How Seb Terry’s “100 Things” List Changed Lives: Goal Setting, Kindness, and the Science of Happiness

In this episode of the MGMA Podcast, Seb Terry discusses how he turned a personal list of 100 life goals into a global movement. He explains the science of goal setting, the importance of kindness in achieving results, and practical strategies busy professionals can use to find purpose and satisfaction in both work and life. Hosted by Daniel Williams. 

Key Timestamped Moments:

• 04:38 – Seb’s turning point: From drifting to defining a life of purpose
• 06:38 – The science of goal setting and why most people fail (and how to succeed)
• 13:00 – The most meaningful item Seb ever checked off his list
• 15:01 – How “100 Things” became a global movement and inspired others
• 17:01 – Advice for overwhelmed professionals: Micro-steps and self-kindness
• 19:17 – How kindness and connection drive real achievement

Resources & Links:

• Seb Terry’s 100 Things Movement: https://100things.com/
• MGMA Leaders Conference: https://mgma.com/leaders
• “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware: https://bronnieware.com/regrets-of-the-dying/
• Seb Terry’s Book “100 Things: What’s on Your List?”: https://www.amazon.com/100-Things-Whats-Your-List/dp/0733626823
• Seb Terry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebterry/
• Seb Terry’s Keynote Speaking: https://sebterry.com/
• The Castle (Australian film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118826/
• Chopper (Australian film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221073/
• MGMA Podcast: https://www.mgma.com/podcasts

Email us at [e-mail] if you would like to appear on an episode. If you have a question about your practice that you would like us to answer, send an email to [e-mail]. Don't forget to subscribe to our network wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode Transcript

Daniel Williams (00:04):
Well, hi, everyone, and welcome to the
MGMA podcast. I'm DanielWilliams, senior editor at MGMA.
And I am thrilled, today that wehave a guest who is one of our
keynote speakers, Seb Terry andhe is going to be speaking at
our MGMA Leaders Conferencewhich is going to be in Orlando.

(00:27):
The dates of those are everybodyat September 28 through October
1. And Seb is our closingkeynote speaker and we're super
excited to have him there.
And I'll just give you a littlebit of background then we're
gonna take a deeper dive intowhat Seb is all about. He is the
founder of one hundred Things.It's a movement born from his
own journey of writing down 100life goals and setting out to

(00:52):
achieve them. I'm glad he's ourguest because I need to write
down some goals. I'm so excitedabout that.
So, Seb, welcome to the show.

Seb Terry (01:01):
Hi. Thanks for having me, Daniel.

Daniel Williams (01:03):
I often get asked about my accent. I'm from
the South here in America. Wherewhere are you from originally,
or where does your accent comefrom?

Seb Terry (01:13):
I I'm Australian. So I I I'm from Sydney. Although
I've been living, of course, inin The US for about nine years
now. So I I think it's I thinkmy accent's neutral, I would
say, but I'm I'm not sure. Iactually got, I went back to for
a talk recently, I got into ataxi, and the cab driver asked
where in America I was from.
So I don't know.

Daniel Williams (01:35):
Well, this is so interesting now. Something
that I've noticed because I lovefilm. I love movies, and Eric
Bana is one of your exports toAmerica. I'd seen him in
American movies for twenty plusyears, and then I saw an
Australian movie, The Dry, andhe used he's spoken his natural

(01:59):
accent. It's the first time I'dever heard him speak in an
Australian accent, and it was so

Seb Terry (02:04):
I tell you what. Actually, if if you and for
anyone listening likes EricBanner or Australian movies,
he's in two that I would highly,highly recommend. One is called
The Castle, which is anAustralian comedy. It it it's
probably 20 old. And for anyonewho just who likes Australian
culture, it's brilliant.
It's one of his first I think itwas his first movie. It's a
comedy. And then there's anotherone called Chopper, which is

(02:26):
based on a do you know Chopper?Bay based

Daniel Williams (02:28):
familiar with the film. I've unfortunately
never seen it, though.

Seb Terry (02:31):
Oh, well, he's it's a it's funny in Australia because
we love the underdogs. Mhmm. AndChopper is a a a a criminal.
He's, you know, serial killer,but he celebrate he celebrated,
for some reason, in Australia.Not for the heinous crimes, but,
like, his attitude.
He he he he's very anyway, EricBana portrays Chopper in this
movie, and it's brilliant.

