The story of John Goddard as one of humanity’s greatest goal-achievers is unique.
On a rainy afternoon in San Diego, California, a 15-year-old Caucasian boy, a quintessential American, sat down with a yellow legal pad and wrote 127 goals.
From early childhood I had always dreamed of becoming an explorer. Somehow I had acquired the impression that an explorer was someone who lived in the jungle with natives and lots of wild animals, and I couldn’t imagine anything better than that! Unlike other little boys, most of whom changed their minds about what they want to be several times as they grew older, I never wavered from this ambition.
John Goddard
The author of that statement is most known for his amazing “life list” of accomplishments.
He wanted to climb the world’s most perilous peaks, navigate its major rivers and explore its most remote regions, among many other ambitions. Goddard, an adventurer, explorer and lecturer died Friday at a Glendale hospital of complications from cancer, said his son Jeffery. He was 88.
Here’s his list of 127 goals as a young man, later updated with over 600 goals.
Explore:
- Nile River
- Amazon River
- Congo River
- Colorado
- Yangtze River, China
- Niger River
- Orinoco River, Venezuela
- Rio Coco, Nicaragua
- The Congo
- New Guinea
- Brazil
- Borneo
- The Sudan (Nearly buried alive in a sandstorm)
Study Tribal Cultures in:
- Australia
- Kenya
- The Philippines
- Tanganyika (Now Tanzania)
- Ethiopia
- Nigeria
- Alaska
Climb:
- Mount Everest
- Mount Aroncagua, Argentina
- Mount McKinley
- Mount Huascaran, Peru
- Mount Kilimanjaro
- Mount Aratat, Turkey
- Mount Kenya
- Mount Cook, New Zealand
- Mount Popocatepetl, Mexico
- The Matterhorn
- Mount Rainier
- Mount Fuji
- Mount Vesuvius
- Mount Bromo, Java
- Grand Tetons
- Mount Baldy, California
- Carry out careers in medicine and exploration
- Visited every country in the world (visited 122 already).
- Study Navaho and Hopi cultures
- Learn to fly a plane
- Ride horse in Rose Parade
Photograph:
- Iguacu Falls, Brazil-Argentine border
- Victoria Falls
- Sutherland Falls, New Zealand
- Yosemite Falls
- Niagara Falls
- Retrace the travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great
Explore underwater:
- Coral reefs of Florida
- Great Barrier Reef, Australia
- Red Sea
- Figi Islands
- The Bahamas
- Explore Okefenokee Swamp and The Everglades
Visit:
- North and South Poles
- Great Wall of China
- Panama and Suez Canals
- Easter Island
- The Galapagos Islands
- V atican City (saw the Pope)
- The Taj Mahal
- The Eiffel Tower
- The Blue Grotto
- The Tower of London
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa
- The Sacred Well of Chichen-Itza, Mexico
- Climb Ayers Rock in Australia
- Follow River Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea
Swim in:
- Lake Victoria
- Lake Superior
- Lake Tanganyika
- Lake Titicaca
- Lake Nicaragua
Accomplish:
- Become an Eagle Scout
- Dive in a submarine
- Land and take off from an aircraft carrier
- Fly in a blimp, hot air balloon and glider
- Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco
- Skin dive to 40 feet and hold breath two and a half minutes underwater
- Catch a ten pound lobster and a ten inch abalone
- Play flute and violin
- Type 50 words a minute
- Make a parachute jump
- Learn water and snow skiing
- Go on a church mission
- 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 to fence
- Learn jujitsu
- Teach a college course
- Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali
- Explore depths of the sea
- Appear in a Tarzan movie
- Own a horse, chimpanzee, cheetah, ocelot and coyote
- Become a ham radio operator
- Build own telescope
- Write a book on the Nile expedition
- Publish and article in National Geographic magazine
- High jump five feet
- Broad jump fifteen feet
- Run a mile in five minutes
- Weigh 175 pounds stripped (still does)
- Perform 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups
- Learn French, Spanish and Arabic
- Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island
- Visit birthplace of Grandfather Sorenson in Denmark
- Visit birthplace of Grandfather Goddard in England
- Ship aboard a freighter as a seaman
- Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (Has read extensive parts in each of the 24 volumes)
- Read the Bible from cover to cover
- Read the works of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Poe, Rousseau, Bacon, Hemmingway, Twain, Burroughs, Conrad, Talmage, Tolstoy, Longfellow, Keats, Whittier and Emerson (not every work of each)
- Become familiar with the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Ibert, Mendelssohn, Lalo, Rimsky-Korsakov, Respighi, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Toch, Tchaikovsky, Verdi
- Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol, canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang
- Compose music
- Play Clair de Lune on the piano
- Watch fire-walking ceremony (in Bali and Surinam)
- Milk a poisonous snake
- Light a match with a .22 rifle
- Visit a movie studio
- Climb Great Pyramid of Cheops (Egypt)
- Become a member of the Explorers’ Club and the Adventures’ Club
- Learn to play polo
- Travel through the Grand Canyon on foot and by boat
- Circumnavigate the globe (four times)
- Visit the moon
- Marry and have children (2 sons, 4 daughters)*
- Live to see the 21st century
“I think the problem is that most people don’t set their goals high enough.”
John Goddard
“It’s ridiculous to tippy-toe through life.”
John Melvin Goddard
Conclusion
John Melvin Goddard was born July 29, 1924, in Salt Lake City and moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child. Goddard studied anthropology and psychology at USC before embarking on his adventures.
A popular speaker for many years at schools, colleges and motivational events throughout Southern California, Goddard supported himself and his travels through his lectures. He was a member of the Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles and several similar organizations.
His survivors include his wife of 33 years, Carol; six children; and 12 grandchildren.