my opinion the "real" author of the book, wasn't allowed to just write it himself, without his idiot co-author. I imagine the original version, Younger Next Year, which is geared towards men, is probably fantastic, because, well, it's geared towards men. If you don't like sexism, and/or you're a man, maybe just pick up that version of the book, which pretty much sums up the same message: exercise = excellent quality of life. 

Anyway, inspired by this book, I set one of my main goals for 2015 as get fit and healthy and I feel I'm on track. My first goal is to exercise daily for 30 consecutive days, which is working because it's very do-able. I didn't bite off more than I could chew, but instead simply decided to make exercise of some sort a top priority in my daily schedule. The least intense workout I've done was walking (min. 30 minutes), but I've been pretty consistent about doing something to get my heart rate up or my muscles working. Today was an hour of yoga, yesterday was 45 min. on the stair climber at the gym followed by 20 minutes of upper body free weights. I've also done elliptical and stationary bike for 45 min. each on other days. Because it's winter, I don't have many outdoor options, so the gym will be the main source of my workouts. But the authors weren't kidding – it really does make me feel better both physically and emotionally to be active every day, and I'm pretty jazzed about being 27 next year... okay, fine, 33.

2015 – in which I get fit and get published

On Dec. 31 you can divide people into three categories: those who are planning what to wear to the party tonight, those who are planning the diet that will begin tomorrow, and those who have a plan to establish good habits and actually make lasting, measurable changes that can be smiled about this time next year.

I like to think I'm in the third camp and that I have real, accomplishable goals for 2015, but I don't like to think of them as new year's resolutions. They're more like life goals that I intend to work on in the coming year. They are 1) get published, and 2) get fit. 

More to come on these in the next week. Tonight, it's party time! Now... what to wear?

You owe the world your health

Do you exercise? If you don't, you should, but not to look good (though that's an inevitable side effect) and not to feel good (though that's also something most people report about their moods and their self-esteem). 

You need to get yourself in shape for the good of others. Stop being selfish. You are needed in this world. You have a job to do, and that's to help out in whatever capacity you happen to be best at helping out. That's what you and all the rest of us are here for. The thing is, if you're too tired or cranky, or too overweight or underweight, or too weak, or too prone to injury, you're constantly going to be sitting on the sidelines, getting less done, being less helpful, which means living a smaller life than the one you know you can and should be living. Taking care of your body for the long-haul is probably one of the most unselfish things you can do. 

As Australian business titan Naomi Simson put it in an interview with Body and Soul: 

"You are absolutely useless to anyone unless you have your health."

I can't help but agree – which is not to say that those who are physically or mentally disabled have less to offer the world – but for those who of us who are less able simply due to our own laziness, there should be no excuse for not making health one of the main pillars of our life. It's about personal responsibility. 

About four years ago this letter went viral. Supposedly it was written in 1959 by Judge Phillip B. Gilliam of Denver, Colorado. I think it's awesome:

Working out for the "wrong" reasons

About a decade ago I dated this really nice guy who was nicely built and prided himself on his nice workout routine. He liked to "whale on his pecs" as he put it, and it showed. He had a solid chest, a flat stomach, and big, manly biceps. I don't know how much time he spent at the gym or doing bench-presses at home, but I do know that when he went to see a personal trainer his answer to the question, "What are your fitness goals?" was simply, "To look good naked."

I can't fault a 23-year old guy (or anyone for that matter) for exercising for any reason, even if only for vanity's sake, and at the time I actually admired his honesty. In some ways, I still do. But the guy is now married and I wonder if he still takes so much time to carefully craft his body now that he's no longer in the dating world. Maybe he keeps himself looking great for his wife, but if he does, I would still say it's a pretty shallow reason to work out.

Here's a cold hard fact: nobody really cares what you look like. The older you get, the more you realize this is true. Only you care, especially when you feel like you're having a "fat day" or a "bad hair day." I'm not saying people aren't aware of what others look like – obviously the fashion and cosmetics industries wouldn't exist otherwise – but no one cares more than you do about whether or not your mascara is smudged or how amazing your butt looks in your jeans. People only want to know what you can offer them. And you're inevitably going to be able to offer more to the world if you're healthy and therefore have more energy to expend. 

We all get good and bad genes, right? I've never been an especially active person (other than the brief period in which I was a determined distance runner) yet I've never worried about my weight or what I eat because I'm genetically predisposed to stay lean, and be able to up and climb a mountain without passing out even if I've been on the couch all winter. 

But I've realized I've reached that inevitable point in my life at which fitness can no longer be taken for granted. I can no longer abuse my body or neglect my diet and deny that it's my responsibility and mine alone to be well and healthy and vibrant. 

