Life Goals • Blake Boles dot com

I started this goal list at age 20, inspired by Jim Wiltens at Deer Crossing Camp (who was in turn inspired by John Goddard). 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 that I’ve already completed, even if I didn’t know classify them as “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: June 2021]

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

Create a brick-and-mortar “school” (i.e. long-term structured learning program)
Create an online “school” – Self-Directed Learning 101, 2020
Earn money teaching an online course – Launchpad, 2017; Outschool & Urban Homeschoolers, 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 Deputy Director, 2008
Run a “how to do college without college” program – ZTC Camp 2011
Organize a conference – Trailblazer Gathering, 2013
Run an Unschool Adventure trip without me on it – UA Writing Retreat 2013 & others since
Work at Not Back to School Camp – Advisor, starting 2006
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

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 (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), Nepal (2019)
Explore South America – 2007 (blog part 1/2/3) + much more w/ Unschool Adventures
Explore Western Europe – 2002 + many times since

Thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail – failed in 2005 (trail journal)
Fast-pack the Tahoe Rim Trail – 2021
Do a long bike tour – 2020
Day-hike Mount Whitney – 2017 (failed in 1998, 2006, 2016)
Walk a 100′ slackline and a high-line
Hike 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 the Camino de Santiago – 2017 (parts of the Camino del Norte & Camino Primitivo)
Run 30+ miles on trail – 2015 (John Muir Trail), 2016 (Tahoe Rim Trail)
Run 26.2 miles on trail – 2014
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

Do a 10-day silent meditation retreat – did half of one in 2019, which was sufficient
Dance with a stranger in a Buenos Aires tango milonga – 2014 (and many times since)
Do a handstand for 30 seconds