What's On Your Goddard's List?

John Goddard, now in his seventies, is a renowned adventurer, scholar and lecturer. He has covered much of the globe during his travels; climbed a few of the world's tallest mountains, floated the Nile, Amazon, Congo rivers and other; learned several languages, become accomplished in many sports and generally earned himself the title "Renaissance Man". What drives a person to be so resolute and driven in pursuing their goals? As Mr. Goddard relates about his own life, he was inspired at age fifteen to sit down at the kitchen table and begin crafting his "life list", an inventory of experiences he wished to have, his life's road map.

As it happens, he has been largely successful. View his list at www.Johngoddard.info and see for yourself the amazing breadth and depth of his accomplishments. Why are this man and his ambitions germane to your business, you may ask? In tumultuous times when market forces remain unpredictable and many are uncertain of where the next pay check will be coming from, remembering the bigger picture, those fundamental reasons one decided to become and entrepreneur or independent contractor in the first place is key. Most of the real estate agents I know who have been in the industry for five years or more are not speculators; people who have come into the business for a quick killing and fast exit. My colleagues tend to be clear in their vision. Whether it is to use their expertise and licensing to build a portfolio of rentals for retirement income, or simply to provide altruistically a service to their fellow man, they share a vision of where they wish to be five, ten, fifteen years from now. This profession is their means to that end.

What strikes me most about John Goddard is how forward thinking he was at age fifteen to articulate then pursue the path to his dreams. He's not a naive man. In an interview on the web site, Mr. Goddard readily admits his first two marriages were casualties of the dream. Still, if he lost focus, he regained it quickly. I can only imagine that, when his fellow adventurer capsized his kayak while paddling the Congo and perished, Goddard questioned the purpose of his own venture. Though perhaps not under such dire circumstances, we all have those moments; that flash of self-doubt and fear when we ask ourselves "what the heck am I doing this for?" Your Goddard's List then becomes a beacon in those uncertain waters. Its light draws you to safe shores where you may reassert your footing on firmer ground and forge ahead.

I've been working on my list. In it I state all those things I feel I still have yet to accomplish or experience. As I am not a fifteen year old, I have not only constructed one representing my vision of the future, but I've also created an inventory of the past, those events, people, places and moments which have passed through my life, reminding me of the significance of my own experience.

We all must have a compelling reason to steer a straight course. Whether the goal is secure retirement or being fit enough to jump out of an airplane at age eighty, it's all valid, compelling and necessary to keep the fires burning, your dreams alive.