Have you ever thought that was something missing in your life? Felt like you wanted more?
Many people go to college with the cliché of “finding yourself” or going on a journey asking questions of why. Or perhaps you made of list of things you wanted to do before you die.
Help deliver a baby. Attend a party at the Playboy Mansion. Start a dance in a public place. Send a message in a bottle. Take a kid on a toy shopping spree. Start a television show. Tell a joke on Late Night Television. Sing the National Anthem to a packed stadium.
Sound familiar?
Photo courtesy of Jamie Cary, MTV.
Four friends and average guys from Canada set out on an adventure that started four years ago as what they called an “organic process” when they sat down and just started talking. A list of 100 things to do before they die was created by Ben Nemtin, Dave Lingwood, Duncan Penn and Jonnie Penn. For everything they accomplish on their list, they help a stranger do something on theirs.
Part of the inspiration comes from a poem written by Matthew Arnold in 1852 called “The Buried Life”. Jonnie had to read it for one of his English classes and had brought it to the guys and they all felt that the message from the piece was exactly what they were feeling.
“It’s about how we live, our daily lives becomes buried. We have a desire to live a buried life,” said Ben. There was something missing in our lives. We wanted something more meaningful. And we just started filming it.”
One of their tasks to complete on the list was to be in a television show- little did they know it would be Music Television (MTV) crossing off number 53 on their list.
“MTV was going to give us the creative liberties we wanted,” said Ben. “Make it something that meant something to us. We wanted to speak to our friends and inspire people around us.”
They also had no idea that the show would become a huge success and have over three- hundred thousand fans and counting on the social network of Facebook.
“It’s overwhelming to the amount of support and the popularity of the show and of the project at this point. It’s cool to see onto what scale, we were just at a small microphone to a full loudspeaker for years and to be able to broadcast onto a national and international to be picked up at ten foreign countries at this point,” said Ben.
I had the opportunity to listen to an interview blog in which fans could call Duncan and Dave to ask questions and give them comments about the show.
“It was so cool to hear young people and older people calling in and they are both talking about what they want to and they’re taking the time,” said Dave. “Thinking about what they want to do and taking steps to achieve those goals. That is so awesome to see people going after what they really want to do.”
I mentioned to Dave, making him laugh, recalling the situation about the girl who cried during the interview that had told him that they made her day that much better just by watching the show. “It’s really flattering and really humbling to hear people call in like that.”
Photo courtesy of Jamie Cary, MTV.
Starting out as just a documentary, with a list of 50 things to do, a camera, and a loaner RV, they set out in the summer of 2006. In two weeks, they accomplished 26 items on the list and helped 24 strangers. Since then, their list became 100 things to do.
“We add to it all the time and take stuff off. We aren’t stuck at 100,” said Dave. “We add and take stuff off the time. We have grown up a lot in the past 4 years.”
Dave then gave me the example of para sailing with asking the guys after reviewing the list, “Do you really care if we go? So we took it off.”
An episode inspired by number 95: Play ball with Obama, was aired on MTV and I was in shock that they were so close and then got so called shot down .
“We watched Barack Obama get elected while we were working on the tour and wanted to show that if anything was possible then we should try to play basketball with the president. So it got thrown on the list,” said Dave. “The list is of what you want to do before you die not really if you get them accomplished. So it got thrown on the list.”
“We get e-mails everyday from people who are one, two, three degrees of separation from him offering to help,” said Ben. “We aren’t going give up til we get the game.”
You would think because they hide it so well on the show that they do not get discouraged when someone tells them no or they cannot do that. I could not have been more wrong.
“Getting people to know is one of the most motivating things,” said Dave. “If someone doesn’t think you can do it or doesn’t want you to do it to achieve of your goals you have to work that much harder to prove to them wrong. It’s just fuel to the fire for us.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of with failure. Some of our best things have come out of failure,” said Ben.
Even with admitting to failure- many people still look at the guys as role models. When I asked the about being role models they both laughed and said “Dangerous”.
“For us, we try not to think about stuff that too much,” said Ben. We are so focused on what we are doing and getting out the message that we are trying to get out the right way and if people look up to the project in that way then that’s fantastic.
Our goal is to ask as many people as possible you know what do you want to do before you die?”
They think of themselves as average guys looking to make a difference.
You have to start with the small group or a small community before you can change the world and I think that’s what we try to focus on is the individual and if we can influence individuals then we’re really excited and happy to do so,” said Dave. “But at the end of the day we are still just kind of average guys. So the role model thing can get a bit scary because by no means are any of us perfect.”
Number 11: Get a College Degree.
Even with a show, the guys still manage to go to school for higher education as Duncan just graduated.
“We are taking time off for the project; that’s added so much of our time, but it will be done. We are still moving towards getting a college degree. It will be done,” said Ben.
“We aren’t advocating at all the idea that you drop everything and go on a road trip. That’s not what the buried life is. We’ve done this for three years in the summer, in between school; picking up extra jobs to pay for the time off so that we could do this. We’re not preaching that people should just drop what you’re doing and run after their dreams or failures. This more is more of to get a bigger picture of us. What are you looking forward to? What are things that you are passionate about? Or maybe it sounds so far off to go for them?”
Photo courtesy of Jamie Cary, MTV.
So what happens after all of this?
“The list will continue to go for a long time. We did this for years before television and we will continue to do it afterwards because it’s the community; that what’s important,” exclaimed Ben.
“People on-line are posting ways of getting involved and just doing stuff. We speak with students. We speak in schools. Big part of what we do. And internationally it just keeps going. By no means is the television series the end of be all and end all buried life. It’s just one item on the list.”
The guys then told me that they have plans to do a college speaking tour and visiting all of the universities and colleges.
I sort caught them off guard with the question of coming back for another season as they were just discussing that before my interview with them.
“We are always planning for the future. We have some big list items for the summer coming up so you just have to wait for it,” said Dave.
The season finale is to air tonight, Monday, March 8 at 10 p.m. on MTV with number 85 on their list: Throw the most badass party ever.
“You thought the end of ‘Slumdog Miilionaire’ was awesome!? We wanna be better,” said Dave.
With that, I ask you the famous question: What Do You Want to do Before You Die?
Sources:
Interview with Ben Nemtin and Dave Lingwood
www.theburiedlife.com
http://www.facebook.com/buriedlife
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/arnold/writings/buriedlife.html
Photo Credits:
Jamie Cary
MTV