My BIG Life List – The Story

“You will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do…Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Every one of us experiences “life changing” events that take place when we are younger, that change our outlook on the world and become a cornerstone for how we lead the rest of their life. For better or for worse, I had several such events. Without going into details, suffice it to say that I had a close brush with death, and events that tested my faith in human nature. It made me rethink my priorities and how I planned to live my life.

Over the years I’ve encouraged many people, friends and strangers alike, to write down “to-do” lists because lists help keep you on track, and are responsible for more achievements than most any other activity. It seemed appropriate then, to create a LIFE list, a bird’s eye view of major goals and dreams I want to achieve during this fleeting lifetime – a tool to measure progress, to live life on offence instead of watching idly as it passes me by. I encourage you to do the same, to chart your goals and dreams, and to live your life on offence.

Why share something so personal with you? Aside from having a sense of greater responsibility (how can you let people down who are rooting for you?), I also strongly believe that the basis of our happiness lies in solid interpersonal relationships, whether personal or business. Such relationships can only be built on honesty, transparency, and mutual respect. I make my ‘Big Life’ list public not only because I eat my own cooking, but also to “pre-qualify” our relationship in case we have never met. If your convictions do not resonate with mine, we’ve probably saved a lot of time and frustration by not doing any business together

I	Family Matters
	1	Fall in love and get married
	2	Have a healthy son
	3	Have a healthy daughter
	4	Take care of my mother (in due time)
	5	Have a faithful marriage
	6	Have children become loving, honest, self-actualized, athletic, multi-lingual, well-educated individuals (no pressure )

III	Charitable Efforts
	12	Provide Free Tibet movement with a comprehensive internet network
	13	Donate anonymously to quality education institutions
	14	Create a non-for-profit to help children with personal development
	15	Start a family charity foundation
	16	Fundamentally positively impact US public education system
	17	Develop a software to teach 100,000 people to learn goal-setting, time management and speed reading
	18	Change a person’s life through teaching self-defense
	19	Change a person’s life thru Chinese medicine
	20	Raise awareness of child abuse and human trafficking

IV	Sports
	21	Do a “double flip” ski jump
	22	Heli-ski part of Mt. Everest
	23	Play tennis at Arthur Ashe stadium
	24	Play tennis with Pete Sampras
	25	Play tennis with Roger Federer
	26	Serve over 140mph (143mph)
	27	Leg press over 1500lbs (1650lbs – dumb, youth-related activity…)
	28	Bench press over 500lbs (515lbs – 2nd dumb activity…)
	29	Produce a martial arts instructional video
	30	Break 8 boards with “1 inch punch” martial arts technique
	31	Fight/spar with a World Champion
	32	Go to Olympics
	33	Be listed in a martial arts federation’s Hall of Honor
	34	Be honored as Instructor of the Year in my martial arts style
	35	Ski Swiss and French Alps
	36	Spar blindfolded
	37	Go to Soccer World Cup
	38	Have box seats at the US Open Men’s Tennis Final

V	Travel
	39	Go to Greece
	40	Go to Italy
	41	Go to Hawaii
	42	Go on safari to Africa
	43	Go to Fiji
	44	Go to Paris
	45	Go to Australia
	46	Cruise thru Caribbean
	47	Cruise thru Mediterranean
	48	Go to China
	49	Go to Brazil
	50	Go to Samarkand and Bukhara
	51	Go to Egypt
	52	Go to Bali
	53	Go to Thailand

VI	Stuff
	54	Be on national news live
	55	Be featured in The New York Times
	56	Go into outerspace
	57	Write a book
	58	Create software
	59	Be featured in a movie
	60	Ride a camel
	61	Swim with dolphins
	62	Write a bestseller
	63	See an alien
	64	Go to the White House
	65	Live overseas
	66	Go to Oscar ceremonies
	67	Leave this planet much better than I found it
	68	Travel around the world with family
	69	Help get cure for cancer public