​by  Manitou Rey

Bucket List Planner

8. Run a Marathon

Actually, what happens is that you your first "step-up-camera" with a big telephoto lens...and you will immediately become more interesting in taking pictures of birds! It is amazing how cool they can look in a close-up. Sometimes, becoming a better photographer can be achieved simply by exposing yourself to better potential content. For some people, it is a matter of stopping and looking for a more interesting subject. But to be great and get work as a photographer, some classes just might be in order. For the beginner, there are general camera functions that when used strategically can produce amazing effects. For more advanced photographers, there may be photoshop classes or technique seminars that enable improvement. Achieving this goal does enable one of the other most popular bucket list ideas: Travel the world as a photographer! 

9. Build my own Home

Actually, what happens is that you your first "step-up-camera" with a big telephoto lens...and you will immediately become more interesting in taking pictures of birds! It is amazing how cool they can look in a close-up. Sometimes, becoming a better photographer can be achieved simply by exposing yourself to better potential content. For some people, it is a matter of stopping and looking for a more interesting subject. But to be great and get work as a photographer, some classes just might be in order. For the beginner, there are general camera functions that when used strategically can produce amazing effects. For more advanced photographers, there may be photoshop classes or technique seminars that enable improvement. Achieving this goal does enable one of the other most popular bucket list ideas: Travel the world as a photographer! 

10. Get a Patent or a Copywrite

Actually, what happens is that you your first "step-up-camera" with a big telephoto lens...and you will immediately become more interesting in taking pictures of birds! It is amazing how cool they can look in a close-up. Sometimes, becoming a better photographer can be achieved simply by exposing yourself to better potential content. For some people, it is a matter of stopping and looking for a more interesting subject. But to be great and get work as a photographer, some classes just might be in order. For the beginner, there are general camera functions that when used strategically can produce amazing effects. For more advanced photographers, there may be photoshop classes or technique seminars that enable improvement. Achieving this goal does enable one of the other most popular bucket list ideas: Travel the world as a photographer! 

6. Write a Book

Actually, what happens is that you your first "step-up-camera" with a big telephoto lens...and you will immediately become more interesting in taking pictures of birds! It is amazing how cool they can look in a close-up. Sometimes, becoming a better photographer can be achieved simply by exposing yourself to better potential content. For some people, it is a matter of stopping and looking for a more interesting subject. But to be great and get work as a photographer, some classes just might be in order. For the beginner, there are general camera functions that when used strategically can produce amazing effects. For more advanced photographers, there may be photoshop classes or technique seminars that enable improvement. Achieving this goal does enable one of the other most popular bucket list ideas: Travel the world as a photographer! 

7. Face on Cover of  WSJ

Actually, what happens is that you your first "step-up-camera" with a big telephoto lens...and you will immediately become more interesting in taking pictures of birds! It is amazing how cool they can look in a close-up. Sometimes, becoming a better photographer can be achieved simply by exposing yourself to better potential content. For some people, it is a matter of stopping and looking for a more interesting subject. But to be great and get work as a photographer, some classes just might be in order. For the beginner, there are general camera functions that when used strategically can produce amazing effects. For more advanced photographers, there may be photoshop classes or technique seminars that enable improvement. Achieving this goal does enable one of the other most popular bucket list ideas: Travel the world as a photographer! 

5. Become a Photographer

Actually, what happens is that you your first "step-up-camera" with a big telephoto lens...and you will immediately become more interesting in taking pictures of birds! It is amazing how cool they can look in a close-up. Sometimes, becoming a better photographer can be achieved simply by exposing yourself to better potential content. For some people, it is a matter of stopping and looking for a more interesting subject. But to be great and get work as a photographer, some classes just might be in order. For the beginner, there are general camera functions that when used strategically can produce amazing effects. For more advanced photographers, there may be photoshop classes or technique seminars that enable improvement. Achieving this goal does enable one of the other most popular bucket list ideas: Travel the world as a photographer! 

4. Play Guitar in a Band

Or drums? In any case, every guy could be a professional air guitar player. It is easy to connect with music and we can almost imagine strumming the guitar or hammering away at the piano. But for those who never had lessons during their youth, that joy of playing an instrument is practically unattainable. Just remember that if you are 25 today and sort of feel like you would like, at some point in your life, to be good at playing the guitar; your chances improve exponentially if you start today. Flash forward to when you are 50...You will either have no clue how to play guitar (still) or you will have 25 years of experience behind you. That is probably the best reason to solidify a little bit of a bucket list early in your life. So that every time you have 15 or 20 minutes to kill, you can pick up the instrument on your list and try to make it work for you. Check out our music related bucket list ideas - and song lists. They are fun!

2. Ride a Horse in the West

The American Dream somehow comes to life in the great West. The pioneers were out there finding an even greater land of opportunity than the pilgrims could ever have imagined. Freedom, on horseback, as far as the eye can see. While anyone might drive through the Western Rockies and see this land, the much greater experience is to get out there on a horse and truly explore your freedom. Through prairies, creekside and up mountain trails; experiencing the great outdoors on a horse is exhilarating. After talking with clients, it becomes clear that there is something emotional about including an equestrian goal in your bucket list. It is almost as though there is an ultimate freedom associated with riding a horse. Especially in the west. 

3. Surf the Pacific Ocean

Does everyone have their own copy of The Endless Summer? That is the only explanation we could come up with that so many people include surfing in some capacity to their bucket list. The cool thing about surfing is that with a little bit of basic instruction in the appropriate setting, most people would actually be capable of standing on a surfboard. That being said, the numbers dwindle when we talk about the guy in the picture. His skills come from years of dedication and hard work. For people adding surfing as a single line item on their list, we have compiled a solid set of beaches that would safely accommodate a beginner. For those of us with greater aspirations around surfing, we have compiled a list of the premiere surfing accomplishments that might compliment the surfing bucket list. 

1. Climb a Mountain

Or climb a bunch of mountains! This is something that shows up on lots of bucket lists that we have seen. Some young people might mention no other alpine goals, then simply add "Climb Mount Everest" to their bucket list. We have compiled a variety of popular lists related to mountain climbing. The most obvious list of mountains is the Seven Summits, which are the tallest mountains on each continent. (In that case, we have included both the Bass and Messner lists.) We have also included Best Mountains and other lists. What is great about including a mountain climbing goal on your bucket list is that it forces the contemplation of a consistent fitness regime. It is perfectly OK for your list to include "hiking the foothills of the Alps" instead of summiting the Matterhorn. The experience in the presence of these great mountains is always breathtaking. 

Top 10 Bucket List Things to Do

Part of creating an achievable bucket list is that there is a connection between the things that you want to see and the things that you want to do. And beyond that, many of the accomplishments that people want to put on their list actually have a few prerequisites. A good bucket list will include both the prerequisit activities as well as the apex achievement as goals. While there are many more  ideas on our sample bucket lists, here are some of the things that we see show up again and again on bucket lists.