What's on your bucket list?

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While driving to Kelowna for some meetings this week, I was listening to music from a band called Level 42.

It is not hard to enjoy the scenery between here and the Kootenays, so I was surprised I was even listening enough to catch the words to a song.

Something jumped in to my head and gave me a shake as I listened to Mark King singing, “It takes me to a place where my dreams become my memories."

It scared the living daylights out of me. 

It reminded me of a mentor who told me many years ago that when you score in business, never read the headlines. You get too focused on the success, which is really the past, so now, what are you going to do about it?

Progress is only made when we are moving toward a goal. A man without a vision shall perish is the way one of the books I read describes the situation.

When my wife and I were in out late teens, we had a lot of friends who were close to retirement. They would meet at a hotel that Jackie’s Mum and Dad owned in England. We would talk about their pending retirement.

Then something strange happened. Two or three of them passed away over Christmas. They had no real goals. They simply wanted to stop working and perhaps do some gardening. 

That was a pivotal point where Jackie and I looked at each other and asked ourselves, “what if we don't make it to retirement? What do we want out of life?”

We decided to emigrate to Canada.

As we get a little closer to retirement, it is easy to become complacent and start living in that place where our dreams become our memories.

So rather than fall back on what you have done, get a pen out (or an iPad) and a piece of paper and start writing out that list of what you still want to get done in life. It always serves to keep me excited.

I hope it will help you stay excited and positive.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.