Unfortunately another genetic trait I inherited was idiopathic scoliosis, for which I had to wear a body brace 24/7 for nine months when I was 15. My spine is still curved and will be for the rest of my life, which leads to stiffness and some pain because of muscle imbalances. Two months ago today I injured myself falling on my tailbone/sacrum when I slipped on a patch of ice at work (I was working part-time as a farm hand at a dairy farm), so I now have to be extra vigilant about building core strength and looking after my back. No one else is going to do it for me. As my physiotherapist recently said, "It's your spine." I can be given all the motivation and information and warnings in the world, but the only thing to make me actually get fit is my decision to do so. And it's high time. If I want to let myself deteriorate, that's my prerogative, but I'm not the only one who will suffer. If I'm going to do anything awesome with my life I know I'm not going to be able to do it if I'm in not in good health. Here's a pep talk from Kid President about being awesome:

Working out for the "right" reasons 

Until I hit my 30s, I exercised only when I felt like it and only because my body was still young and fresh enough to do whatever I wanted it to (I remember running down mountains and my knees were totally cool with it). And so it was fun to go hiking and snowboarding and dancing with friends, never having to worry about warming up, or being patient about recovery time or general maintenance through good nutrition. I just moved around in the world without pain and never worried about things like getting injured.

Well, almost never. I had a stress fracture in my femur when I was 19 from distance running and I royally messed up my left IT band from under-training for a marathon in 2011. It's still messed up and my knee hurts when I run or go for a long hike. And now that I've injured my back I don't know how long it's going to be before I can resume normal activity again or when/if I'll be able to go back to a physical labour job.

I realize the older I get, the more preventative work I have to do to make sure nothing breaks or stops moving the way it's supposed to. I have to make sure I put the right fuel in to make sure I can still keep up my regular speed. If I'd been better to my body in my 20s, and even teens, both through diet and exercise, I wouldn't have to deal with a lot of what I do now. If I'd always kept myself in peak condition, I'd still be in peak condition now, I'm sure, and doing cool things and making the world better. 

I'd be like Casey Neistat. As the YouTube god told South African health blogger Dylan Muhlenburg in a recent interview, 

“Your brain is so valuable and without your body it’s limited. That’s a really scary prospect for me. I really value my body. Not to the point that I won’t take risks. If I can never walk again because the chute didn’t open, that’s fine. But to never run again because I ate too many potato chips? That’s not okay.” 

According to bits and pieces I've picked up from trolling the Internet for biographical info about him (he's both my career and fitness idol), Neistat shattered his femur in a motorcycle accident but kept running despite his doctor's advice to quit because of the titanium rod in his leg. He's run 21 marathons – his latest was the 2013 NYC Marathon and his time was 3:03. The guy is crazy fit. So I believe him when he says he works out daily (running, biking, and swimming), and that he does it not to look great (though he sure does) but to stay sharp mentally and be on his game. And no one could deny he is on his game. 

Anyway, the point is, I need to start working out regularly because I need to get back to work. And I need to stop taking prescription pain medication every day. And I need to stop spending the majority of my days in bed. It's not about looking good naked, it's about feeling ready for anything life hands you and being able to give back what you can. It's about being physically and mentally conditioned to do your thing, whatever that thing might be. So I have to remind myself to see this injury for what it is – a silver lining, a wake-up call, whatever you want to call it – to get in the best shape of my life, not just for one shining moment, but for the rest of my days. Because in life, there are no days off. 


So how to get in shape? 

Now I guess the question is, how am I going to do it? Where should I start, and what should I do to get fit? So far, all I can do because of my back is stretching and some easy strength training exercises the physio showed me how to do in my room. Walking to the grocery store causes excruciating pain. But I'm optimistic. Hell, if Rosalie Bradford can lose 900 pounds by starting her weight loss program just by clapping her hands, there's really no excuse for not making one small step in the right direction towards being healthy, no matter where you're at right now in your life. 

And if this guy can go from where he was to where he is now, so can I, and so can you. This will blow you away:

If you exercise, what do you do to get fit and stay healthy? And if you don't work out already, what are you going to do to get moving? 

Comfort ≠ Safety

I'm reading a book called The Rock Warrior's Way, which is all about the mental training involved in climbing. There's a lot in it, but it would take a whole separate blog to go into the details, so let's just say the mental game is huge in climbing. Huge.

Here is the biggest lesson I've learned from actually climbing, and which has been put into simple terms and confirmed for me in the book: comfort and safety are paradoxical terms.

