Don't be afraid to try what you want

One rainy afternoon, a 15-year-old boy sat at the dinner table in his Los Angeles home and, with great ambition, wrote "My Life List" on top of a yellow note. Under this heading he wrote 127 goals for his life. And so began his legendary career as one of the greatest explorers and goal doers of all time. His name was John Goddard. So far, he has completed 110 of them. Let's take a look at the teenager's list of goals. These goals are not easy! They include climbing the world's major mountains, exploring the world's famous rivers, running a mile in under five minutes, reading the complete works of Shakespeare and Encyclopaedia Britannica.

If one wants to realize his dream, he must have perseverance, so that he can be invincible. Let's look at the American explorer John. Godard's perseverance. He set 127 goals in his life and achieved 106.

Forty-four years ago, John Goddard made a list of the great things he wanted to do with his life. He was just a kid in a suburb of Los Angeles. He nominated the list as his "lifelong ambition". The list reads: "Expeditions to the Nile, Amazon and Congo Rivers: Mount Everest, Kilimanjaro and Meterhorn; Read Shakespeare, Pelatus and Aristotle: compose a piece of music, write a book; Visit every country in the world; Having children in marriage: visiting the moon, etc." Each item is numbered, and there are 127 goals. He explained: 'I wrote this list because at the age of 15 it became clear to me that I lacked experience. At the time, my mind wasn't mature, but I had as much potential as anyone else and I really wanted to do a career. I'm interested in everything -- travel, medicine, music, literature... I want to do it. I want to encourage people. I had a big picture, a mark in mind, and I felt happy." I've been doing some referrals. I also know that the people around me tend to follow the rules. They never take risks or challenge themselves in any way. I am determined not to follow this old path."

Goddard had 18 close calls on his way to his goal. "These experiences taught me to appreciate life a hundred times more," he recalls. "I wanted to try anything I could. People often go through life without ever showing great courage, strength, or endurance, but I have found that when you think to yourself that you are going to die anyway, you suddenly develop amazing powers of strength and control, which you had never dreamed existed within you. When you do this

After a while, you will feel that your soul has ascended to the recommended state."

He has climbed twelve of the highest mountains in the world, crossed fifteen of the most dangerous rivers in the world, visited almost every country in the world, studied two hundred and sixty primitive tribes... He travelled more than a million miles in his life of adventure, the equivalent of 45 times around the world. Goddard completed most of his initial lists and hundreds more that were added later. He became the first person in history to explore the full length of the world's longest river, the Nile. It's 4,160 miles and nine months of kayaking. The Los Angeles Times called it "the most amazing adventure in a generation." He was also the first person to explore the full length of the Congo River; He also climbed the Matterhorn (a peak in the Alps on the Italian-Swiss border) during a fierce snowstorm, after several professional guides refused to proceed.

Goddard has been attacked by ferocious hippos and crocodiles, bitten by venomous snakes, and attacked by raging elephants and rhinos. Buried almost alive in a giant sandstorm, shot by a pirate in Egypt and stoned by a hostile crowd of locals. He survived desert temperatures of more than 140 degrees, weakened by malaria and dysentery, trapped in quicksand. He has also been in a plane crash, an earthquake and nearly drowned four times in riptides and deep sea diving.

Goddard has six children and 12 grandchildren. He died Friday, May 17, 2013, in Glendale, Canada, after a battle with a rare form of cancer known as Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.