16Dec 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#12 Lesson] Balance Between Planned and Unplanned Adventures

[#12 Lesson] Balance Between Planned and Unplanned Adventures

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #12 Scuba Dive the Great Barrier Reef. For the last 10 years, my bucket list has dictated my travel plans. I often tell people that it is my roadmap that I use for planning holidays each year, which means I often travel with a purpose. Many of my bucket list items require specific planning as some events can only be done one day of the year. Others may be completed any day throughout the year but will involve more logistics. The bucket list has forced me to be a diligent planner to ensure that my dreams come true. Looking back on it, that is exactly why I started the bucket list, to ensure I got the most out of life. However, sometimes…
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21Oct 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#62 Lesson] Share Your Dreams With Others

[#62 Lesson] Share Your Dreams With Others

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #62 Fly in a Hot Air Balloon. When I told Tegan that the coolest gift she could get me would be to help me cross something off my bucket list, she got to work. She studied my list and found an activity that we could do together and was close to New Plymouth. It was definitely the best present she could have given me, and I was so happy that she did that for me. This taught me the importance of sharing your dreams with others. Since starting my bucket list, I have noticed the natural tendency of people to want to help out. Whenever I share my bucket list with people, it is very common for them to scan the list…
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23Sep 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#84 Lesson] Sacrifices are Required to Achieve Dreams

[#84 Lesson] Sacrifices are Required to Achieve Dreams

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #84 Fly an Airplane. Anything truly worth doing in life, is worth sacrificing something else to make it happen. This is the most important lesson I have learned from my bucket list journeys. That 14-month period was one of the most challenging times in my life. There was simply not enough time in the day or energy in my body to complete all the things that I desired. As a result, something had to give. Sacrifices had to be made. I realised this within the first few months, around the time of my first solo. I had to look at my life and ask, what can wait? What don’t I need right now? As much as I loved to go out…
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26Aug 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#41 Lesson] Sometimes You Need Help

[#41 Lesson] Sometimes You Need Help

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #41 Go on a Blob. There are some similarities with this lesson and [#21 Lesson] Ask for Help. In that blog I talked about never being too proud to admit when you could use some help. The key is to realise this and act on it by asking others for help. Your friends and family will always be there to help, as long as you ask. This adventure taught me that sometimes you NEED help. This is not just a matter of getting over your independence and asking for a helping hand. Sometimes there will be physical limitations keeping you from doing something by yourself. In my case it was going on a blob. In the middle summer, the adventure park…
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15Jul 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#65 Lesson] Variety in Adventure

[#65 Lesson] Variety in Adventure

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #65 Go Whitewater Rafting. When I crossed #65 off my list, it was the first time I had ever been whitewater rafting. The only other time was last year, with my mum, along the Grand Canyon. Both were whitewater rafting tours, but they were vastly different. The Kaituna River experience was short, only 50 minutes long, but it was packed with Grade 5 rapids and a huge 7 metre waterfall. The Grand Canyon was a 4‑day adventure with up to 8 hours on the river each day. We only tackled Grade 3 & 4 rapids on this trip and the scenery was the total opposite of the New Zealand bush along the Kaituna. Kaituna River The thing is, both were amazing…
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17Jun 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#93 Lesson] Room for Improvement

[#93 Lesson] Room for Improvement

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #93 Take an IQ Test. “Once you stop learning, you start dying”    – Albert Einstein Renowned as one of the great minds of the 20th century, Albert Einstein has taught this world a lot. His words were simple, but this quote has echoed with me for several years. I have done my best to adopt this mentality and my life is fueled by constantly learning new things. I’d say trying a new sport or activity is my favourite way to learn. It’s the right blend of a mental workload, exercise and usually involves a shot of adrenaline in there every now and then. This is why skydiving has grabbed a hold of me so strongly. When people ask me what it’s…
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20May 2020 by Dave Macleod 2 Comments
[#21 Lesson] Ask for Help

[#21 Lesson] Ask for Help

LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #21 Ride in a Helicopter. When I started working at Core Group and learned that they regularly fly helicopters as part of their services, I identified that they had the resources to help me cross another item off my bucket list. My position at the company did not require me to take part in the pipeline flights. I knew that if I wanted to make this happen, I was going to have to ask for it.  When I asked Mark if I could come on the flight to cross another item off my list, he was happy to help me out. I have always been an independent person, even from a young age. I like to do things by myself sometimes…
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22Apr 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#10 Lesson] Strive For Freedom

[#10 Lesson] Strive For Freedom

LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #10 Buy My Own Car. I think this is a lesson that we have all learned, time and time again. With each new phase of our lives, comes an aspect where we yearn for freedom. When you’re crawling as a baby, you want to learn to walk so you can go further and explore more of your surroundings. When you’re old enough to drive you want your licence so that you don’t have to get your loser parents to drive you around. When you’re old enough to move out of the house you look for a flat so that you no longer have to live with your loser parents. **I am speaking generically here. My parents were not “losers”, they were…
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26Feb 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#35 Lesson] Sometimes Great Ideas Shouldn’t be Repeated

[#35 Lesson] Sometimes Great Ideas Shouldn’t be Repeated

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #35 Eat a Tequila Worm. This was not the first time I learned this lesson and it will not be the last time. My friends and I are always coming up with ideas or adventures for the activities that we like to do. This means we are always testing out new adventures and not all of them are a raging success. We describe the activities by either Type 1 Fun or Type 2 Fun. Type 1 Fun relates to an activity that is fun while you are doing it, still feels fun in your mind when you look back on it and is likely to be repeated because it was so fun. Type 2 Fun relates to an activity that is…
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29Jan 2020 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#3 Lesson] Sample Life for Everything It Has to Offer

[#3 Lesson] Sample Life for Everything It Has to Offer

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #3 Go Skydiving. I did my first tandem skydive in August 2013 but did not learn to skydive until December 2014. For some people, they are hooked after their first tandem and jump straight into their advanced freefall course to learn how to solo skydive. I was a bit different. I did my tandem jump to cross it off my bucket list and it was exciting and an amazing rush, but I did not instantly think it was something that I wanted to do as a hobby. It was in February 2014 that I was watching episodes of Nitro Circus when I decided that I wanted to learn how to solo skydive. In their show they were always doing skydiving or…
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