Inspired by Today's Post - What's your Level 50 and how are you going to get there?

[spezzy]

Hey guys!

Today's post (http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/05/22/chris-guillebeau-interview/) has a little contest at the bottom of it:

"Chris's big, giant, ridiculous goal is to visit every country in the world by the age of 35. My big, giant, ridiculous goal is to one day own my own tropical island. What’s your big, giant, ridiculous goal? Nothing is off-limits or too ridiculous. And what’s one ACTUAL step you took TODAY to get just a tiny bit closer to making it a reality?"

Now, to actually win the contest you have to comment on the post between now and 11:59pm on Wednesday night, but I thought we could start a discussion here.

My big giant ridiculous goal is to get the world record deadlift for my weight class. (And I'm going to get there by continuing to train my ass off, including some new methods after crossfit regionals is over!)

What's yours?

[morethanjustamom]

Right now, my big, giant, ridiculous goal is to have all of our debt (house, student loans, cars, credit cards...about $200k) paid off by the time my husband is 40 (4/2014), so if he wants to quit his job/pursue another career he will have the freedom to do so.

Today, I'm working as many hours as I can at my at-home job, I'm tweaking our budget to help pay off more debt faster, and I'm looking for opportunities to make a lot of money in a short amount of time ($200k in 2 years, with no college degree).

[ETFnerd]

mine is run/walk/crawl 10,000 miles in 10 years. i have done 1,950 miles so far and am well ahead of the pace i need to get there. i ran 7.6 miles yesterday and will do at least that tonight... i am also eating and recovering today for my evening run...

i am going to get there by working hard toward my goal every day... run 5-6x per week, rest, take care of my body and mind... support other people in their journey toward their goals...

i started out on 1/1/2011 but i only started tracking mileage from 4/1/2011. My deadline is 12/31/2020...

[Wicked Pixie]

What’s your big, giant, ridiculous goal? Nothing is off-limits or too ridiculous. And what’s one ACTUAL step you took TODAY to get just a tiny bit closer to making it a reality?

I want to be finish ATX Tough Mudder- FIRST female across the line....

This is what I did TODAY to make it happen!

Well Icedtrip made the actual thread, but it was MY IDEA

[Anivair]

I think my level 50 looks a lot like me helping people go from being unhealthy and obese to fit and active (the more I do some personal training, the more I lean towards helping the morbidly obese). I'd like to be able to do that without needing to hold a "regular" job to support my family. I also won't be stressing too much about bills and money. Money is my least favorite thing (just finished Ramit's book today and that helped a LOT). By my level 50 i will also have a MovNat certification and a course in or near my home that keeps me fit.

[LRB]

I'll copy what I posted there, and then expand on it:

=======================

I don't have a big, giant, ridiculous goal. I have some big, giant goals -- live on a sailboat in the Caribbean for a year, be a Supreme Court justice, pay for college for two kids AND retire comfortably, spend time on every continent (five down, two to go), raise kids who are kind & self-aware, be happy (or at least content) most/all the time, and so on -- but none of them are ridiculous, because they each can be achieved (though maybe not ALL of them at once!).

As for what I am doing to reach these goals? I am living the very best today that I can. I am working hard at a job that pays more than adequately but also allows time for the rest of my life. I am going to CrossFit. I am reading inspiring articles. I am researching random topics of interest to me (e.g., incidence of cancer in chronically stressed caregivers), and I am reaching out to friends to maintain the connections that sustain and strengthen me -- and will continue to do so throughout my life.

And here's the other thing: the goals that were once super-appealing (Supreme Court Justice, for example) have become less appealing as I've evaluated what I would have to give up to get there. Sure, I could do it if I put my mind to it, but do I really want to? I'm loving almost every minute of my life just the way it is right now. My dreams are coming true, one by one, and I trust that there is room in my future for other dreams and plans. But for now, I'm right where I want to be.