Daniel Williams (02:53):
Yeah. Those are two great movie choices,
everyone. So if you're an EricBana fan, you will have to go
out and see those. So thank youso much for clarifying that. So,
Seb, take us back to thebeginning.
As I let off, you have developedthis program, 100 Things. Where
did this come from? What's theorigin of it?

Seb Terry (03:12):
Well, I mean, I I think, like many people, I was
kind of just sort of living theblueprints that were set out for
me, and I it didn't feel quiteright. And then I just sort of
had a few things happen in mylife that made me take stock
properly of the direction I wasgoing in. And so I think one of
them was getting I got a degree,which didn't really mean too
much to me. I started a businessthat didn't really mean too much

(03:32):
to me. And then I I lost afriend.
And the combination of all threeof those things sort of just
weighed in in one moment where Isort of broke down, really, and
I just questioned everything.And I realized I was very
unhappy and I was disconnectedto any sense of purpose or
people, certainly impact. I wasjust drifting. I didn't know who
I was, very unhappy. And I justdecided to grab a piece of paper

(03:56):
and pen and write down a list ofthings that I thought might make
me smile more often.
And then I thought, well, whatcould be more important than
that? So I I essentially droppedeverything in my life to to
achieve this this list. And it'sbeen going for about sixteen
years now. And I I've, ofcourse, done many things from
this list, which are bizarre andweird and quirky and all of that

(04:18):
stuff. But the most beautifulthing is that it's created this
ripple effect that's gone on totouch many, many lives.
And I've been fortunate enoughto not only achieve many of my
goals, but support others withtheirs as well. And that's I'm
sort of I'm answering probablyevery question you're gonna ask,
but I you know, that's developedinto, a book and a show and and
obviously speaking. And, I feelvery, very grateful for for it

(04:40):
all. And I yeah. I certainlyfeel different to when I
started.

Daniel Williams (04:43):
What is the secret then of putting down a
goal and then achieving it?Because a lot of people here, we
will, you know, when the newyear hits, we'll, put it put out
put down those goals for theyear. Like, I'm gonna go to the
gym. I'm gonna lose weight. I'mgonna do this.
I'm gonna do that. And then itgets to about mid January and,

(05:06):
you know, you've already quitdoing those things. So what is
different here? How are youputting these goals down and
then sticking to them?

Seb Terry (05:13):
Well, I mean, there's so many different ways to to
think about it. I mean, onething over time that I've
realized is the the the verysame things that stop us from
taking action towards a goal endup being the very same things
that people on their deathbedregret. And, you know,
ultimately there's a bookactually called Regrets of the
Dying by Bronnie Ware. She liststhe five most common regrets of

(05:36):
the people she looked afterbefore they passed. She was a
palliative care nurse.
And the first thing is I wish Ihadn't lived a life expected of
me. I wish I'd lived a life trueto myself. The second was I wish
I had let myself be happier. Iwish I had worked less, not
meaning to work less, butprioritize other things as much

(05:56):
as we tend to with work. I wishI had expressed myself more, my
feelings, my emotions.
And finally, I wish I'd stayedin touch with with people. And I
think all of those things speakto what's interesting that
they're all choices. We can wecan address them immediately,
all of us. But linking them tothe things that stop us from
actually achieving goals now inthe present, I think one thing

(06:17):
that we don't do is we're notcrystal clear on goals. We goals
are sort of quite vague for manyof us.
And the more vague they are, theless likelihood there is of them
coming true. So I think thefirst thing is we have to be
crystal clear on goals. Andthere's a whole science and
psychology to actually coming upwith the goal in the first

(06:38):
place. I'll be talking aboutthat on stage, of course. But we
have to crystal clear with goalsthat are meaningful to us.
The second is usingaccountability, surrounding
ourselves with people whosupport, inspire, encourage us.
We can share with, they canshare with us, etcetera. So we
need to create accountabilityand that can be as simple as
simply just telling someone whatyour goal is. And then thirdly,

(06:58):
we, the thing that holds many ofus back is just actually finally
taking that first bold step. So,I mean, look, I think New Year's
resolutions and I want to loseweight and all that sort of
stuff, I think they're fine.
But I think what they aremissing is true thought and
consideration and then an actionplan and an accountability
group. I mean, in addition tothat, you know, from a

(07:19):
psychological point of view, we,of course, fear of failure, fear
of judgment, fear of change, youknow, those things hold us back
as well. And again, in talk,I'll be addressing some of that
too.

