One Hundred Ways to Fail, One Hundred Ways to Succeed

Posted by Unknown , Sunday, October 18, 2009 4:57 PM

A List of One Hundred Things to Do before I Die.

100. Watch all of the Lord of the Rings extended editions in one day.

99. Own Time’s List of 100 Best English-Language Novels 1923 – present.

98. Read Time’s List of 100 Best English-Language Novels 1923 – present.

97. Write a script.

96. Write 100 love letters.

95. Go back to Italy.

94. Wear a beard for ten Halloweens in a row.

93. Write back and forth with an old friend by hand.

92. Own the entire Oxford English Dictionary.

91. Own general histories that cover all eras of all areas of all continents.

90. See a Tyler Perry movie.

89. Watch all of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

88. Play and finish all of the Final Fantasy series console games.

87. Finish a novel.

86. Learn to weld.

85. Drink 250 different beers.

84. Make cheese.

83. Learn to play basic guitar.

82. Take lessons for a martial art.

81. Own all of IMDB’s top 250 movies.

80. Watch all of IMDB’s top 250 movies.

79. Own 1000 books.

78. Fill ten journals with creative outpourings.

77. See four movies in theater in a day.

76. Write 100 poems in thirty days.

75. Write 30 short stories in thirty days.

74. Build a suit of armor.

73. Build a suit of chain mail.

72. Knit an afghan.

71. Read the Bible.

70. Read the Qur’an.

69. Write a book of letters to a future child, whether I have one or not.

68. Learn how to pick a lock.

67. Buy all seasons of The West Wing.

66. Buy all seasons of The Golden Girls.

65. Learn to sketch.

64. Fill an entire sketchbook.

63. Learn a second language to proficiency.

62. Attend five Coheed and Cambria concerts.

61. Attend twenty concerts.

60. Be published in a newspaper or magazine.

59. Learn to whittle and carve.

58. Submit a t-shirt design to Threadless.com.

57. Publish under a pseudonym.

56. Play an MMORPG.

55. Have the perfect day as designed by someone else.

54. Take violin lessons.

53. Listen to the entire Beatles discography.

52. Write a song.

51. Design my future home.

50. Write out an argument for a personal philosophy.

49. Teach someone Canasta.

48. Use all seven tiles in one turn in Scrabble.

47. Take a geometry course again.

46. Take a trigonometry course again.

45. Take a pre-calculus/calculus class again.

44. Take a class/beginning courses in Russian.

43. Cut off all of my hair.

42. Grow my hair out longer than ever before.

41. Build a chair.

40. Stay awake for 48 hours.

39. Sleep for 24 hours.

38. Change someone’s mind after a long discussion.

37. Smoke a cigar.

36. Protest.

35. Name a cat Cosmic Creepers.

34. Give a future child a secret that he or she will only share with whoever he or she falls in love with.

33. Have a vinyl collection of over 50 albums.

32. Dig a hole deeper than I am tall by hand.

31. Ride a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation for an extended period of time.

30. Research my grandfather’s family.

29. Submit DNA to the Genographic Project.

28. Have at least one room in my house that is wall to wall bookshelves.

27. Become a pescatarian for a year.

26. Live on bread and water alone for two weeks.

25. Go on a cruise.

24. Go scuba diving.

23. See the Grand Canyon.

22. Make a personal discovery in the depths of a library.

21. Go geocaching.

20. Keep chickens.

19. Take more horse riding lessons.

18. Be debt free for a day.

17. Have one entirely productive day without distraction.

16. Create an original menu for a restaurant, whether or not I have one.

15. Create or invest a business.

14. Give, over the course of my life, $20,000 to charity.

13. Get drunk in a bar.

12. Take part in a documentary.

11. Memorize a poem.

10. Interview my grandmother about our family.

9. Start a fire from “scratch.”

8. Cut down a tree.

7. Plant fifty trees.

6. Go it alone for a week.

5. Pet an elephant.

4. Become an expert on something extremely trivial.

3. Perform a song for someone I love.

2. Make a secret recipe.

1. Win a damn game of checkers.

Anyone else?