A new Greatest Books list

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A new Greatest Books list

More than 6 years ago, I started reading fiction quite earnestly. Specifically, I pulled together several “greatest books” lists and began working my way through them.

However, I kept track of this effort on paper and didn’t collate my lists too well. I’ve resolved the issue, though, and am happy to start working with a refreshed “greatest book” list of my own.

Download the Greatest Books list here.

I pulled together four distinct lists of books to make this happen, including:

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Budgeting for the Bucket List Life

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List, Money 1 Comment
Budgeting for the Bucket List Life

This post was previously published on the BucketList.org blog in December 2014.

Living the Bucket List Life inevitably costs money. Not always a lot, but oftentimes something. So how do you decide what to spend to accomplish your bucket list goals?

I asked some friends how they budget for “vacations” and did some research online, it seems like a lot of people just pick the vacation they want and either save up or put it on a credit card. Very few people actually seem to be budgeting for their bucket list life.

But you’ve got a long bucket list, right? Bucketlist.org readers want to drink vodka in Russia, pay for a child’s Cleft lip surgery, complete a Spartan Sprint, and much more!

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Review: Life Expectancy Calculators

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List, Health, Money, Pause for Reflection, Voluntary Simplicity / Minimalism
Review: Life Expectancy Calculators

I focus intensely on living a good life. I actively work on my bucket list, which has provided some crazy adventures. I focus on experiences over material possessions and have gotten my finances in order to support my larger life goals.

Sometimes, this focus inevitably leads to thoughts on how much life I might have left.

From a young age, I wasn’t spared the experience of death. I attended the funerals of grandparents and great grandparents, lost a friend in high school, and have lost many more since, unfortunately. I say this because not everyone has been this close to mortality. Some folks have never been to a funeral, for example, or are lucky enough to still have grandparents around.

I’m just laying the groundwork for what this blog post is about. To be blunt, it’s about life expectancy. But, in reality, it’s about living and living well.

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Hang Gliding: Fly Like Superman

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List
Hang Gliding: Fly Like Superman

This post was previously published on the BucketList.org blog in November 2014.

Hang gliding is the perfect bucket list goal for those who’ve always wished for the super power to fly.

A hang glider is a triangular sail with an aluminum frame. This is different from a paraglider, which is more of a parachute. In a hang glider, you’re facing down and forward like Superman, while in a paraglider, you’re in more of a seated position. The two are often confused, with paragliding showing up on more bucket lists, but I’d like you to consider hang gliding too.

Last summer, I went hang gliding at Morningside Flight Park. I drove down to Charlestown, NH on a Friday after work and set up camp next to “The Castle,” a tiny cabin atop a hill on their property.

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3 Steps to Creating a Social Media Will

Posted by On Filed under Marketing, Pause for Reflection
3 Steps to Creating a Social Media Will

Several friends have passed away over the last few years. For months after their passing, Facebook still told me whether or not they were online. Google+ suggested I add them to my circles. And Twitter suggested I invite them to join.

Most disturbing of all were the Facebook reminders. Birthdays were the most shocking: being asked to wish someone a happy birthday, months after their passing, with their smiling face or familiar profile picture popping up in my feed all day.

This got me to thinking about what was happening with their account and started my research social media wills. Yes, it’s that kind of will: a way to protect and even pass on your (digital) property after your passing.

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Failure as Part of the Bucket List Experience

Posted by On Filed under Bucket List, Pause for Reflection
Failure as Part of the Bucket List Experience

This post was previously published on the BucketList.org blog in November 2014.

Are some of your bucket list goals pretty wild? Way outside your comfort zone, not to mention your budget, skill or ability zones? And are you afraid you may try and fail at some of these goals? Then you and I have some things in common.

My bucket list is the To Do list of an adventurous, athletic, wealthy genius. I love who I see when I look at that list: Michelle on top of mountains, Michelle racing cars, learning languages and living like an expat, owning a radio station and fighting with nunchucks.

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Tracking Campaigns, for Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Posted by On Filed under Marketing 2 Comments
Tracking Campaigns, for Non-Profits and Small Businesses

Within Google Analytics, non-profits and small businesses can track where website traffic is coming from in several different ways. For example, you can track referrals or Adwords through the acquisition tab.

But what if you’re running a campaign and you want to track how it’s performing across channels? For example, how do you track a holiday message as it performs on social media versus your e-newsletter versus digital ads?

That’s when you need Google’s URL builder.

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