Daniel Williams (07:30):
Sure. One thing that interests me is we keep
using the term goals, but youcall it 100 things. Was 100
goals taken or did you? Yeah.Does things fit better what you
actually are achieving here?

Seb Terry (07:45):
No. I wouldn't look into that too much, be honest,
Daniel. I it was just a name. II just you know, I just have a
100 things that I'm trying todo.

Daniel Williams (07:51):
Okay.

Seb Terry (07:51):
It's very casual, I suppose. But, yeah, whether it's
a goal, a dream, an ambition,you know, a milestone, it's, you
know, it's it's something thatwe're we're planting a a a flag
in the ground and saying, that'swhat I want to do. So, you know,
I think we we in the workplace,you know, of course, we we have
people to tell us usually. Ifwe're not a leader themselves,

(08:12):
we we we have milestones, wehave targets, we have action
plans, we have accountabilitythrough our teams, but I think
on a personal level, we tend notto do it that way and we let it
slip. That's why work goals getdone far more frequently than
personal goals because we don'thave that accountability or
sense of framework around ourpersonal goals.

(08:33):
I mean, yeah, look, they'redreams, they're goals, they're
all of the above. The onlyimportant thing is not what you
call them, but just that youknow what they are, you know?

Daniel Williams (08:42):
When you developed this program, did you
have one at the top of the listthat you said, I'm doing this
one first? Or how did thatprocess go about? Because the
reason I'm asking that is youcould put down a 100 things and
then just look at the list andbe totally overwhelmed by it
because the sheer volume ofthings. How are you kind of

(09:02):
taking a bite out of each one ofthese?

Seb Terry (09:04):
Well, firstly, it doesn't have to be a 100 things.
Mean, truly, you only need one,right, to to feel that sense of
purpose. In fact, by simplywriting down a goal, not even a
genie from writing it down,serotonin and dopamine are
released into into the body. AndI think now it's sort of
everyone knows this stuff. Butas a reminder, you know,
serotonin makes us feel good.

(09:25):
It gives us confidence. It makesus feel happy. You know,
dopamine, same sort of stuff.It's addictive. It reduces it
has the potential to reducedepression, regulate anxiety.
Like, essentially, it allow usto feel a lot more positive in
in many different ways. Andthose again, those chemicals are
released into the body not whenwe achieve a goal, but from the
moment we identify the goal. Soone goal is enough for us to

(09:47):
start turning things around. So,yeah, that's it. So no one needs
to be listening to this.
I'm not coming on the stagesaying, everyone needs to create
a 100 goals. I will say thebenefit of a though is that some
goals we can't just finishstraight away and it takes time
and we have to wait for eventsand external forces to be ready
or right, timings of whatever.So the benefit of a list is you

(10:09):
can sort of chop and changebetween those things. You can
push one boat out as far as youcan, and then you can pivot to
the next one and push that out.It's sort of almost spinning
plates in a way.
And again, if you think of allthe aspects of our lives, I
think a bucket list is like Ithink it could stand to be
rebranded. I think typically wethink it's adrenaline seeking,
jumping out of planes naked,etcetera, which it can be, but

(10:31):
that only represents one thing.You know, a bucket list might
benefit from kind of reallyenforcing and that it's actually
just a list of things thatrepresent every aspect of our
lives from, you know, sure,travel and adventure and
creativity, but to romanticlove, key relationships, giving
back in the world, professionaldevelopment, personal

(10:52):
development. So we find thatwhen we have a list, you know,
there might be something as, youknow, weekly date nights with my
spouse might sit next tocompleting a marathon, which
might sit next to meditate moreand be kinder to myself. So, you
know, yeah, one one goal isenough, but I I I do think a
list is is is preferential.

