OUGD405 Studio Brief 2

OUGD405 Studio Brief 2 - Research

• 100 things to do before you die

- blog posts
- different generations
- collection of bucket lists
- (Statistics) 
- (Words) 
- (Photographs) 
- (Facts)
- (Opinions) 


Where it oriented from

A bucket list is a list of tasks you wish to complete, or even things you want to experience before you die, or rather ‘kick the bucket’. This enlightening list actually derives from a very dark topic. As stated above, the term ‘bucket list’ comes from the phrase ‘kick the bucket’. So, where does that phrase come from? Well, it is believed to originate sometime in the Middle Ages, when a common form of death was execution by being hung, or even suicide.
When a person was about to die, they would kick the bucket that they were standing on from underneath their feet and die. Get it, ‘kick the bucket’?

David Stewart Freeman  was an American advertising executive best known for co-authoring the 1999 book 100 Things to Do Before You Die with his friend Neil Teplica. It was based on the Web site whatsgoingon.com, which the pair ran together from 1996 to 2001. The book's recommendations ranged from attending the Academy Awards and running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, to the more obscure, like taking a voodoo pilgrimage in Haiti and "land diving" in Vanuatu, which Freeman once called "the original bungee jumping". The success of 100 Things spawned numerous similar compendia of essential places and things such as 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, leaving a legacy of "... Before You Die" and "Before You Turn 40" books still in the bestseller charts today.

Research
The survey reveals that alongside more materialistic wishes a significant 60 per cent simply want to stay as healthy as possible. The study of 2,000 people, commissioned by Engage Mutual, found the average person holds 16 key dreams they want to achieve in life. Self- improvement was another common theme among the bucket list items, with the desire to learn an instrument an ambition in common for 17 per cent, while volunteering for a good cause is important for 14 per cent.

In 1940, when John Goddard was 15, he made a list of everything he wanted to achieve. There were 127 goals in all, which included: visit every country in the world; explore the Great Barrier Reef; watch a cremation ceremony in Bali; milk a poisonous snake; and visit the Moon. Some goals were bundled together. Number 113, for example, reads: "Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol, canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang." There is a tick beside this one, marking it as done, as there is beside 109 of those original goals. And in the years since, he has set himself hundreds more, writing them down as a form of commitment.

Why You Should Write One

In a nutshell, this is the list of the 100 things you want to do (places to go, people to meet, things to do) before you die ("kick the bucket"). Here's why I think it's a good idea to invest your time on this task:
Thinking about your list will remind you of your 'why.' So often, we are consumed by 'how' to do something (how to have a better life, make more money, spend time with family, etc.). In the process we overlook why we want these things, in essence, if we don't know 'why', the 'how' makes little difference. The 'why' defines our purpose and helps to provide some motivation to persist in spite of the challenges along the way.
Periodically reviewing your list is a great way to re-energize. How often do we find ourselves so busy running on the 'hamster-wheel' of life that we lose sight of the bigger picture? By refreshing our perspective, we sharpen our focus and get back on track. Consider this: what are you more motivated to work for-what you want or what somebody else wants you to have?
Your reward list is ready to go. One of the most difficult things to do is to reward ourselves when we achieve a goal or milestone. We rationalize: "But there is still so much to do!" You work hard, don't you? You deserve something special. Once you make this list, you have no excuse to deprive yourself. Now, when you set some great personal or business goals, you select the reward that accompanies their achievement.
You leverage the law of attraction. Read Michael Losier's Law of Attraction to explore this phenomenon. By creating your list and sharing it, you send out a 'vibration.' That makes it possible for others to assist you in achieving your dreams. If you are very specific about what you want and communicate that to others, things fall into place over time. Of course this requires a positive attitude and some discipline on your part. Remember that when you construct your list.
Add to or build your legacy. How would you like to be remembered? Years from now, when stories are being told by your descendants at family gatherings, what distinction(s) would you like to hold? Consider the example you will set for future generations. What an awesome privilege and responsibility it is to share your knowledge, wisdom, and experience! And you had fun doing it, too! By the way, 100 is just a suggestion. You are only limited by your imagination and creativity. Encourage your spouse and friends to participate, and then compare your lists. You may discover something else you want to add to yours (we call this 'market research').


