What are the Goals 100?

Several years ago, I read a news article about famed football coach Lou Holtz. At that time, Holtz decided to retire from coaching college football at Notre Dame. The article said that Holtz had a list of 100 goals that he wanted to accomplish. Apparently, a friend of his had seen the list and implied that the reason that Holtz was retiring from college football was so that he could place himeself in the position to accomplish one of the goals, which was to win a Super Bowl. I don’t know if this is true, but I thought that it was a great idea: to write down 100 goals and to try to accomplish them. I began to write down things that I had always wanted to do. Going through this process, I have learned a few things: First, goals in this list must be readily accomplishable. A vague desire to "work out more" is not a goal, while a clear objective like "run and complete a marathon" is. Second, it’s not easy to enumerate 100 goals. So far, I have written about 30 goals. Third, some goals are private. These goals I censor and retain in the list below only to enumerate them.

My Goals 100

These goals are listed in the order they came to mind and are not otherwise organized. This list has been in development for about 7 years. Learn a foreign language well. Climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Earn a doctorate. Teach a class. Accomplished summer 1997 Pilot a plane. Run and complete a marathon. Publish a book. Publish a journal article as lead author. Appear on "Wheel," "Jeopardy!," "Millionaire," or similar. Make a chair (learn woodworking). Learn to develop B&W photos. Hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Win something from GAMES Magazine. Learn to sail a sailboat. Accomplished July 1, 2003 See Florence, a la ‘A Room with a View’. Drive across the U.S. (again). Bench press 150 lbs. 10×. Write a shareware program. <censored> Get published in a comic book. See the Aurora Borealis. Attend a Philadelphia Eagles game. Accomplished December 1, 2002 Learn how to give a good full body massage. Eat at the Carnivore in Nairobi, Kenya. Visit all 50 states (must set foot on native soil). <censored> Become a homeowner. Take a ride on the Orient Express. Learn to operate a gun. Learn to ride a horse. Earn and maintain certification in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). At a World Series of Poker tournament, finish in the money. Learn to drive a stick shift (manual transmission). Do something worthy of SSSSH!: the Secret Society of Serendipitous Service to Hal. Sail across a large ocean. Participate in the Friday Night Skate in Paris. ...more to come