Daniel Williams (11:12):
Okay. I have one more question about your
list, then I want to expand itbecause your 100 things has
expanded worldwide. Of thethings on your list that perhaps
you've accomplished or developedas a habit, what's one you
really take a lot of pride in orreally feel like that was a
great accomplishment for you tocheck off the list or include on

(11:33):
your list?

Seb Terry (11:35):
Well, to be honest, the one that meant the most to
me was helping somebody. Mhmm. II helped a gentleman. I won't
give too much away now.

Daniel Williams (11:43):
But Sure.

Seb Terry (11:44):
I I helped a gentleman, achieve a really
important goal of of his, andand he was a quadriplegic. And I
I was fortunate enough to, youknow, be able to work with him
on something quite special. I'llshare that from stage. But, I
mean, outside of that, I I Ifind them I'm really proud of
all the things I've done. Andit's not to say that I think
they're the best things in theworld and everyone

Daniel Williams (12:05):
should be doing

Seb Terry (12:05):
it because I think Liz is a relative, you know, to
to individuality. But I Irepresented Mauritius, an island
nation just off the SoutheastCoast Of Africa at rugby. And it
was we get I was just reallyhappy with that. My mom's in
Mauritius, and I always wantedto sing the national anthem as
part of a sporting team. I Andwas just never quite good enough
to do it in Australia.
So I I found that I I I foundout that I could get a passport

(12:29):
to Mauritius. I flew there,tried out every sport that they
had, and I got accepted for therugby team. And then we got
flown to Botswana, and we playedin the national African
championship and we won. And andI had to learn the national
anthem on the way out there.That that's always something
that I quite like because it wasreally sort of unlikely.
And I real I really had to putin the effort, and I, you know,
I wasn't guaranteed to make theteam, and I'm stoked that I did.

Daniel Williams (12:52):
That is remote. What a great story. I love that.
I wanted to ask you about nowhow this has grown. Talk about
that, what your reaction to thisis.
I mean, when you began makingthis list, did you imagine that
it would become this worldwidething and you'd be touching the
lives of everyone? Was that evenone of your dreams that perhaps

(13:13):
it could go What's that going

Seb Terry (13:14):
No, had no zero idea. I mean, I I hadn't published a
book on there Okay. Which Ithought might be interesting,
but I actually had a kid's bookin mind, and at which I actually
had I'd written about six books,drafted six books Mhmm. About
the boats on Sydney Harbour andhow they all had personalities
and like and I still would loveto do it. I think it's a great

(13:36):
idea.
Yeah. But, no, it kind of justall happened. I I what I
realized immediately is that itresonated with people. I would
just tell someone without reallydoing anything. Oh, this is what
I'm gonna do.
I have a list of a 100 things,and I'm just trying to be happy.
And people would see themselvesin me because I'm not the only
person who felt at one pointvery, you know, disconnected to

(13:59):
myself and the world around me.I think many of us do. And so
immediately, it started I sawthat there was something to it.
And then I was asked to speak onone occasion at a travel show in
England, and I did it, for free.
And then I got asked to speak ata school in Canada, and I did
that. And I was just I I lovedit. And I saw the reaction of
the the kids as well as theadults. So it was quite

(14:21):
profound. And everything sort ofjust developed accidentally.
But now I'm in this positionwhere I I really do see the the
impact it has, and, you know,you couldn't stop me from doing
doing what I I I literally getemails from people who are, you
know, in a very, very, you know,dark place contemplating self
harm and all that sort of Andbecause they hear of this story,

(14:44):
they decide to make a positivechoice in their life. So I I
can't stop this because it, youknow, it really does make a
difference. I'm really proud ofthat too.

Daniel Williams (14:53):
Yeah, that's wonderful. We have time for a
couple more questions. So, Iwant to let you know a little
bit more about the MGMAaudience. These are medical
practice administrators, someare doctors, some are nurses,
but in this healthcare world,people are, many of them, many,
many of them are overwhelmed.They're overburdened by
administrative tasks, byunderstaffing, by all the other

(15:16):
things.
So you've probably heardpreviously someone might come to
you and go, I want to have alist. I want to know things, but
I'm just too overwhelmed to evensit down and begin a list. So
when you hear people who arejust either stressed out or
short on time, what's youradvice to them so they can begin
to apply this to their ownlives?