There is a moment on the wall when you might feel totally out of control, hanging off an overhang and you can't get one foot on a hold and your hands feel slippery and everything's wrong as you try to unclip the next quickdraw. The instinct is to go for what feels the safest; pulling your body upright and in towards the wall. But that's the worst thing because you're expending energy you don't have and wasting time with awkward movements. The best thing to do would be to lean away from the wall, hang on with that one sweaty hand – with a lighter grip, in fact – and slowly and calmly deal with the clip.

What feels safe, ironically, is not safe. And what feels scary as all hell is actually the safest. This both drives me crazy and delights me. There's definitely a life lesson here, but one I sure haven't learned to apply. I hold on for dear life to try to avoid mistakes and end up making so many more.

Get rich, and see the world

According to an article published earlier this year in The Daily Mail, most of the dreams and wishes on people's bucket lists involve travel or some kind of adventure activity. The top 10 items, in order:

1. Become a millionaire
2. Travel the world
3. See the northern lights
4. Trek the Great Wall of China
5. Be mortgage free
6. Walk the Inca Trail
7. See the seven wonders of the world
8. Visit the Egyptian pyramids
9. Invent something that changes lives (like an iPhone?)
10. Visit Antarctica

Unfortunately, the study (a survey done by Helly Hansen of 2,000 people) also found that most people will only fulfill five of their dreams. If travelling is such a popular dream for so many, why don't more people pack a bag and get on with it, then?

If this survey is any indication, human beings think getting the most out of life means seeing the world and having a big bank balance. Maybe that's just because getting rich means having the means to travel? Thing is, though, you don't need a lot of money to go walkabout. Here is a great article from Verge Magazine about how to travel cheap or even free. I particularly like the last suggestion – enter contests. If you don't enter, you can't win, and if you do enter, you've got nothing to lose; so why not?

If I won the Biggest, Baddest Bucket List contest, which is a really great marketing campaign by MyDestination.com, I'd basically be living the ultimate dream and getting a taste of what it's like to cross off the top two fantasy items on most people's lists: get rich and see the world.

I'd also potentially get to cross off a few of my own bucket list items, all within six months:

#17 - raft down a world-class river
#27 - drive the Autobahn
#29 - ride a camel through a desert
#32 - ride a helicopter and a hot air balloon
#61 - go dog sledding
#65 - visit St. Peter's Basilica
#79 - best suite at a five-star hotel
#85 - kickboxing in Thailand
#86 - experience a dude ranch
#93 - see the Aurora Borealis
#96 - sky diving

...and I'd be a lot closer to #14 - visit every country!

100 is the magic number

I found this website called Litemind that's all about good ideas and stuff.

One of the posts is about how to tackle any issue with a list of 100 things. The one that stood out to me was 100 Jobs/Careers I'd love to Try. At first it sounded dumb, but I had some time to kill tonight while uploading some video footage, so I read it. And it wasn't dumb. In fact, it was awesome. (There may be a slight bias here, considering I'm OBSESSED with lists, and I like the number 100, but still, I believe most people will agree it gets the creative juices flowing.)

Do it! Turn off the TV, sit down for 20 minutes, and just write without thinking too hard about it. It's really fun.

I came up with some gems, plus realized if I'm ever unemployed or want to change jobs, there's lots of cool stuff to try. Like snorkel instructing, dolphin training, or brain research. I'll just need to update my resume.

He wrote back!

Today I got a letter in the mail from New York, New York. Casey Neistat wrote me back! Okay, technically his assistant wrote me back, since it was a form letter, but Casey did sign it with his own hand... and promised to write me back a more personal message at some point.

I'm stoked.

He's pretty famous, and way more interesting and actually talented than most celebrities (like, say, the girl from Twilight).

Anyway, Neistat even sent me a bunch of his $2 bill stickers, which I will put to good use.

Not exactly sure how yet, but I'm hatching a few creative ideas. Any suggestions are also welcome.

New Hero

I've discovered Casey Neistat. The guy is a year older than me, living in NYC, travelling the world, and making a living as a self-proclaimed "YouTube filmmaker." He's doing pretty much exactly what I want to be doing, and living pretty much exactly the life I want to be living. I want to meet him and find out how I, too, can make the awesomeness happen.

I'm going to write him a letter.

Paralyzed by Indecision

Okay, so I haven't posted for almost a month because I've been trying to make a million decisions about a million things. For example, to climb or boulder? To commit to weekly Toastmasters meetings yet or put that on hold? Go for a one-year reporting contract or stick with my business plan and be self-employed?

There are daily choices to be made and with all of these comes F.E.A.R. of making the wrong choice. 

At least, that's the way I feel. I want to live a big life, and do everything, but of course that means doing something, anything, starting today. Instead I often find myself sitting here at my desk doing a whole lot of sitting and thinking about what to do. Argh! I want to be more like this guy and JUST DO IT! Something! Anything! 

