02Oct 2024 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#88 Lesson] The Conundrum of Fear

[#88 Lesson] The Conundrum of Fear

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #88 Swim with Sharks. Swimming with sharks; BASE jumping; driving. Go ahead, rank them in order of most dangerous to least dangerous. These all play a part in this next story. In June 2024 I set off on an adventure to Europe to learn how to fly my tracking suit in a BASE environment. New Zealand does not have massive shear cliffs, so my friends and I head to Europe in the northern hemisphere summer to practice terminal flight. And no, not terminal like “certain death”; terminal like “terminal velocity”. Terminal tracking in Italy While I already had 180 BASE jumps from lower objects, and without a tracking suit, this was a new discipline for me. However, I had been training…
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16Jun 2021 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#23 Lesson] Keep Your Wits about Yourself When Travelling

[#23 Lesson] Keep Your Wits about Yourself When Travelling

BUCKET LIST, LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #23 Ride in a Gondola Boat in Venice. In my travels throughout the years I have experienced, and have been told about, many schemes where locals will try to hustle unsuspecting tourists. The sad truth is that you never know when it is going to happen until it is already in the process, or worse, it has already happen and you have been deceived. It doesn’t matter whether you have been travelling your whole life or whether you are on your first overseas adventure, everyone is susceptible to being hustled while travelling. One time when I was travelling in Cuba with my family we were on a tour and walked past a beggar. The beggar first asked where we were from…
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18Dec 2019 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#14 Lesson] You Only Have to Prove Things to Yourself

[#14 Lesson] You Only Have to Prove Things to Yourself

LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #14 Ski a “Real” Mountain. This was the first time I had rode my snowboard on a real mountain, the first time I hiked up a mountain, my first time on the South Island and many other firsts. But the lesson I learned happened along the adventure. You only have to prove things to yourself! I touch on this in my 5 Simple Steps to Starting a Bucket List. YOUR bucket list is for YOU. Not your friends, not your family, not Facebook. Just you! If you’re a goal-driven person, like myself, you get satisfaction from completing your goals and crossing another item off your list. It can be easy to get caught up in the feeling and want to bend the…
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19Jun 2019 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#40 Lesson] Take Time to Make Decisions

[#40 Lesson] Take Time to Make Decisions

BUCKET LIST, INFORMATION, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #40 Jeep or Buggy Sand Dunes. When asked whether I wanted to do another 30-minute dune buggy experience for half the price, I said no. It was an amazing deal and an amazing opportunity but I was shattered and didn’t think I would be able to endure another 30 minutes. Turns out all I needed was a little break to recover. By the time I changed my mind, we were on our way back to the Las Vegas strip and I missed my chance. This taught me a valuable lesson about not making decisions in the heat of the moment and taking a break to think. I will be honest; this is one of my weaknesses. When someone asks me a question…
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16Jan 2019 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#26 Lesson] Gambling is Called Gambling for a Reason

[#26 Lesson] Gambling is Called Gambling for a Reason

BUCKET LIST, LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #26 Gamble in Las Vegas. The word gambling is defined as the activity or practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes. What is the most important word in this sentence? Chance. The word chance is defined as a possibility or probability of anything happening. Possibility cannot be quantified but probability can. The probability of an event happening in a casino (The House) is called the House Edge. In simple terms, the House Edge is the mathematical advantage that a game has over an individual, over a long term. The higher the House Edge, the higher the probability that the House will take your money over a long period of play. In short, gambling involves using your…
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21Nov 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#38 Lesson] Cherish Adventures with Your Close Friends

[#38 Lesson] Cherish Adventures with Your Close Friends

BUCKET LIST, LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #38 Eat at a White Castle Restaurant. During this adventure I flew to Florida with two of my closest friends, Dave and Branden. The purpose of the trip was to buy a BMW and drive it back to Canada. On paper, the task sounded easy but we had to overcome multiple challenges and worked together to make it happen. A combination of time pressure and a Category 3 hurricane made our trip even more exciting. I have known Dave and Branden since I was five years old and grew up on the same street as them. We have always been close friends but it seems like every time we go on an adventure, we become closer. This was not our first adventure…
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18Jul 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#95 Lesson] Always Assess the Information Source

[#95 Lesson] Always Assess the Information Source

BUCKET LIST, LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #95 Swim with Dolphins. Before booking our trip to Cuba, my dad did his homework. There are thousands of resort destinations scattered throughout the Caribbean but the main countries most people consider are Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. We had been to Mexico and Jamaica as a family before and my parents had also been to Dominican Republic. However, none of us had been to Cuba so it seemed like it would be an interesting adventure. Leading up to the trip I told many people about our plans because I was very excited to go to Cuba. However, the responses I received were very mixed. Some people mentioned that they had been to Cuba before and it was great but others…
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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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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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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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