Seb Terry (15:36):
Well, I would say that I completely get it. We do
live in a fast paced worlddepending on the industry and
what have you. But when you'rein the we really are on the
front line of helping people asthe audience will be, it's true.
There is a lot of stress. Thereisn't much time to ourselves.
But I would also say, althoughthat is true, it's equally

(15:57):
important to start consideringwhat's going to allow us to feel
good about ourselves so that wecan actually serve others you
know, in our family, ourfriends, or professionally, you
know, our patients, the peoplewe actually serve in a better,
more productive way. And I thinkthat does come from being able
to identify important,meaningful goals and taking

(16:17):
towards them. The truth is,sitting down and giving yourself
fifteen minutes just to considerone thing is beneficial for our
mental health in a world whereburnout and disengagement and
disconnection is so common. Yetwe do have to go internal We
don't find the answer to thatstuff externally. And the goals
don't also have to be worldchanging.
It's not necessarily that youhave to, you know, move to Tibet

(16:38):
for six months, become a monk,and, you know, climb a mountain.
Although, by the way, that doessound fun. I I I feel like you
can just be kinder to yourself.You could actually just, you
know, carve out thirty minutesto, or ten minutes to meditate,
or, you know, you could finallywatch that movie you've always
wanted to. And I go through thisall the time, by the way, that
I, you know, there are projectsand things that I've put to one

(16:59):
side for a long time and I don'tfeel good about that.
And I convince myself I have notime to do that. I'm on the road
or I'm, you know, whatever is myversion of busy. And then
finally I get around to doingthat one thing, sitting down,
finally addressing a project orwriting something down and
instantly I feel better and Ifeel like, why didn't I do that
earlier? And everyone knows thisto be true. So to those people

(17:21):
out there who are reallyburdened, would say, although it
feels counterintuitive, justtake a moment for yourself to
identify what's important toyourself, even just one thing,
and then just take a micro steptowards that and that'll help.

Daniel Williams (17:35):
Okay. Last question then. You've mentioned
kindness several times duringthis discussion and in
researching you, that's a corepart of your mission. So what
role has kindness played inshaping your journey? Tell us
about that.

Seb Terry (17:51):
If I look back at everything I've done, it's not
because I've been a, you know, abeacon of strength and, you
know, a a a maverick and somepioneer, and that's couldn't be
further from the truth.Everything I've managed to do in
my life has been because ofother people and connection. And
I find that story to be true foranyone. The biggest things we

(18:13):
ever achieve in our lives, thebiggest impact we might create,
the biggest legacy that we mightbe lucky enough to leave behind
us in or out of the workplacedoesn't come just by way of us
being strong or able. Itactually comes by, I believe, be
the depth of the connection thatwe have to the people around us.
You know, that that a lot of youknow, in other words, we are

(18:33):
strong as individuals, but we'rebetter together. There's that
quote, know, if you wanna gofast, go alone. If you wanna go
far, go together. And it'ssomething like that anyway. And
it's and I just find that to betrue.
I genuinely think that thebiggest untapped resource on the
planet is kindness. I just feelwe all have it. We all innately
have the ability and desire tohelp or support people around

(18:56):
us, but we're just not sure how.And so that's why that is the
added benefit of being veryclear with our goals because
once we share them with lovedones or accountability partners,
we light up in others theability to think about
supporting each other. Andthat's why, again, of course,
I'm a big proponent of peoplebeing clear with their goals and

(19:16):
sharing them.
So yeah, I think kindnessexists. I'm lucky enough to see
it every day. And for all of thestuff that people may hear of me
doing for other people, it'sonly because I realize that's
what people were doing for me inthe first place.

Daniel Williams (19:29):
All right. Well, Seb, Terry, thank you for
joining us on the MGMA podcasttoday.

Seb Terry (19:33):
Thanks, Daniel. Pleasure. Can't wait to see you
in person.

Daniel Williams (19:36):
All right. Well, everybody, Seb is going to
be speaking, Wednesday, October1, at our MGMA Leaders
Conference. So if you haven'tregistered yet, or you want to
read more about it, go tomgma.com/leaders. You can learn
everything about it, register,sign up, do all those good
things. So until then, thank youeveryone for being MGMA podcast

(19:59):
listeners.