I was out Tuesday night and ran into a friend of mine who is on a quest worthy of blogging. He told me that his friends chide him, because he never watches the news. And why would he? He’s too busy with his to-do list.

Let me say that his to-do list looks nothing like yours or mine. My list includes:

1) Pick up an onion at the farmer’s market

2) Get car serviced

3) Attend birthday party on Friday

His to-do list looks more like:

1) Learn judo

2) Go paperless

3) Do a handstand and walk on my hands 10 feet

I told him that his to-do list was infinitely cooler than mine.

He had all kinds of exciting, soul-inspiring tasks that he had already accomplished and still had more to conquer. They were even broken out by month so that he knew exactly what he wanted to do within a 30-day cycle. He’s kinda my hero.

It all got me thinking about our to-do list vs. our bucket list. You remember the bucket list phenomenon from a few years back when the movie came out. We were all inspired to write down everything that we ever wanted to do before we kick the bucket. I think where it all went wrong was that the goals were too easy to put on the shelf. When your bucket list includes massive undertakings like “travel the world” and “write a novel”, it’s overwhelming. So, the dreams and ideas get left on paper and never come to life.

So how do we make sure that doesn’t happen? Well, first of all, break down your big dreams into smaller manageable pieces. You want to visit Machu Picchu in Peru? Develop a savings plan where you put money aside every month until the trip is paid for. Want to be a vegan? Try a “Meatless Monday” once a week. Remember, it’s all about baby steps.

And jazz up your to-do list. In between the daily maintenance of life, mix it up with “take a yoga class” or “go to a fondue restaurant”. Try something new and see where it takes you.

Who says that life has to be mundane? Look at the things you need to do and begin to add what you want to do. Little by little, you will expand your universe, and before you know it, a simple to-do list has turned into a daring adventure.