10 Things To Do Before You Die: Plant a Tree, Write a Book, have a Son...

When Jos Mart, the hero of Cuban independence, named the things that every man ought to do before he dies, he reportedly said: "Plant a tree, write a book, have a son."

Motivated by those three, a few years ago Forbes came up with a somewhat off-beat list of 10 Things To Do Before You Die and here is the excerpted list:

Make a pilgrimage. The destination might be a traditional one such as Jerusalem or Rome or Mecca. It might be a site of prehistoric rituals, like Stonehenge or Machu Picchu...The reward is a moment, whether it's hearing the "Gloria" at St. Peter's or watching a gazelle take its first step, that you won't need a video camera to capture.

Eat a meal good enough to be your last. When the end comes for you, there is a distinct possibility that you will be in no position to enjoy white truffles...Think of it as death insurance and pay no attention to those numbers on the right side of the menu.

Climb your own Mount Ventoux. It has been said that the Renaissance began with Petrarch's ascent of this peak in Provence in the 1330s...The point is to climb something you were afraid to climb and see something new.

Memorize a poem and pass it on. ...it can be for anyone at anytime...You can do more for an ailing friend with Keats than with a Hallmark card.

Make an enemy for life. A gentleman has been defined as someone who never gives pain to anyone unintentionally. ...Stand up to a bully; speak out against a fraud; fight off a rival for a prize. Care enough about something to make someone mad.

Forgive someone.

See for yourself that the earth is round. The surest way is to set sail in one direction and not stop until you're home again. For a cheaper, although not quite as direct, method, journey north of the Arctic Circle around the summer solstice and spend a night (ideally in a hot tub) watching the sun circle above the horizon.

Take someone you love to the Camera degli Sposi. There may be more important works of art, like the David or the Last Supper or the Sistine Chapel, but for sheer charm there's nothing like these 15th-century frescoes by Mantegna.

Defy gravity. Yes, it's the most drearily immutable law on the planet, but on your deathbed it would be good to recall a momentary rebellion--one sky dive out of a plane, one plunge on a bungee cord, one ride on a parasail.

Let someone else have the chance you missed. ...with age also come wisdom and money. When it's too late for you, give someone younger what you always wanted.

What's on your list? You don't have a list? You should. How else are you going to make sure that you do all of the things that you want to?

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