Via

Ask yourself the following question, right now.

If today was your last day on Earth, what would be your biggest regret?

Tough question, isn’t it.

But as each of us reaches closer to our last day, each of us will have regrets. Things that we didn’t do, things that we did do but shouldn’t have, places we didn’t go to, friends we dropped out of contact with, and so on.

Bronnie Ware was a palliative nurse in Australia, and had the rare opportunity to hear the regrets of many of her patients as they lie on their deathbeds.

Over a number of years she collated those regrets and put them into what looks to be a very inspiring book, called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

I haven’t yet read the book, but the reviews seem glowing for it. There was a summary published online, which summarised the top five regrets. Here they are (how many do you relate with?):

1. I wish I had lived a life that was truer to myself, rather than living the life expected of me

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings

4. I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends

5. I wish I had let myself be happier

Five very powerful regrets. You will notice one similarity between all five is that they are about things that people didn’t do, rather than things they did do. There is a well-known anonymous quote that I think is very true, and goes something like this:

In 20 years it will be the things you don’t do, rather than the things you do do, that you will regret the most.

A great reminder to make the most of every day you have, doing what makes you happy and lead the fullest life you can.

All of this reminds me one of the very first posts I put on this blog, way back in August 2007. A simple cartoon with a very clear message.

Have a great day.

On Saturday I celebrated by 29th birthday, meaning that as I write this, I have just under one year until my 30th birthday.

As much as I am a glass half full kind of person, I am also a realist. Achieving the remaining 90 goals inside of a year would take a miracle (and probably a machine that can stop time).

So, I have a request. Can you please help me choose which of the open goals I should focus on? Pick as many as you like.

Here are the remaining goals:

2. Learn to play the guitar

5. See the Northern Lights

7. Do a property management course

9. Host 10 dinner parties

10. Be an extra in a movie

13. Get a boating licence

15. Play my violin at least twice a month for six consecutive months

16. Go on a follow-up Buddhism course

17. Work at an advertising agency

18. Meet Sir Richard Branson

19. Have a Seinfeld marathon weekend, watching every episode

20. Win a poker tournament

23. Meet Seth Godin

24. Have a child

25. Patent an invention

27. Visit southern Africa

31. Learn the national flag of every country

32. Put my cloth badges (which I have collected from different countries and places for many years) on display

33. Buy a family home

35. Be less pedantic about bad spelling and grammar

36. Complete a basic mechanics course on how a car works

37. Shoot a round of under 100 in golf

39. Get a meaningful tattoo

40. Complete a marathon

42. Start a Masters degree

43. Compete in the Birdman Rally

45. Participate in a scooter rally

50. Call both Mum and Dad ten times in two consecutive months

55. Win a pool tournament

58. Write ten handwritten letters to friends and family

59. Fly in a jet fighter

63. Go sailing

65. Do a short course in lateral thinking

66. Take a road trip to QLD, WA or NT in a combi van

67. Go on a houseboat holiday with friends

68. Drink two litres of water every day for one month

69. Complete the Oxfam Trailwalker

70. Learn to juggle five balls

72. Travel first class on a plane without paying extra for the privilege

74. Go camping at least six times in three years (2/6), including at least one trip to the southern Grampians

75. Visit the Melbourne Immigration Museum

77. Get dirty at La Tomatina

80. Learn to ride a unicycle

83. Successfully land a backflip

86. Buy a new plant every month for six months

87. Send out ten ‘messages in a bottle’

88. Set up an investment portfolio

89. Have a fundraiser event and raise at least $5,000 for a charity

90. Visit a winery in the Yarra Valley

92. Watch every Best Picture Academy Award winning movie

94. Do a cooking course

95. Be a part owner in a greyhound or a racehorse

101. Volunteer for a charity

105. Go away on a trip, just with Dad

107. Make a short film and enter it into a short film contest

108. Fish in the Gulf of Carpenteria

109. Brew, bottle, name and label my own beer

111. Go to the London Olympics

117. Perform in a local theatre production

118. Learn to play a great song on piano, like The Entertainer

122. Go to Antarctica

124. Learn to use Photoshop proficiently

125. Try brain

130. Devise the perfect crime but never perform it

131. Get a birdie in golf

133. Kick a goal from 50 metres out on either the Telstra Dome or MCG

134. Go to Darwin

136. Busk as a human statue

138. Renovate my unit with air-conditioning, new oven and new paint job

147. Build something useful with wood

149. Write a will

150. Swim with dolphins

151. Do a short course in French

152. Play in a tennis tournament

153. Go to Las Vegas and win one hand at a poker table

156. Complete the Kokoda Track

158. Do a big clean out and have a garage sale

160. Learn five really good magic tricks and perform them to an audience of at least ten people

161. Go to Gallipoli

165. Visit the doctor at least three times for a check-up, and the dentist at least once (1/1)

169. See the Crusty Demons perform live

170. Catch a fish that is over 5kg

172. Form and play in a basketball team

174. See the Red Bull Air Race live

175. Do aid work in Asia

177. Perform a stand-up routine

179. Go back to Nepal and trek with Mani, who was my guide last time I went

As you can probably tell by the theme of this blog, I am someone who creating, organising and completing lists.

So I have tried pretty much everyone online to-do list manager out there, from Remember the Milk to Tadaist to Evernote to keep my work and play tasks managed.

But none of them do things exactly how I want them to be done.

So me and two mates, Ant and Steve, are doing our own.

The main difference between our tool and all the others is that ours will help you decide what to do next, and keep you focused on just that task.

Kind of like when you are in a tunnel, and your focus is just on the light at the end. Thus the name Tunnl.

At the moment, we are inviting people to sign up for an invite to our beta release, which is coming soon. If you are interested in signing up, head to our sign-up page and leave your details.

There is an street artist in Russia being compared with the infamous Banksy, and whose outdoor work has been attracting some attention in the media recently.

Here are a few examples of his work, which I quite like because of their creative use of the existing environment.

They are some interesting works you say, but what does it have to do with this blog?

Well, the artist is 28. Same as me!

Actually, that’s not much of a coincidence.

How about this then? He goes by the alias P183! What the…

He regularly includes a 183 in his work (which looks a lot like the 183 in my official t-shirt).

And sometimes 183 is the work.

Now you can see why I thought it was worth a mention.

Found here.

To Resolve Project has come up a great way to be reminded of your new year’s resolution each time you jump on the computer.

A series of beautifully designed resolution wallpapers!

Here are a small selection – head to their website to see them all.

You can even create your own.

Found via Swiss Miss (a design blog I highly recommend for creative inspiration)

With Christmas Day just 3 sleeps away (!), I thought now would be a good a time as any to wish you a great Christmas break, and I hope that 2011 has been a productive, fun-filled year.

My highlight is pretty easy – getting married in May to the woman of my dreams. What was yours?

Saw this today on Happyplace and laughed. Good if you just want a to-do list you know you will complete.

Not sure why I didn’t think of doing this earlier, but from now on every time I attempt a new goal I will be wearing this t-shirt.

Just makes things a bit more fun, and official.

The design was inspired by one of my favourite fictional characters. Can you guess who? Here’s the answer.