Dreams of the Waffle House Nation

A conversation yesterday sparked my imagination and stirred an internal debate about what I should really be focusing on.  Should I continue down the same path or maybe open the aperture a bit and take some real risks.  Is the reward worth the effort?  Does a simple existence equal happiness?  Those questions occupied my thoughts for most of the past 24 hours. 

The conversation revolved around climbing Mt. McKinley.  Previous to these past couple of years there were many things I classified as well beyond my reach.  Most of them were due to my belief in my own physical limitations.   The 50K trail race put that to rest.  Some ideas were just so far outside of what I felt I would be able to do that I just never thought I would have the opportunity.  Jumping out of an airplane scratched that one from the list.  For others I just did not think I had the mental strength to push through.  Well, an Ironman triathlon was one of those things and I was able to complete that.

Then why was climbing Mt. McKinley also something I never thought I would be able to do?  It is because I kept my dreams and goals too small.  I let the world around me push me into a small box and allowed myself to be kept there.  I let other people tell me that I could not do something.  In the end it was my fault because I listened and did not dream big.

Malcolm Glazer, the billionaire owner of Manchester United, passed away this week at the ripe old age of 85.  What is remarkable about this?  Absolutely nothing.  In the end, this billionaire lived out his years and then quietly moved on.  He left this world with exactly what he came in with…nothing.  That is empowering!

During lunch today I sat down with a pen and jotted down a list of things I would like to accomplish in my lifetime.  There were no criteria to limit the size or scope of the items.  I made myself dream big.  Actually, I made myself dream really big.  Here is that preliminary list…. I guess you could call it my bucket list.  Since it is my list I reserve the right to add or subtract from it. 

In no particular order:

Climb Mt. McKinley

Bike across the U.S.

Hike the Appalachian Trail

Run Rim to Rim

Visit Pompeii

Stand on the Great Wall of China

Walk through the ice on Antarctica

See the Valley of the Kings

Complete an Ultra triathlon

Run a 100 mile race

Scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef

Walk next to Hadrian’s Wall

Stand at Thermopylae

Learn a second language

Run Spartathlon

Walk the beach at Normandy