Completed goals are in red.
I started this goal list at age 20, inspired by Jim Wiltens at Deer Crossing Camp (who was in turn inspired by John Goddard).
A few notes about my method:
- I only post big, exciting, and slightly intimidating goals—not the little stuff.
- I sometimes retroactively add goals that I’ve already completed, even if I didn’t know they were “goals” at the start.
- I remove goals that become irrelevant to my life. This list isn’t sacrosanct.
- I post my goals publicly because I believe the publicly sharing my goals gives me a better chance of completing them. (Others disagree.)
- I post failures as well as successes (thanks, Tina Seelig).
- I link to digital evidence of my completed goals whenever possible.
[Last updated: November 2020]
Traditional Goals
- Start a family
- Get a dog
- Graduate from college – B.A., UC Berkeley 2004
Writing & Speaking Goals
- Do a speaking tour in the U.S. – 2018
- Publish a book about going to college without high school – College Without High School, 2009
- Publish a book about giving yourself a higher education without college – Better Than College, 2012
- Publish a book about self-directed learning – The Art of Self-Directed Learning, 2014
- Give a TED talk – TEDx YouthDay Palo Alto, 2010
- Publish 10+ original audio or video episodes online – Off-Trail Learning podcast (formerly: Real Education Podcast), 2015
- Speak in Europe – 2017, 2018, 2019
- Independently publish a professional-quality book – Better Than College, 2012
- Give away 10,000 free online copies of Better Than College – 2014
- Blog every day for a year – failed in 2011 and 2013
- Hand-write a letter or postcard to someone every day for a year – failed in 2015
- Write the first draft of a 50,000-word novel in one month (the NaNoWriMo challenge) – failed in 2006 & 2009
Work Goals
- Start a school (i.e. long-term structured learning program) – Self-Directed Learning 101, 2020
- Start an international trip leading company – Unschool Adventures, 2008
- Start a leadership program for homeschoolers – Homeschool Leadership Retreats, 2010 (eventually merged with U.A.)
- Direct a summer camp – Deer Crossing Camp, Assistant Director 2006-7, Acting Director 2008
- Run a “College Without College” program – ZTC Camp 2011
- Run an Unschool Adventure trip without me on it – UA Writing Retreat 2013
- Work at Not Back to School Camp – Advisor, 2006-present
- Work as a summer camp cook – Deer Crossing Camp, 2008
- Lead a workshop at a major homeschooling conference – 2009
- Be self-employed for a whole year – 2010
- Work a full season at a ski resort – Heavenly Ski Resort, 2007
- Organize a conference – Trailblazer Gathering, 2013
- Earn money teaching an online course – Launchpad, 2017
Travel Goals
- Hitchhike the Carretera Austral
- See the Aurora Borealis with Matt & Patrick
- Travel the world with a girlfriend for 6+ months
- Live abroad with child(ren) for 12+ months
- Live in Lake Tahoe – 2007
- Live in Portland, Oregon – 2009
- Live in Buenos Aires – 2017
- Live in New Zealand – 2019
- Live in New York City – 2019
- Live in Europe – 2020
- Live in one place for one year straight – Asheville (North Carolina), 2012
- Go on an expedition with Jim Wiltens – tree climbing expedition in Guatemala, 2011
- Explore the Himalayas – India (2011), Nepal (2014), Nepal (2019)
- Explore South America – 2007 (blog part 1/2/3) + much more w/ Unschool Adventures
- Explore Western Europe – 2002 + many times since
Outdoor Goals
- Thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail – failed in 2005 (trail journal)
- Do a bike tour – 2020
- Day-hike Mount Whitney – 2017 (failed in 1998, 2006, 2016)
- Summit every peak in the Crystal Range (CA) in one trip
- Walk a 100′ slackline and a high-line
- Hike on the Te Araroa (NZ) – yes, albeit not very much
- Thru-hike the Sierra High Route – did most in 2018
- Hike the Southern Sierra High Route – did much in 2019
- Do a solo ramble (a la John Muir) in the High Sierra
- Hike on the Camino de Santiago – 2017 (the Camino Primitivo)
- Run 30+ miles on trail – 2015 (John Muir Trail)
- Run 26.2 miles on trail – 2014 (Marin Headlands)
- Run 13.1 miles on trail – 2010 (Asheville, NC)
- Windsurf in the Columbia River Gorge – 2014
- Backpack the Lost Coast (CA) – 2015
- Roll a kayak – 2003
Experience Goals
- Do a 10-day silent meditation retreat – did half in 2019, that was sufficient
- Dance with a stranger in a Buenos Aires tango milonga – 2014, 2016, 2017
- Do a handstand for 30 seconds
Meet-in-Person Goals
- Grace Llewellyn – 2006
- Daniel Greenberg – 2004
- John Taylor Gatto – 2010
- Russell Roberts – 2014
- Tina Seelig – 2010
- Seth Godin – 2012
- Daniel Pink – 2014
- William Deresiewicz – 2014