If you haven’t yet seen the movie, The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, then you’re probably wondering what on earth I’m talking about?

Firstly, I’d highly recommend the movie because it’s a good story and they are two extraordinary actors.

Secondly, it’s a movie that inspires you and makes you think, which I must confess are the kind of films I really enjoy the most.

One of the things that I preach the most when I’m coaching people in creating work/life balance is to look for the things in life that will really get under your skin and motivate you to achieve and be successful, because when a person has purpose, life itself immediately becomes more joyous and meaningful.

So what I’m saying is, “Find something to get excited about!”

Amazingly some people really struggle with that.

So, here’s an idea…

Think about all of the places you’d love to visit in the world and write them down as a list of places to visit before you ‘kick the bucket’ (AKA ‘die’).

If someone told you that you only had a year to live, which places would you really want to go and see?

Now if travel is not your thing and your answer is, “I don’t want to go anywhere, I’m fine staying here”, that’s cool too. I have plenty of alternative ideas for you as well, but we’ll save them for a different article (blog).

Nevertheless, here’s an example from me…

I was brought up in Jersey in the English Channel Islands, which is only a short flight off the French coast, west of Paris. Despite its close proximity, every trip I planned there was unavoidably postponed, owing to fog, sickness, yada yada.

So when I found myself living in Perth, Australia, you could say I was almost as far away from Paris as I could get, with two small children and a mortgage and no spare cash, yet I always yearned to go there.

As a teenager, I was fascinated with the exploits of Napoleon and his armies, the way he had led them to incredible victories and the way he had conquered vast amounts of the known world. I had always wanted to go and see his Arc de Triomphe, the French Army Museum and of course the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and all of those amazing tourist icons that the City has to offer.

I cut out photos of the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower and stuck them on my bedroom mirror, vowing that I would somehow go there and visit them.

On top of that, I repeatedly visualised sitting at a table in one of those little Parisian coffee shops, eating croissants, drinking hot chocolate and looking at the view up the Champs Elysee looking at the Arc de Triomphe.

The dream became so strong I could taste the chocolate!

A few years later I found myself emerging from a trip through the Australian Outback, spontaneously jumping on a flight from Darwin to London to chase after the girl whom I later married, then continuing on to Paris.

I felt like pinching myself when…

…there I was drinking my hot chocolate, eating my croissant and admiring the view I had so often imagined. It was an empowering  moment in my life that I will never forget.

So, I’ve personally always found travelling to the places on my bucket list to be a very motivational tool. It’s great to set those goals and to have something specific to which you can look forward and about which you can get excited.

Here’s another thought – don’t wait til you retire to do this stuff. Do it while you are still healthy and active -especially those more physically challenging places.

Plus, if you really want to make it happen, put dates on your list, in order of priority. Don’t stress about how you will afford it – get serious about the goal, visualise it, commit to it and you can turn the dream into a reality.

We’re going scuba diving in Sipadan in a few weeks and in September 2012, we plan to do the Inca trek to Machu Picchu with a couple of good friends, which is definitely one for which we will need to be fit.

So I urge you guys, set aside half an hour, grab a pen and paper and write out your personal bucket list.

Believe me, having a bucket list is exciting, crossing things and places off the list is even more exciting. If you have any good stories to share, I’d love to hear them.

Until next time, make good things happen – for yourself and for those good people around you!