Some of you might have read in some of my earlier posts that I was interviewed by CNN! It’s finally up! :D The article is on the topic of bucket lists and what it means to different people. I was interviewed to share my take on bucket lists, what it means to me and how it relates to living in excellence.
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Here’s the section I was quoted:
Celestine Chua, who has never seen the TV series, came across the bucket list concept while surfing the Internet in 2009.
The 25-year-old from Singapore eventually decided to write her own bucket list, which she shares with the public on her Web site as a reminder to “live every moment to the fullest when you’re in good health.”
Despite already opening her own school for personal development in Singapore and starting an online talk show, Chua said she thinks No. 14, “experience true love,” will be the most challenging goal to accomplish.
“You might think [a bucket list is] just a list of goals, but if you’re really thinking about things you want to see, experience and feel before you die, then the whole concept of setting goals is totally different,” Chua said. “When we start thinking about what we want to do before we die, our goals become totally different. Fall in love, see the Empire State building. That’s the magic of the bucket list — it removes limits.”
They linked to my bucket list in the article, so we are getting a whole stream of visitors from CNN.com now. As I’m writing now, my web server is starting to jam up from the huge influx of traffic.
I know, I mentioned experiencing true love will be the most challenging goal to accomplish. I’m sure many people out there feel the same way too. But hey, I believe as long as we persist in this journey, we will get there :)
There were other interesting things I discussed with Stephanie (the journalist) during the interview but didn’t make it in the story. For example:
- Everyone’s bucket list will be different, because our bucket list is supposed to reflect the things that mean most to us in living our best life. For example, my list has quirky stuff like riding a camel, dressing up in a costume party (I love masquerading!), swimming with dolphines etc due to the spontaneous, fun-loving side of me, and then there’s the items that reflect the romantic idealist in me such as flying in a hot air balloon, stargazing, and experiencing true love. Thus, the goal isn’t to get a bucket list that’s the same as mine or his or hers, but to create a bucket list that’s true for you yourself.
- Bucket lists act as a medium to help us live our best life. Hence, it’s important that we don’t get hung up over trying to accomplish our bucket list items that we miss living itself. It’s about the journey of living life to the fullest, every second, every moment.
- Your bucket list is never ending. Just as you finish the items, you’ll add new ones as they come along. There is absolutely no reason why our bucket list should ever be empty. There is such an incredible wealth of things, events, activities, experiences to witness/go through in life that it’s impossible that we will ever be done with living. This is why my bucket list is never going to be empty. I’m continuously completing and adding on new items that will help me live my life to the fullest.
By the way , #46 of my list is to be featured in international media, which will include CNN. So this interview helped me achieve one of my list items. :D I feel very blessed. Thanks so much guys for all your ongoing support :D
Be sure to check out:
- Bucket List: 101 Things To Do Before You Die (a comprehensive article I wrote on bucket lists)
- Living as if they had only one day left (CNN Story)
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you!
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Congratulations Celestine! That’s so awesome, and I love the concept of Bucket Lists too. :)
Congratulations, Celestine — that is very exciting! I’m still new to your blog, but I can only imagine how thrilled you must be. Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot Laura! :D And welcome to PE! I look forward to seeing you around here :)
Congratulations! CNN? Really impressed… The bucket list is a really insightful tool in seeing what really counts in life : it really helped me and I hope that it will help many others.
PS: I was wandering if one day I could translate your article “Sleepwalking” in french then post it in the comments section, all the good stuff is written in English these days ;)
Thanks so much for your offer Alexis! :D That’s really generous of you! I think it’s a great idea – Having the blog in multiple languages will really help us reach out to more people. I’ve a few other readers from Portugal, Thailand, HK/CN who suggested to do as well for their local languages. It’s not in the plans at the moment, but definitely in the future. I’ll let you know when that happens :D
Great news Celes =) Congrats!
Congrats Celes! You are wise beyond your years!
Congrats, Celes!
one more great achievement that you’ve accomplished.
And I’ll never get tired by saying this: You deserve it! :)
Keep creating & spreading the positive energy & love to the world!
congrats.
“see fireflies” and “fly a kite” are pretty easy to accomplish in Singapore itself.
Hey bliz, where can we see fireflies in Singapore? I just read on a website yesterday that they are “extinct” in Singapore; but they may be found in Malaysia.
Hmm looks like you’re right coz I saw it at………………………………………….. Tekong. Just ran a search and turns out that they’re probably extinct in Singapore except for those rural areas (usually restricted area).
Looks like a safer bet is to go across the causeway for a fireflies tour:
http://www.etour-singapore.com/kota-tinggi-fireflies.html
http://www.travelpear.com.sg/singapore/package/1229.html
http://www.celestiallinkholidays.com/Malaysia.html
WOW! Celestina thats wonderful, i’m happy for you.
Thanks a lot guys for your well wishes! I truly appreciate it :D. If you don’t have your own bucket list (yet), I really recommend you check out the bucket list article and create yours. Creating mine helped me to become even more focused.
What I like, most of all, is that you frame the bucket list in a way that is fun, romantic, idealistic, so that grinding out goal after goal does not become a chore to cross off a list. You are very inspiring, Celes! Thanks for sharing your inspiration and motivation and passion with us all! :)
so CNN is not “mainstream TV”?
#31 “I’ve not been watching TV for pretty much 4 years and it’s been a very liberating experience”
Hi papaman, the feature here is on CNN website and not TV, though I’m understanding your real concern here is really not that but how I allow myself to be associated with mass media even though I don’t engage them in my daily life. (Let me know if your concern is something else!)
With mass media, there is the medium/channel (TV, newspapers, radio), and then there is the message (information that is communicated through the medium). Like a pipe (medium) that delivers water (message) I don’t engage in mass media regularly is because majority of their messages is consciousness lowering. It’s not about the overall medium of mass media as these are just the tools to deliver a message. There are good programs/information shared on the media here and there, but overall it resonates more with the level of fear/desire/pride.
The key is then to be selective/conscious of what we expose ourselves to, whether it’s on a medium basis or within the medium (the shows you watch, etc)
For me, I don’t watch TV for 2 reasons (1) overall material is generally consciousness lowering (2) on a time basis, it’s not effective due to the ads. If there’s news/shows I want to get updated on, usually I get it from other sources (online/dvd/etc) and watch them on an on demand basis. There have been quite a few readers who have asked about my habits surrounding TV/mass media, so I’m intending to write a post on that in the future :D
Many Congratulations to you.
Just got to know you through ProBlogger.
It is my first visit on your blog. But a very big CONGRATULATIONS to you!!! Much more sucess your way in abundance!!!
I started my bucket list a little over a year ago. (I’m shooting for 99 things, but only have 83 on the list thus far.) Number #1 was to skydive. In August of last year, I did my first tandem skydive and loved it so much I’m training for my skydiving license. A post on the Skydive Chicago website led me to the CNN article, which led me to your site.
Congratulations on the CNN interview and I look forward to reading what at first glance appear to be many well-written and informative articles on your site.
There are definitely a big difference between standard goals and a bucket list. A bucket list tends to have much more meaningful goals. Well done for getting on CNN!
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