75 Skills To Master

I have arrived at a point in my life where I spend more time thinking about things I have not done rather then what I have accomplished. 

So the timing is right to look back on a list of the 75 skills every man should master.  Here it is in rapid-fire fashion:

Give advice that matters in one sentence.  Tell if someone is lying.  Take a photo.  Score a baseball game.  Name a book that matters.  Know at least one musical group as well as possible.  Cook meat somewhere other than the grill.  Not monopolize the conversation.   Write a letter.  Buy a suit.  Swim three different strokes.  Show respect without being a suck-up.  Throw a punch.  Chop down a tree.  Calculate square footage.  Tie a bow tie.  Make one drink in large batches, very well.  Speak a foreign language.  Approach a woman out of your league.  Sew a button.  Argue with a European without insulting soccer.  Be loyal.  Drive an eight-penny nail into a treated 2-by-4 without thinking about it.  Cast a fishing rod without shrieking or sighing or otherwise admitting defeat.  Play gin with an old guy.  Play go fish with a kid.  Understand quantum physics well enough that you can accept that a quarter might, at some point, pass straight through the table when dropped.  Feign interest.  Make a bed.  Describe a glass of wine in one sentence without using “nutty”, “fruity”, “oaky”, “finish” or “kick.”  Hit a jump shot in pool.  Dress a wound.  Jump-start a car, change a flat tire and change the oil.  Make three different bets at a craps table.  Shuffle a deck of cards.  Tell a joke.  Know when to split your cards in blackjack.  Speak to an 8-year old so he will hear.  Speak to a waiter so he will hear.  Talk to a dog so it will hear.  Install a lighting fixture without asking for help.  Ask for help.  Break another man’s grip on his wrist.  Tell a woman’s dress size.  Recite one poem from memory.  Remove a stain.  Say no.  Fry an egg sunny-side up.  Build a campfire.  Step into a job no one wants to do.  Sometimes kick some butt.  Break up a fight.  Point to the north at any time.

Create a playlist in which ten seemingly random songs provide a secret message to one person.  Explain what a light-year is.  Avoid boredom.  Write a thank you note.  Be brand-loyal to at least one product.  Cook bacon.  Know that Christopher Columbus was an SOB.  Throw a baseball overhand with some snap, throw a football with a tight spiral and shoot a 12-foot jump shot with confidence.  Find your way out of the woods if lost.  Tie a knot.  Hold a baby.  Shake hands.  Iron a shirt.  Stock an emergency bag for the car.  Caress a woman’s neck.  Know some birds.  Negotiate a better price.  Deliver a eulogy.

I better stay around for a while because I have some catching up to do.