- Six-year-old Molly Bent, who is suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, has drawn up list of things to see before she loses her sight

Molly’s wish list in full:

Disney
London
See the Queen’s Palace
Natural History Museum
Blackpool
Scotland
Aquarium
Safari park
Legoland
Beach
Museums
Theatre trips
Concerts
Australia
Football match

20 Facts & Statistics:

1. The phrase derives from "kick the bucket", a term for death, with unclear origins, but which quite likely relates to the bucket kicked away at a hanging
2. Swimming with dolphins is a dream for over a quarter of us
3. Over 60% of us who have bucket lists will never get close to achieving the majority of their aims
4. The average person holds 16 key dreams that they want to achieve in life
5. Self- improvement was another common theme among the bucket list items
6. The survey reveals that alongside more materialistic wishes a significant 60 per cent simply want to stay as healthy as possible
7. The desire to learn an instrument an ambition in common for 17 per cent
8. Volunteering for a good cause is important for 14 per cent
9. A survey on British people found that buying a holiday home ranked number one on our list
10. Changing careers is ranked number 21 for us
11. Many of us feel that we won't be able to fulfil all of our dreams, blaming our financial positions for holding us back
12. A third of respondents in a survey, cited that the ability to leave their children with a good property or good inheritance was the their biggest goal in their remaining time 
13. The Guardian has created a list of 'Things you should avoid before you die' including things such as learning to play an instrument, stating that learning to play an instrument (usually the guitar) is a bucket list staple. It’s also a heinous act of self-deception, because really what we want is to “learn to look cool while playing a musical instrument.”
14. The movie 'The Bucket List' released in 2008 helped promote the term 'Bucket List.'
15. In addition many more people were encouraged to create Bucket Lists due to the popularity of the film.
16. Review any random set of 10 bucket lists and you will find similarities such as sky diving, climbing a mountain, learning a skill or traveling to a new country
17. France is the most popular destination for a holiday home in the world
18. Trip planning sources have shifted over the last several years, with social media and mobile devices being used more often. In 2012, nearly one-quarter (23%) of domestic leisure travelers relied on friends and relatives to plan their trips, while three in ten (31%) utilized their own past experiences. One in ten used destination websites, nine percent used traveler provider websites (airline, hotel, rental car, cruise, tours, etc.), five percent used social networking and four percent used a mobile device to help plan their trip.
19. International tourist arrivals increased by 5 percent in 2013, according to the UNWTO. That translates to a record of more than one billion trips. With its population of 1.36 billion, China became the second-largest exporter of tourists. Russia, now the fifth-largest outbound market, increased travel spending by 26 percent.
20.  France’s Disneyland Park draws about the same number of visitors (10.5 million) as Sacré Coeur, and four of the world’s 20 most-visited tourist attractions are Disney parks.  

20 Words

Top 20 Most Listed Goals:

1. See the Northern Lights
2. Skydive
3. Get Married
4. Swim with Dolphins
5. Go on a cruise
6. Get a tattoo
7. Run a Marathon
8. Ride an Elephant
9. Go Scuba Diving
10. Donate blood
11. See the Pyramids in Egypt
12. Send a Message in a Bottle
13. Learn to Surf
14. Visit the Grand Canyon
15. Fly in a Hot Air Balloon
16. Fall in Love
17. Go Skinny Dipping
18. Buy a Holiday Home
19. Take a trip to the Maldives
20. Bungee Jumping


The top 40 Must-do experiences Brits want to do before they die:

1. Have a holiday home abroad
2. Learn a new language
3. Go on holiday to the Maldives
4. Buy a house
5. Swim with dolphins
6. Drive Route 66
7. Ride a hot air balloon
8. See the Egyptian Pyramids
9. Go to a casino in Las Vegas
10. Visit Venice
11. Go up the Empire State Building
12. Go on a cruise
13. Go whale watching
14. Climb a mountain
15. Go up the Eiffel tower
16. Learn an instrument
17. Work in a different country
18. Float in the Dead Sea
19. Write a novel
20. Drive a racing car
21. Change career
22. Trek the Inca Trail
23. Be a volunteer for a good cause
24. Be an extra in a film
25. Go scuba diving
26. Try out surfing
27. Hold a Koala
28. Feed a penguin
29. Get a tattoo
30. Backpack Europe
31. Own a designer watch
32. Ride a gondola
33. Run a big race
34. Bungee jump
35. Reach the top of my career ladder
36. Own a Mulberry handbag
37. Ride a camel
38. Ride on a horse and cart
39. Write a film
40. Change hair colour


How People Describe Bucket Lists:

1. Goals
2. Achievement 
3. Adventure
4. Experiences
5. Pointless
6. Living
7. Worth Doing
8. Travelling
9. Fulfilling
10. Visiting 
11. Fab
12. Great Idea
13. Life Goals
14. Retirement 
15. Death
16. Morgan Freeman 
17. Determination 
18. Entertainment 
19. Active
20. Expensive

Opinions:

1. I think a bucket list is definitely something worth thinking about and possibly worth trying to complete, I just wanna see as many places as i can before I die so mine is quite vague! some peoples are much more specific i think. 
2. I have a bucket list but its not written I want to visit several countries and museum and stuff like skiing etc I think it'd great to have something to aspire to what's the point of life if you can't have fun.
3. I think they are definitely worth doing! There are so many amazing things that life has to offer and it feels great when you can check one of them off your list. I have one myself. The majority of things on it are associated with travel.
4. I think bucket lists are a fab idea. I don't have one personally but, I'm same as Emily, I'd want to travel to as many places as possible, to see as much of the world I can!! 
5. I don't have one now but I think bucket lists for travelling is a great idea for when you get older and have a lot more spare time on your hands.
6. I don't have a bucket list as such but I have things that I would definitely like to do before I die. I suppose it's like a mental bucket list. My list is made mostly of places I'd like to visit. But also I have life goals on there like having kids.
7. I think its good to have goals, I believe in goals and having something to aspire to. I think I unknowingly have a bucket list like little goals to myself, like this week I will be on time to university, goals can be small or big, I think for me though my goal is to live and unplanned life and to have an adventure. 
8. You should make them realistic. 
9. I hate Bucket Lists, I think if you want to do something then just do it, you don't need a list pressuring you
10. I think they're quite weird, some people just have weird things on theres and its like really you want to do that?
11. Thinking about your list will remind you of your 'why.' So often, we are consumed by 'how' to do something (how to have a better life, make more money, spend time with family, etc.). In the process we overlook why we want these things, in essence, if we don't know 'why', the 'how' makes little difference. The 'why' defines our purpose and helps to provide some motivation to persist in spite of the challenges along the way.
12. Periodically reviewing your list is a great way to re-energize. How often do we find ourselves so busy running on the 'hamster-wheel' of life that we lose sight of the bigger picture? By refreshing our perspective, we sharpen our focus and get back on track. Consider this: what are you more motivated to work for-what you want or what somebody else wants you to have?
13. Your reward list is ready to go. One of the most difficult things to do is to reward ourselves when we achieve a goal or milestone. We rationalize: "But there is still so much to do!" You work hard, don't you? You deserve something special. Once you make this list, you have no excuse to deprive yourself. Now, when you set some great personal or business goals, you select the reward that accompanies their achievement.
14. You leverage the law of attraction. Read Michael Losier's Law of Attraction to explore this phenomenon. By creating your list and sharing it, you send out a 'vibration.' That makes it possible for others to assist you in achieving your dreams. If you are very specific about what you want and communicate that to others, things fall into place over time. Of course this requires a positive attitude and some discipline on your part. Remember that when you construct your list.
15. Add to or build your legacy. How would you like to be remembered? Years from now, when stories are being told by your descendants at family gatherings, what distinction(s) would you like to hold? Consider the example you will set for future generations. What an awesome privilege and responsibility it is to share your knowledge, wisdom, and experience! And you had fun doing it, too! By the way, 100 is just a suggestion. You are only limited by your imagination and creativity. Encourage your spouse and friends to participate, and then compare your lists. You may discover something else you want to add to yours.
16. It can be useful to have defined goals, of course, but the lists seem to encourage a strange blend of highly individualised behaviour and conformity, a situation in which everyone is hurtling, alone, towards similar goals.
17. There's a consumerist, acquisitive vibe to many of the lists, with the experience they replicate being the writing of a shopping list.
18. There's also an innate air of competition to bucket lists, of striving to best yourself – but also others.
19. It's a way of denying the idea of death, not coping with it at all ... People usually do this to ensure that there are things to look forward to, which means there are things that are still going to happen, My experience warns me that it's probably done in order to prevent thinking about death.
20. I think, for me, what's wrong with the bucket list is that it's individualistic – the idea of the isolated self goes very deep in Western society – and I think it's a red herring ... It's a distraction from the business of being human. We don't all like swimming with dolphins but we are all made to connect to each other. That's the really fun thing to do before you die.
21. Sometimes we do not know what is worth doing until we actually do it and reflect upon it.

20 Photographs:

Photographs of the the top 20 things on 100 things to do before you die