True Grit Award – John Goddard is known for “Being The Worlds Greatest Goal Achiever”
John once said… “It’s ridiculous to tippy-toe through life.”
John Goddard (July 29, 1924 – May 17, 2013) was an American adventurer, explorer, author, and lecturer.
On his adventures he was attacked by vicious hippos and crocodiles, bitten by a poisonous snake, charged by a rampaging elephant and rhino, almost buried alive in a blinding sandstorm, shot at by Egyptian river pirates, stoned by a mob of hostile natives, survived desert temperatures of over 140 degrees, weakened by malaria and dysentery, and trapped in quicksand.
He survived a plane crash, was caught in earthquake and almost drowned four times while running rapids and deep sea diving.
His inspiration to live a life adventure started in 1940, when John was only fifteen years old, he wrote down a list of 127 goals he wanted to accomplish in his life.
He lived to check off 120 of his 127 goals!
Think about that… he only missed 7 of his goals. Wow, that’s incredible.
Image Courtesy John Goddard Offical Site
His Goals ranged from learning to type on a keyboard to climbing Mt. Everest. “When I was fifteen, he told LIFE Magazine, all the adults I knew seemed to complain, ‘Oh, if only I’d done this or that when I was younger.’
They had let life slip by them. I was sure that if I planned for it, I could have a life of excitement and fun and knowledge”.
After serving in World War II with the Army Air Forces, John spent the next few years traveling, and managed to join the Adventurers Club.
The Adventures Club is an elite group who explored developing regions, of which he was at the time the youngest member.
He began seriously pursuing the goals on his list 1950 and John spent much time in Uganda and surrounding areas in that year.
Image Courtesy John Goddard Offical Site
Image Courtesy John Goddard Offical Site
In 1951 he became the first man to navigate the entire length of the Nile River in a kayak.
He explored the Congo River in 1956 and was also the first person to conduct an exploration of the entire Congo River.
After, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1968 this accomplishment fueled a successful career on the lecture circuit.
“There’s something about the human spirit that when you accept challenge and work on it and have deadlines and capture your potential, it’s astounding what you can do,” Goddard said in a Dateline NBC interview during the 1990s.
Image Courtesy John Goddard Offical Site
Just take a moment and really think about how powerful having this list of goals was for John throughout his life and how it took his life to the next level.
I’m sure he would set there in his chair, looking at his list and day dream what it will be like when he accomplished his goals.
Think about how wonderful he must have felt when he checked off one of his goals. It became the blue print of his life; it fueled his motivation and drove him to succeed.
Here’s a short version of the incredible list, John made when he was only 15 years old and what he accomplished in his lifetime.
EXPLORE
- Nile River
- Amazon River
- Congo River
- Colorado River
- Rio Coco, Nicaragua
CLIMB
- Mt. Huascaran, Peru
- Mt. Kilimanjaro
- Mt. Ararat, Turkey
- Mt. Kenya
- Mt. Popocatepetl, Mexico
- The Matterhorn
- Mt. Rainier
- Mt. Fuji
- Mt. Vesuvius
- Mt. Bromo, Java
- Grand Tetons
- Mt. Baldy, California
ACCOMPLISH
- Become a member of the Explorer’s Club and the Adventure’s Club
- Study Navaho and Hopi Indians
- Learn to fly a plane
- Ride horse in Rose Parade
- Dive in a submarine
- Land on and take off from an aircraft carrier
- Fly in a blimp, balloon and glider
- Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco
- Make a parachute jump
- Learn water and snow skiing
- Follow the John Muir trail
- Study native medicines and bring back useful ones
- Bag camera trophies of elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, cape buffalo and whale
- Learn jujitsu
- Teach a college course
- Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali
John’s life is a great example of the power of having written goals.
If you’ve been the type of man that thinks having written goals is a waste of time, you may want to think again… you may have had the wrong idea about goals and goal setting.
Image Courtesy John Goddard Offical Site
The reason, most people haven’t taken the time to have written goals, is they don’t understand the importance of having them and most people set their goals incorrectly, which makes it hard for them to achieve them.
John Goddard was a Gritty Man and shows every man the power of having written goals.
If you’re ready to set some goals which will motivated you to take action and to stop Tippy Toeing through life…
Join the Gritty Man Success Club and start living the life of a man of action.
If you’re wondering what does “gritty mean,” take a look at John Goddard. The Gritty Man Club gives a shout out to a man that shows true grit, perseverance, lives a life of adventure and success… the “True Grit Award is in honor of men who have grit.
