Life Goals • Blake Boles dot com

I started this goal list at age 20, inspired by Jim Wiltens. Completed goals are in red.

A few notes about my method:

I only post big, exciting, and slightly intimidating goals—not the little stuff.
I may retroactively add goals I’ve already completed, even if they weren’t “goals” to begin with.
I may remove goals that become irrelevant. (The list isn’t sacrosanct.)
I post my goals publicly because I believe that publicly sharing 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 completed goals whenever possible.

[Last updated: March 2024]

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
Publish a more personal, vulnerable book – Do What You Love and Die Trying, 2023
Give a TED talk – TEDx YouthDay Palo Alto, 2010
Do a speaking tour in the U.S. – 2018
Speak in Europe – 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021…
Publish 10+ original audio or video episodes online – Off-Trail Learning podcast, 2015
Independently publish a professional-quality book – Better Than College, 2012
Give away 10,000 digital copies of Better Than College – 2014
Blog every day for a year – failed in 2011 and 2013
Write the first draft of a 50,000-word novel in one month (the NaNoWriMo challenge) – failed in 2006 & 2009

Work at Not Back to School Camp – 2006
Work as a summer camp cook – 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
Start an international trip leading company – Unschool Adventures, 2008
Create a leadership program for homeschoolers – Homeschool Leadership Retreats, 2010 (merged with U.A.)
Direct a summer camp – Deer Crossing Camp Deputy Director, 2008
Earn passive income – Launchpad (2017) + book sales via Amazon (2012)
Run a “how to do college without college” program – ZTC Camp 2011
Teach an online course – Self-Directed Learning 101 (2020)
Organize a conference – Trailblazer Gathering, 2013
Run an Unschool Adventure trip without me on it – Writing Retreat + New Zealand 2019
Create a brick-and-mortar “school” (i.e. long-term structured learning program)

Live in Lake Tahoe – 2007
Live in Portland – 2009
Live in Buenos Aires – 2017
Live in New Zealand – 2019
Live in San Francisco – 2014
Live in New York City – 2019
Live in Europe – 2020 (Germany)
Live in one place for one year straight – Asheville, NC, 2012
Go on an expedition with Jim Wiltens – tree climbing expedition in Guatemala, 2011
Explore the Himalayas – India (2011), Nepal (2014 + 2019)
Explore South America – 2007
Explore Western Europe – 2002
Dance with a stranger in a Buenos Aires tango milonga – 2014
Travel the world with a girlfriend for 6+ months
Live abroad with child(ren) for 12+ months
Live in the California Sierra Nevada for one year straight
See the Aurora Borealis with Matt & Patrick