=======================

So here's the thing: I used to want to sell the house, buy a boat, homeschool the kids for a year while we sailed from port to port in the Caribbean. And while that still sounds nice, so does staying where we are. And I honestly don't want to homeschool, I don't want to leave my job, I don't want to be thousands of miles from our loved ones for a year, and I don't want to be someplace where there are no seasons. So . . . in the abstract, it sounds great. In the concrete, a lot less great. Same with being a US Sup Ct justice -- so political, so much work (no chance for work-life balance there).

And then the others don't seem terribly audacious: pay for college and retire comfortably? I realize that's a shitload of money, but lesser people than I have done it. Raise kind & self-aware kids? I sure hope that's what I'm doing. Ongoing happiness/contentment? Well, life has thrown a lot of crap at me, but my goal (audacious or not) is to keep bouncing back and carrying on.

Having said that, we are finally taking our bucket-list trip to Africa this summer, and I hope to start planning Australia & Antarctica shortly. But those don't seem like ridiculous goals.

And then I have some very ambitious short-term goals: an unassisted pull-up, a flag, 20% body fat. But again, I don't see much ridiculous about them.

[BoydLabBuck]

I want to own (and obviously fly) a civilian fighter jet. Seriously.

Today I bought "$100 Startup" to hopefully give me some new business ideas or at least learn how to implement some I already have. I'm going to need significant financial success to buy a fighter jet.

[The Tin Man]

What I wrote:

Qualify for and run in the Boston Marathon. Today I am going to do an easy recovery run with an eye towards my first-ever half marathon this Sunday.

There is a career goal that is more important, but I don't know what it is. If that makes any sense (probably not).

[empeg9000]

My level 50 is to own my own business and do a human flag. My wife and I actually had meaningful discussions about me someday leaving my job and business ideas. I hope this to be in 5 years or less. She's super supportive. I have also ordered $100 Start Up before leaving for vacation.

I also did my convict conditioning workout on my way to human flag.

[grz]

I suppose I have a fitness one and a life one

BGRG for fitness - Dunk a basketball By December 31, 2013

what I did today - looked up specific exercises for improving vertical and adding them in my workout tomorrow

BGRG for life - Be on my city council and to serve on a state level board or commission - both within the next 10 years so I can do it in my 30s

what I did today - talked to my local council member about running and continuing to network with community leaders.

[Librarian of Doom]

My BGRG: organize a teen lit festival in my city with local and nationally recognized authors.

What I'm doing today: looking up the requirements for forming a 501©3 nonprofit so I can apply for grants.

[Whiteraven]

Drink Scotch in Islay, Scotland. Learn how to swordfight. Pay off my student loan debts.

I guess these are my goals. Not too audacious, but I suppose that comes from my motto of always being ready for the next adventure. I plan small, but numerous. I think the total of my experiences is greater than the sum of their parts.

So what am I doing? I suppose I need to start looking at what it would actually cost to visit Scotland. Right now I'm learning kung fu, and I've told myself I will start doing Kendo or other fencing when I get comfortable in my current system. I need to shunt more money towards paying off student loans. Even a little bit will go a long way.

[epaleocookbooks]

mine is run/walk/crawl 10,000 miles in 10 years. i have done 1,950 miles so far and am well ahead of the pace i need to get there.

That's a really cool goal. My goal was to be the healthiest woman to ever turn 30. I have 5 months left. I'm pretty healthy, but far from the healthiest. lol I need to get my fitness butt in gear!

My big giant ridiculous goal is a map I have of every place in the world that I've ever wanted to visit. I want to put a pin in all of them. Just travel the world with my kiddo and see it all. To get there, I've been working of a few business ideas that should eventually generate the automated income needed to live that way.

[newburpee10]

My current big rediculous goals are to create a mildly recognized blog and to buy bread from a man in Brussels (thank you Men at Work).

I started my blog today and also started planning a timeline of my worldly trip.

