My 7 Year-Old Son’s Life List
About two months ago, on a rainy Saturday, my seven year-old son (who is enjoying his budding ability to write) came to me with a small, yellow pad of paper and said, “Daddy, I want to write a list. What should I make a list of?” Suddenly, I recalled reading about John Goddard and the life list he wrote at age 15. His list consisted of 127 things he would like to do or see during his lifetime (for example: Climb Mt. Everest, run a mile in under five minutes, land on and take off from an aircraft carrier, and circumnavigate the globe). Goddard is now 75 years old and, at last count, has accomplished 109 of the goals he wrote as a teenager.
“Why don’t you write a life list?” I suggested to my son. “OK,” he said. “What’s a life list, Daddy?”
A week ago, while I was tidying up my son’s room, I came across that yellow pad of paper. Since showing him John Goddard’s life list two months earlier, I hadn’t seen or thought about the pad. On the cardboard cover he had scrawled, “Do not tuoch.” Behind the cover were nine pages of goals (55 total) he had written over the course of the last sixty days. Some were written in pencil, some in black ink, some in green ink - and all in the painstakingly careful handwriting of a second grader. As I read his life list, I could see his life unfolding before my eyes (not a life of achieving all of the goals on his life list, but certainly a life of adventurous striving).
Before I share highlights of my son’s life list with you, consider:
1. To what degree do you think a young person increases his chances of a fulfilling life by seizing the freedom to dream big, imagining what he wants to achieve, and writing it down?
2. Which habit would you wish for your child more than that of creating exciting mental pictures of the future with a spirit of expectancy?
Check out some of the excerpts of his list (I have corrected his spelling):
#2: Run a marathon. #3 Visit the castles in Scotland. #7: Climb Mt. Washington (in New Hampshire). #9: Read a 200+ page book. #10: Live to be 105+ years old. #14: Set a record. #15: Be a dad. #17: Go water skiing. #19: Make something that goes in public. #21: Be able to speak more than two different languages. #23: Invent something. #24: Never get an ear infection until I’m ten. #27: Visit the pyramids in Egypt. #30: Go to another continent. #35: Be in 125-degree weather. #36: Play 18 holes of golf in par or under par. #39: Be in the newspaper twice. #40: Never wear long sleeves to school on the first day. #43: Eat a wild food. #47: Visit a place on the equator. #48: Be in the hall of fame for any sport. #50: Rescue somebody on a real mission. #51: Win a championship game. #55: Visit any hall of fame for any sport.
Someday, my son will look back on this first life list he ever composed and laugh at some of the things he wrote - just as you laugh at some of them now. But he’ll also laugh at the many things he achieved, and realize that it was that rainy day back in late 2006 when these accomplishments and experiences started hurtling towards him - and when his habit of shooting for the moon was born.
Have you written your life list yet?
Rob Crawford, a school administrator who loves baseball and acoustic guitars, writes on self-management, productivity, and impact at Crawdaddy Cove.
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Comments
Lori says on February 6th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I love this! I’m going to have my whole family write theirs this weekend. Really excellent!
Alexander says on February 6th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Smart Kid
heri says on February 6th, 2007 at 11:32 am
What a sweet and serious little kid!
Michael Leddy says on February 6th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
This is a great idea, and just the opposite of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” — a question which casts the future in terms of one choice.
Michael Leddy says on February 6th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
What a great idea, exactly the opposite of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” — a question which tends to reduce the future to a single possibility, a job.
Alex Shalman says on February 6th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
I really like the fact that your son will have something to look back at later in life when he is old enough to really appreciate the things that you write here.
Steve says on February 6th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Maybe you need a goal:
Find somebody elses writing, clearly labeled for privacy, and refrain from reading it, much less publishing it on the friggin internet?
Michael Leddy says on February 6th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Leon, I think there are intermittent problems with the comments. Each time I tried to post, I ended up with an empty, white screen — I had no idea that each comment went through.
Rob, as I’ve already said, I think that this is a great idea. : )
julien says on February 6th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
what a great kid. i’m so impressed with you guys.
Luis Villa says on February 6th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
There is not a single item on that list I would find laughable. Your son at 7 has more self confidence, and trust in his future abilities than most gorwnups I know.
Hive him a hug and be proud of him!
Mark says on February 7th, 2007 at 6:47 am
A very amusing list indeed. Most amusing one being #15. You must be a good example to him to have that in his list.
Like someone else said, we all wish to do things in life but never get round to writing it down (and if I did that I’ll lose it in the next 10min!!!)
My nephew is coming back from holiday soon and I’m going to ask him to do the same - he’s also 7 years old
Lets compare 
K S says on February 7th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Make sure he takes the right ones. #39 can be achieved in many ways, not all good…
Good luck to him!!
flytende says on February 8th, 2007 at 8:15 am
To me such a list should be free from ambition (greed) and fear. Dus rather asking “dos this path have a heart?”. That would lead to a life worth dying for.
Delaney says on February 9th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
You gotta love any kid that thoughtfully decided he wanted to:
#50: Rescue somebody on a real mission.
Kate says on February 13th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I have to sincerely hope that you 1) asked his permission to read it, 2) asked his permission to excerpt and share it, and 3) didn’t laugh at him. Would you have taken this liberty if it were your wife’s private diary? Would you have been amused if your son had posted your private papers on his website? Would you want to do business with someone who shared this idea of privacy and ethics?
I wouldn’t.
shree says on March 3rd, 2007 at 2:54 am
That was really amazing. He is a wonderful child.
shree says on March 12th, 2007 at 8:49 am
A 7yr old boy writing his own life list was amazing. I am going to write mine too And also ask my brother to do!!!!!!!!
Brent says on March 29th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
That is a great story. It is really inspiring to see a child with dreams and big ambitions. Just wanted to let you know of a website(www.elifelist.com) where you can keep track and manage your lifelist and share it with your friends.
verpen_belarus says on May 1st, 2007 at 6:04 am
Thank you for this topic. We oftenly should take an example from our childs and any kids. It’s usually gives a great profit.
verpen_belarus says on June 8th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Rob, thanks to your son for the list. Sometimes we should get the lifelessons from kids. It often seems, they can Live better then we do: they can laugth in one minute after crying, can build lifefull and grate ideas, can get fun having nothing. When we grow, we lost this gift, unfortunately. Personal lifelist created in childhood or younghood is a wonderful life tutorial for a whole life.
crishawn d says on September 7th, 2007 at 7:36 am
this is a great
Samantha says on January 2nd, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Wow.
I suddenly feel like a total slacker.
If y’all will excuse me, I’m off to
make my list now…