SINGAPORE — Four years ago, Sebastian Terry, 31, had an epiphany. He had just lost a close friend and, tired of drifting along, decided to write down 100 things he vowed to do before he dies.

That list has taken the Sydney-sider on the journey of a lifetime as he swam with sharks in Mexico, got hitched in Vegas, delivered a baby in Canada, raised A$60,000 (S$78, 194) for a children’s charity — and found himself starring in his own show on TLC called, what else, 100 Things To Do Before You Die.

With 62 items down at last count, he’s not too worried about whether he could actually finish his bucket list before he, umm, kicks it. “I don’t think that far, I’m not much of a planner,” he laughed, “I just stick very true to my list.” SERENE LIM

You were backpacking around the world when you got news of your friend’s death. How have your travel habits changed since?

Sebastian Terry: Well it depends. I mean, I don’t see this as just travelling anymore, this is just my life. I’ve identified goals in my life; I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get them done. Recently I threw a dart at a map, and it landed on Mongolia. I had to therefore go to Mongolia. That was No 60 on my list. I got on a plane and met a lot of wonderful people. I now have a very open attitude when it comes to meeting people, and I guess I just have a big belief and trust that people are good. I almost have no control over the way my life goes now.

Out of all these experiences like living with a tribe and hitchhiking across America, which one has been the most challenging?

I think that the most difficult step in any journey is the first one — committing to it. Probably one of the hardest items on my list was to stay silent for one week in New York. You can probably tell that I like talking. For seven days I was silent, and everyday I tried to do something different. I worked in an office for one day, went on a blind date on another day, I went to a comedy club on the third day, I learnt how to salsa on the fourth day. It was very, very challenging because you naturally want to communicate with people but I didn’t cough, I didn’t whistle, I didn’t hum, nothing.

How did you manage to get adequate funds to continue your journey?

I left with only a few thousand dollars in my pocket, and I ran out in three of four months. I had nothing, I never worried about money, I just trusted everything would be okay. I used my credit card a little bit but I would meet these people along my trip who would help. Not financially (as) I never, ever accepted any money. But people would say, “Oh my brother can do this” or “I have a house here you can stay in” or “I can give you food tonight”. And so my journey was very unscripted; I guess in a very strange way I just managed to do these things without any money, which is quite incredible.

One of the items on your list is to go to Timbuktu. Why?

When I was younger there was an expression, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but if something was a very long way away, they’d say, “It’s from here to Timbuktu.” As a kid I just thought that Timbuktu was a fictional place that didn’t actually exist. When I was older I found out that Timbuktu was a real place, in a country called Mali and thought, well I really want to go to Timbuktu, and see how far away it actually is. I haven’t been there yet, but I’m excited to go there soon.

100 Things To Do Before You Die airs today on TLC at 4pm.