Life = movement = action. Do one thing that scares you. Every day. Make a list if you have to, but then start crossing things off.

1984 Women's Olympic Marathon

Los Angeles, 1984.

Women were allowed to compete in the Olympic marathon event for the first time. American Joan Benoit won Gold, but the best finish was from the Swiss runner, Gabrielle Andersen-Scheiss who came in 37th place with the most inspiring finish ever seen.

29 Forever

I feel elated after tonight's workout. We jogged 15 minutes, did six reps of 600 m, and then jogged back 15 minutes. I am sore but seriously happy. And the glass of milk I just drank was the best tasting milk I've ever had, ever.

Running is helping me sleep better, feel more alive and gives my heart a reason to beat other than general anxiety. Also, I recently read a book by David "Patch" Patchell-Evans called Living the Good Life, which is really just a plug for his chain of fitness centres, but does offer some inspirational reasons to get off the couch. In fact, there's a list of 125 specific reasons in an appendix at the back.

Anyway, the point is, one of the stats he offers really got me thinking. He says if you exercise just three times a week for about 20 minutes of cardio, you can effectively stop the clock on aging. The average person, he figures, puts on a pound of fat every year after age 30, and resting heart rates go up by one beat per year... UNLESS you exercise. Which means... drumroll please... you can stay at whatever age you are now if you just get off the couch three times a week and move your body around. Actually, you could even reverse it. And he's not just talking crows feet and arthritis. Feeling young and alive is the real reward. Feeling good. So I'm planning to keep up this regimen of running and whatever else sounds like a fun way to get some exercise at least three times a week... and stay 29 forever.

The Question

"What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver

Audacious Hope

When Sylvia Ruegger was 15, she watched the 1976 Montreal Olympics on TV and decided right there and then that she would run for Canada in the Games. On a piece of paper, she wrote down, "My goal: to make it to the 1980 Olympics in Russia and win for Canada." She put that piece of paper under a floor board in her farmhouse bedroom and told no one about her aspirations.

She called it audacious hope. To believe that she'd be able to do it.

She started running, on her own, in the early mornings before school. Her mother followed behind her in the car along country roads, with the headlights on so she could see where she was going.

Ruegger didn't make it to the 1980 Games.

But she did make it to the 1984 Olympics in L.A., and represented Canada in the marathon event – the first time women were allowed to compete in the marathon. She didn't win, but she came in eight place.

My mom and I went to hear Ruegger give a talk at the Runner's Den in Port Moody some time ago, where she showed a video clip of her final lap around the stadium. It was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen.

She also brought her bib from the race framed behind glass. LA 84. 060. Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad. Ruegger.
Below it was the piece of paper she had found still underneath the floor board in her old room at the farmhouse.

When I run I often think of Sylvia Ruegger, a great Canadian runner. I like her story. I like the way she set a goal, wrote it down, and followed through. I want to be just like her.

I want to run a marathon. Not in the Olympics, and not to win, but just to be able to say that I accomplished my goal.

Audacious hope.

On Hope

We rejoice in our sufferings,

because we know that suffering

produces perseverance;

perseverance, character,

character, hope.

And hope does not disappoint us.

-Romans, 5:3-5

10,000 Hours

If you want to be proficient, perhaps the best, at anything, the only thing you need is time. A lot of it - 10,000 hours, to be precise. This is the latest from Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink) who asserts in his book Outliers (Little, Brown & Co. 2008) that the magic formula for mastering a skill like playing the violin or shooting hoops or designing computer software is simply to put in the time to practice, practice, practice.

(Um, no kidding. I think my mom told me the "practice makes perfect" mantra when I was about five, but anyway... I guess experts have now made the practice notion quantifiable and therefore either more practical or completely daunting, depending on who you talk to.)

So it seems you can be the most average chess player and become a grandmaster if you've got about 10 years to work diligently on improving your skills. Gladwell quotes Daniel Levintin, author of This is Your Brain on Music (Penguin, 2006), who said,

"ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery
associated with being a world-class expert - in anything... it seems that it
takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve
true mastery."

If this holds true, then I guess I've been taking the wrong tactic all along with my list of goals. Perhaps I should pick just one and dedicate the rest of my life to perfecting it. Hmn, floristry? Studies clearly demonstrate I could be the best florist on the planet if I put my mind to it... despite the fact that at present I can't even tell a chrysanthemum from a carnation.

Reality TV inspires the runner in me

"You want to know how you train for a marathon? You run." - personal trainer to a weight-loss contestant on an American reality TV show.

Keeping it simple. I love it.