#30before30 Bucket List


A picture of me and Morgan

"If life has taught me anything, it's that 95 percent of the people are always wrong" - Edward Cole, The Bucket List

 

So I'm in the last year of my twenty's *GASP*

After I turned 29, I decided to make a bucket list before I turned the BIG 3-0.

Now, I'm not saying that 30 is some magical age where you cross a Rubicon to a "point of no return" (thank God).

Rather, the bucket list was inspired after my conversation with a mentor who challenged me:

 

"Why aren't you doing what you really want to do?"

 

After that talk, I reflected the next few days on the core reasons for my excuses and it boiled down to three things:

  1. Laziness

  2. Fear

  3. Did I mention it's scary?

So after much revision, I came up with my #30before30 bucket list (and progress).

Here's 30 things to do before turning 30:

  1. Win a BJJ White Belt Competition (DONE - Won Gold in 170lb weight class!)

  2. Go to Japan and Korea (DONE - Hi Grandma!)​

  3. Kimono Challenge (DONE - Shoutout to Jefferson)

  4. Salsa Dancing in Union Square

  5. Acting/Improv class (DONE - read about it here!)

  6. Learn new languages - Japanese & Spanish

  7. Cross-Country Road Trip

  8. Break a World Record

  9. Mentor/Volunteer for Students

  10. Fly Business Class

  11. Make a Family Tree

  12. Bake the "perfect" NY Cheesecake

  13. Start blogging once a month (aiming for once a week!)

  14. Write hand written notes to close friends

  15. Make an iPhone app

  16. Make 갈비탕 (short rib soup) from scratch

  17. Complete a (half) marathon :P

  18. Buy a dinner for a family anonymously

  19. Meet a role model - GSP/Will Smith/Tim Ferris

  20. Do a flying trapeze class

  21. Stand Up Comedy - amateur night in NYC

  22. Critical feedback from closest peers

  23. Practice Wim Hof Method for 30 days

  24. Read one book a month (finished Tipping Point, Power of Habit, Promise Me, Dad, and Moonwalking with Einstein)

  25. Explore all NYC museums (so far: MOMA, the Met, Guggenheim)

  26. Perform a magic trick (any ideas?)

  27. Visit a NY State Prison (DONE - Read about it here!)

  28. Go Sky Diving

  29. Memorize all 50 states/capitals and US Presidents

  30. Memorize and Recite “I have a Dream” speech by Dr King Jr.

Here were some guidelines for my bucket list:

  1. Make sure it creates "butterflies" in your stomach

  2. Leave room for failure

  3. HAVE FUN!

I want to convey that these items aren’t meant to stay in the list forever, and that I may not be able to even succeed at all of them. However, I wanted to make sure that life didn't pass me by and I was left with the "I wish I had...".

I'll end with this inspirational quote:

 

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals" - Zig Ziglar

 

For any of you who with a #XXbeforeXX bucket list, please share them with me.

And don’t listen to the naysayers saying it’s too late…they're most likely wrong!

Let's live.

-Pai

#bucketlist #goals