Ian Usher
{{EngvarB|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ian Usher
| image = Ian Usher and Richard Branson May 2009 Goal 46.JPG
| alt =
| caption = Usher (left) meeting Richard Branson in 2009, fulfilling one of his goals
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1963|7|25}}
| birth_place = Durham, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = English
| other_names =
| occupation =
| known_for = Selling his life on eBay, writing
}}
Ian Usher (born 25 July 1963) is an English traveller, author and public speaker. He is best known for his 2008 "life for sale" listing on eBay{{cite web|title=Bidding begins on 'entire life'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7467857.stm|publisher=BBC News UK|date=22 June 2008}} following divorce from his wife, Laura.{{cite web|title=Divorced Man Sells His Life on eBay|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=4488471&page=1|work=ABC TV News – Good Morning America|publisher=ABC TV News|date=20 March 2008}}
Early life
Usher grew up in Barnard Castle, Co Durham, England and attended the Barnard Castle School.
Following school, he lived on a kibbutz in Israel and travelled through Europe. He gained a BEd teaching degree in Outdoor Education at Liverpool Polytechnic in 1985.{{cite web|title=Ian Usher – Author Biography|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ian-Usher/e/B004D4XM3G|publisher=Amazon.com|date=November 2008}}{{cite web|title=The man who sold his life buys his own Caribbean island and falls in love again|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/the-man-who-sold-his-life-ian-787695|publisher=The Mirror (UK)|author=Agency Staff|date=11 April 2012}}
Career
File:IanUsherEbayAuction01.jpg, Western Australia, just before the sale of his "entire life" on eBay in June 2008]]
He worked with British Rail as a Youth Leadership and Teamwork Counselor before opening Scarborough Jet Skiing on England's north east coast with his partner, Bruce Jones.
In 2001 he moved to Australia where he worked in sales, marketing and management.
In 2008, after the break up of his marriage, Usher listed his "life for sale" on eBay. He gained world-wide notoriety.{{cite web|title=Bidding begins on 'entire life' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7467857.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=22 June 2008}}Wikinews:Man auctions his life on eBay, is disappointed at sale price The final price was $399,300.00 (=250 000€).{{Cite web |title=10 Most Expensive Items Ever Sold On eBay: Top Spot Bought For $168M in 2024 |url=https://financesonline.com/10-most-expensive-items-ever-sold-on-ebay-top-spot-bought-for-168m/ |website=FinancesOnline}}
His stated goal for the eBay auction was a "fresh start," so, following the sale, he travelled across the world in pursuit of a series of 100 goals, scheduled to be done in 100 weeks. His two-year "bucket list" ended in New York City in the crown of the Statue of Liberty on 4 July 2010.{{cite web|title=Cheese Rolling as a Goal|url=http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2009/05/26/intv.cheese.rolling.usher.cnn|publisher=CNN|date=26 May 2009}}{{cite web|title=Man with a lot of goals visits Big Island|url=http://www.hawaii247.com/2009/01/18/man-with-a-lot-of-goals-visits-big-island/|publisher=Hawaii 24/7|author=Karin Stanton|date=18 January 2009}}
{{cite web|title=One Year On: The man who sold his life|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/fashion/trends/article147996.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306101942/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/fashion/trends/article147996.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 March 2014|publisher=The Sunday Times (UK)|author=Josie Ensor|date=8 February 2009}}
{{cite web|title=Cheese Rolling as a Goal|url=http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2009/05/26/intv.cheese.rolling.usher.cnn|publisher=CNN|date=26 May 2009}}
{{cite web|title=Ian Usher is achieving 100 ambiitions after wife Laura left him but he's still heart broken|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/ian-usher-is-achieving-100-ambiitions-after-wife-laura-left-him-but-hes-still-heart-broken/story-e6frf01i-1225864259946|publisher=The Daily Telegraph (AU)|date=10 May 2010}}
{{cite web|title=What's on Ian Usher's Bucket List?|url=http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/news/the-man-who-sold-his-life-on-ebay-whats-on-ian-ushers-bucket-list/|publisher=Cheapflights Blog|author=Brett Ackroyd|date=16 April 2012}}
File:IanUsher CannesFilmFestival.JPG|Usher on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2009, achieving the 43rd goal on his list of 100
File:Ian Usher Great Wall of China.JPG|Usher visiting the Great Wall of China in November 2009, achieving the 64th goal on his list of 100
File:Ian Usher Christmas Island Crabs.JPG|Usher visiting Christmas Island in December 2009 to see the march of the red crabs, achieving the 67th goal on his list of 100
Books
He wrote two books, 2008's A Life Sold{{cite book|title=A Life Sold – What ever happened to that guy who sold his whole life on eBay?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vsZCxBUrYh8C&dq=%22Ian+Usher%22&pg=PT180|date=4 November 2008|isbn=978-0980865301|last1=Usher|first1=Ian}} and 2013's Paradise Delayed.{{cite book|title=Paradise Delayed - The Pitfalls and Pleasures (Mainly the Pitfalls) of Caribbean Island Life in the Beautiful Archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iSxwN2CVgWcC&q=%22Ian+Usher%22|date=7 April 2013|isbn=978-0980865318|last1=Usher|first1=Ian}} In A Life Sold, he documented two years of travel. The movie rights were purchased by Walt Disney Pictures, which commissioned a project called Life for Sale.{{cite news|title=Life on eBay: Divorced Ian Usher Bounces Back As Disney Buys Rights To Make His Story A Movie|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/11/man-who-sold-his-life-on-ebay-island-disney-movie_n_1417159.html|newspaper=HuffPost|author=Felicity Morse|date=11 April 2011}} It was scheduled to be produced by Andrew Panay.{{cite web|title=Disney Pays Seven Figures For Scott Rosenberg Pitch|url=https://www.deadline.com/2012/06/disney-pays-seven-figures-for-scott-rosenberg-pitch/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618232240/http://www.deadline.com/2012/06/disney-pays-seven-figures-for-scott-rosenberg-pitch/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 June 2012|work=Deadline Hollywood|author=Mike Fleming Jr|date=18 June 2012|quote=Rosenberg recently did a rewrite for Disney's Life For Sale, which Andrew Panay is producing.}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://100goals100weeks.com 100goals100weeks.com]
- [http://IanUsher.com IanUsher.com] – personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usher, Ian}}