John Goddard's "Life List" John Goddard is most known for his amazing “Life List” of accomplishments. At the age of fifteen John Goddard listed 127 goals he wished to experience or achieve in his lifetime. The list is impressive and audacious, but the results have been truly incredible. EXPLORE No. Achieved Goals Comments 1 Nile River 2 Amazon River 3 Congo River 4 Colorado River 5 Yangtze River, China 6 Niger River 7 Orinoco River, Venezuela 8 Rio Coco, Nicaragua STUDY PRIMITIVE 9 The Congo 10 New Guinea 11 Brazil 12 Borneo 13 The Sudan 14 Australia 15 Kenya 16 The Philippines 17 Tanzania 18 Ethiopia 19 Nigeria 20 Alaska CLIMB 21 Mt. Everest 22 Mt. Aconcagua, Argentina 23 Mt. McKinley 24 Mt. Huascaran, Peru 25 Mt. Kilimanjaro 26 Mt. Ararat, Turkey 27 Mt. Kenya 28 Mt. Cook, New Zealand 29 Mt. Popocatepetl, Mexico 30 The Matterhorn 31 Mt. Rainier 32 Mt. Fuji 33 Mt. Vesuvius 34 Mt. Bromo, Java 35 Grand Tetons 36 Mt. Baldy, California 37 Carry out careers in medicine and exploration (studied premed, treats illnesses among primitive tribes) 38 Visit every country in the world (30 to go) 39 Study Navaho and Hopi Indians 40 Learn to fly a plane 41 Ride horse in Rose Parade PHOTOGRAPH 42 Iguacu Falls, Brazil 43 Victoria Falls, Rhodesia (Chased by a warthog in the process) 44 Sutherland Falls, New Zealand 45 Yosemite Falls 46 Niagara Falls 47 Retrace travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great EXPLORE UNDERWATER 48 Coral reefs of Florida 49 Great Barrier Reef, Australia (photographed a 300-pound clam) 50 Red Sea 51 Fiji Islands 52 The Bahamas 53 Explore Okefenokee Swamp and the Everglades VISIT 54 North and South Poles 55 Great Wall of China 56 Panama and Suez Canals 57 Easter Island 58 The Galapagos Islands 59 Vatican City 60 The Taj Mahal 61 The Eiffel Tower 62 The Blue Grotto 63 The Tower of London 64 The Leaning Tower of Pisa 65 The Sacred Well of Chichen-Itza, Mexico 66 Climb Ayers Rock in Australia 67 Follow River Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea SWIM IN 68 Lake Victoria 69 Lake Superior 70 Lake Tanganyika 71 Lake Titicaca, S. America 72 Lake Nicaragua ACCOMPLISH 73 Become an Eagle Scout 74 Dive in a submarine 75 Land on and take off from an aircraft carrier 76 Fly in a blimp, balloon and glider 77 Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco 78 Skin dive to 40 feet and hold breath two and a half minutes underwater 79 Catch a ten-pound lobster and a ten-inch abalone 80 Play flute and violin 81 Type 50 words a minute 82 Make a parachute jump 83 Learn water and snow skiing 84 Go on a church mission 85 Follow the John Muir trail 86 Study native medicines and bring back useful ones 87 Bag camera trophies of elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, cape buffalo and whale 88 Learn to fence 89 Learn jujitsu 90 Teach a college course 91 Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali 92 Explore depths of the sea 93 Appear in a Tarzan movie 94 Own a horse, chimpanzee, cheetah, ocelot, and coyote (yet to own a chimp or cheetah) 95 Become a ham radio operator 96 Build own telescope 97 Write a book (About his Nile trip) 98 Publish an article in National Geographic Magazine 99 High jump five feet 100 Broad jump 15 feet 101 Run mile in five minutes 102 Weigh 175 pounds stripped (he still does) 103 Perform 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups 104 Learn French, Spanish and Arabic 105 Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island (Boat broke down within 20 miles of island) 106 Visit birthplace of Grandfather Sorenson in Denmark 107 Visit birthplace of Grandfather Goddard in England 108 Ship aboard a freighter as a seaman 109 Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (Has read extensive parts in each volume) 110 Read the Bible from cover to cover 111 Read the works of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Rousseau, Conrad, Hemingway, Twain, Burroughs, Talmage, Tolstoi, Longfellow, Keats, Poe, Bacon, Whittier, and Emerson (not every work of each) 112 Become familiar with the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Ibert, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Liszt, Rimski-Korsakov, Respighi, Rachmaninoff, Paganini, Stravinsky, Toch, Tschaikosvsky, Verdi 113 Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol, canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang 114 Compose music 115 Play Clair de Lune on the piano 116 Watch fire-walking ceremony (In Bali and Surinam) 117 Milk a poisonous snake (bitten by diamondback during photo session) 118 Light a match with .22 rifle 119 Visit a movie studio 120 Climb Cheops' pyramid 121 Become a member of the Explorer's Club and the Adventure's Club 122 Learn to play polo 123 Travel through the Grand Canyon on foot and by boat 124 Circumnavigate the globe (four times) 125 Visit the moon ("Someday, if God wills") 126 Marry and have children (has six children) 127 Live to see the 21st century







"One rainy afternoon an inspired 15-year old boy named John Goddard sat down at his kitchen table in Los Angeles and wrote three words at the top of a yellow pad, "My Life List." Under that heading he wrote down 127 goals. Since then he has completed 109 of those goals. These were not simple or easy goals. They included climbing the world's major mountains, exploring from source to mouth the longest rivers of the world, piloting the world's fastest aircraft, running a mile in five minutes and reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica." "One rainy afternoon an inspired 15-year old boy named John Goddard sat down at his kitchen table in Los Angeles and wrote three words at the top of a yellow pad, "My Life List." Under that heading he wrote down 127 goals. Since then he has completed 109 of those goals. These were not simple or easy goals. They included climbing the world's major mountains, exploring from source to mouth the longest rivers of the world, piloting the world's fastest aircraft, running a mile in five minutes and reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica." Chicken Soup for the Soul,

NY Times bestseller.