23May 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#50 Lesson] Don’t Show All Your Cards When Bargaining

[#50 Lesson] Don’t Show All Your Cards When Bargaining

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #50 Take a Punch by a UFC Fighter. Looking back on how I accomplished this goal, it is clear that easing into it was the best way to approach it. I wanted TJ to do something out of the ordinary for me and sending an email from someone he had never met, requesting to be punched in the face would have most likely gone unanswered. The initial email was used to get my foot in the door and helped to arrange a time and date for the real conversation to take place. During the days leading up to 23rd July I found myself trying to figure out how to actually bring up the topic. Although I had the meeting arranged, I…
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09May 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#50 Take a Punch by a UFC Fighter

#50 Take a Punch by a UFC Fighter

BUCKET LIST
This bucket list item was complete on 23rd July 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This may seem like a strange one to a lot of people but the inspiration (or what I thought was the inspiration) came from the movie The Hangover. In one of the scenes Mike Tyson, played by himself, punched out the character Alan, played by Zach Galifianakis. Following the release of the movie, rumours began to spread about the scene. The rumour was that instead of a classic movie punch where no contact is made, Zach Galifianakis requested Mike Tyson to actually make contact because it would be an honour to be punched by one of boxing’s greats. I had heard multiple people tell me this same story and it seemed plausible enough so I…
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11Apr 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#74 Lesson] Professionals Make It Look Easy, Be Prepared to be Humble

[#74 Lesson] Professionals Make It Look Easy, Be Prepared to be Humble

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #74 Fly in a Wind Tunnel. The title says it all and I’m sure this is a lesson everyone is aware of. It is one of those cliché saying that we have all heard since we were kids. It bears some similarities to my previous blog post [#97 Lesson] It is easy to Underestimate New Challenges. Keep both of these lessons in mind when starting any new endeavour. Whether it is a guitarist, a freestyle motocross rider, or an Olympic gymnast, when we watch these professionals perform their art, they make it look easy. A lot of times, witnessing a professional do an activity is what inspires us to try it for ourselves. Unfortunately, the realisation of how hard the activity…
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28Mar 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#74 Fly in a Wind Tunnel

#74 Fly in a Wind Tunnel

BUCKET LIST
This bucket list item was completed on 24th February 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. One of my closest friends throughout high school was Michele. Michele is a year younger than me and we were introduced to each other through mutual friends. The more we socialised, the more we began to build a strong friendship. No one can escape the trials and tribulations of high school but luckily Michele and I had each other to talk to about things. We helped each other through the rough times and shared things that we didn’t share with anyone else. In 2008, I threw my mortarboard in the air and graduated high school. I moved on to university in autumn and while I was completing my first year, Michele was finishing her last year…
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14Mar 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#81 Lesson] Let Curiosity Get the Better of You

[#81 Lesson] Let Curiosity Get the Better of You

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #81 Eat a Raw Egg. “Some people say the only way to rid yourself of temptation is to yield to it” (After the Sunset). These were the words spoken by Pierce Brosnan’s character in After the Sunset. I have always enjoyed this quote because it is the way I like to live my life. In fact, I have repeated this quote to many people over the years when it is relevant to the situation and it is usually met with a pondering gaze. Whenever my mind grabs hold of an idea I begin to think it through. I think of the pros and con and start to visualise scenarios and how things may pan out. If the pros outweigh the cons…
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27Feb 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#81 Eat a Raw Egg

#81 Eat a Raw Egg

BUCKET LIST
This bucket list item was complete on 20th February 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. For anyone who has watched the Rocky movies, you know exactly what this item is referring to. In Rocky, the first movie that launched the franchise, Sylvester Stallone wakes up at 4:00 am, cracks five eggs into a glass and proceeds to drink them before starting his morning workout. I watched these movies when I was a kid and as a kid there are many things you see that make you cringe; this was one of them. I remember thinking that it looked disgusting and it must have tasted even worse. When this scene appeared in the movie it create a cultural phenomenon, an action that so many people witnessed and wanted to mimic. I…
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14Feb 2018 by Dave Macleod 2 Comments
The Value of Seasonal Bucket Lists

The Value of Seasonal Bucket Lists

BUCKET LIST, GENERAL, INFORMATION
A bucket list is collection of goals, which you aspire to complete before you kick the bucket. For that reason, these lists tend to have several items with varying degrees of difficulty. Some items may even take years to complete. A bucket list is designed to take a lifetime to complete, but does it have to take that long? I was recently discussing life goals with a friend and he mentioned that his mind changed often enough that he was reluctant to create a bucket list for the rest of his life. I thought about his comment for a moment and then recommended that he make a summer bucket list. I suggested that he make something short (5 items) that he will attempt to complete before the end of summer.…
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31Jan 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#97 Lesson] It is Easy to Underestimate New Challenges

[#97 Lesson] It is Easy to Underestimate New Challenges

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #97 Become a Vegetarian for a Week. My mindset before starting this challenge was naïve and I underestimated how hard the first few days would be. I did not know what I was getting myself into. Let me illustrate how I was approaching each situation. Challenge: Be vegetarian for a week Mindset: I can do without meat for one week Challenge: Be vegan for a week Mindset: This will be tough but it is only one week Challenge: Go to the supermarket Mindset: This may take a few extra minutes, compared to usual I was way off with the third situation. A normal 10 minute shopping experience turned into two hours of reading labels. I think we are all guilty of…
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17Jan 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#97 Become a Vegetarian for a Week

#97 Become a Vegetarian for a Week

BUCKET LIST
This bucket list item was completed during the week of 8-14th February 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. When I was creating my bucket list this was a generic life goal that appeared on many lists throughout the Internet. For some people, being a vegetarian is not a hard task. Many people naturally reduce how much meat they consume or completely eliminate it without much change to their diet. For me, it was a bit more difficult. I grew up in a hunting family and was accustomed to eating wild meat from a young age. This became a tradition in our family and my parents would invite their friends over to experience “Wild Night”. Wild Night was a dinner party that my parents hosted where the menu consisted of about…
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01Jan 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Get Started on Your Bucket List in 2018

Get Started on Your Bucket List in 2018

BUCKET LIST, GENERAL, INFORMATION
Well, 2017 is behind us and we are into 2018! As always, time flies and New Year’s rolls around faster than we expect it to. I started my bucket list eight years ago with #86 Go for a Polar Bear Swim and have been working away at it ever since. New Year’s is a time that we associate with new beginnings. For some it is a diet, a work out plan or a new hobby. For me it was my bucket list, which continually reminds me to never stop searching for the next adventure. In 2018, I’m sure a lot of you will challenge yourself to a new beginning such as the examples I have listed above. For some of us, simply managing to write “2018” instead of “2017” on…
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