[thatgirljj]

This is a hard one for me. In some ways I'm living as much of my dream as I can for my age. 5 years ago I would have told you that it was an impossible dream for me to do aerial silks... it was something I would have loved to do, but I was over 30 & I had what I thought was a bum shoulder. But then, on a dare from a stranger, I took a class. I loved it from the get-go and kept learning and have even done some small performances. What I thought was level 50, was actually level 20. But perched at level 20, I have no idea where my level 50 is. I'm happy with my job and I'm not going to strive to level up in the game of "competitive mothering"... really the physical is the place in my life where I'm pushing for more. But I still can't really articulate what level 50 would be.

This does inspire me a little bit to start asking my friends (especially the ones that are roughly my age).

-jj

[Susie_Derkins]

Inspired by today's post - by thatgirljj...My big, giant, ridiculous goal is to perform on aerial silks with Cirque du Soleil. My less giant, more reasonable goal is to take aerial silks classes. My tiny, immediate goal is to build upper-body strength. Today I practiced assisted chinups and pushups!

[DoogieT]

My goal for around 32 years was to stop having panic attacks on a daily basis. Now that I've met that goal, I'm finally able to work towards others! Woo!

Here are my other goals (they're not big or impossible, but they're mine.)

Buy/learn to ride a motorcycle

Get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Study music (piano) at Humber College in Toronto

Learn to play the electric guitar

Get a novel published

Sleep with Lucy Pinder

That last one is probably easier than getting a novel published.

[thatgirljj]

Inspired by today's post - by thatgirljj...My big, giant, ridiculous goal is to perform on aerial silks with Cirque du Soleil. My less giant, more reasonable goal is to take aerial silks classes. My tiny, immediate goal is to build upper-body strength. Today I practiced assisted chinups and pushups!

Haaa haaa... I think that's where I'm hamstrung... I now know EXACTLY how hard it is to get into Cirque du Soleil, because I now know people who have. And they're my age when they retire from it. :-) YOU however, Ms. Susie_Derkins, appear to be young enough to make it happen. Get on it girl!

-jj

[ETFnerd]

That's a really cool goal.

thx... everyone's goal is cool.. because it's yours... hope you get to knock off those pins...

[andygates]

Kayak the North Pole during the summer melt.

[ETFnerd]

Kayak the North Pole during the summer melt.

realize it's near your back yard... but who's gonna make the toys for christmas while you're kayaking...?

...you make it so easy... hahaha...

[ETFnerd]

BGRG2: crack walnuts with my a$$cheeks... hahaha...

[Naturally]

My end goal is to get to the last day of my life and think both "I have no regrets" and "I left the world a little better for my presence"

What I did towards it today is:

1) Kicked some serious ass finishing my dissertation on a method of therapy with animals. This is working towards training to go into this as a career; I want to help people. And yes, I want to work - doing something I love.

2) Chased about a job working for a horse rescue charity - it would be perfect for me to do for a few years whle I save up and set up for the therapy work, and it would help me make the world a better place for horses, because the role is all about educating horse owners in welfare issues. How's that for job satisfaction and working toward my end goal.

Sounds kinda different from everybody else's goals. But hey, its all about being unique!

[CalvinHobbes]

My big, giant, ridiculous goal for fitness is to participate in the CrossFit Games within the next 10 years. I worked towards it today by running and doing bodyweight exercises.

My big, giant, but I refuse to let it be ridiculous life goal is to never lose a patient who isn't ready to go. I say "not ready to go" because I've seen 10-year-olds on hospice who were accepting of their imminent death and 90-year-olds who died because of medical mistakes. I will not let that happen to my patients.

[Naturally]

My big, giant, but I refuse to let it be ridiculous life goal is to never lose a patient who isn't ready to go. I say "not ready to go" because I've seen 10-year-olds on hospice who were accepting of their imminent death and 90-year-olds who died because of medical mistakes. I will not let that happen to my patients.

Wow. That's.. wow. pretty damn awesome.