NF

Phil Keoghan is better known as the Phil in Amazing Race to you fellow Yanks.

This book started with so much promise. It tailed off at the end. It's worth a shot if you are looking for some inspiration/motivation (who isn't?) but I have to admit that I felt less and less motivated to read the book as it moseyed along. ( )

Like a lot of people, I only knew Phil from watching the Amazing Race for so many years... I had no idea how much of an "extreme" adventure/sports/food/etc. person he is! It was a little shocking, but also really interesting... I'd now like to see if I can find episodes of the "No Opportunity Wasted" TV show, as it sounded like a fascinating concept that made a real difference in peoples' lives. That said, this book (aside from the anecdotes from Phil's personal experiences) is a challenge to everyone who lives in complacency, stagnation, and fear, or is full of regrets and "I always wanted to" wishes. Phil challenges you to make a list for your life: Things you want to accomplish, fears you want to overcome, ways you want to help others... basically how to step out of your boring, comfortable existence, and really live life. There's a whole, wide, beautiful world out there, and how sad would it be to come to the end of one's life and regret not making the most of it!

What I really appreciated was Phil's inclusion of non-extreme challenges for those who may have other obstacles to overcome: Public speaking, or learning how to swim, or even finally sitting down and writing that book you've always wanted to write. With calm, reasoned logic, he refutes the most common excuses people give for not traveling or not following their dream, and offers simple explanations for breaking down those barriers (which are mostly mental) in order to move forward.

While I didn't end up making a list of my own, I talked about this book with my husband and we agreed that we do follow many of Phil's principles and therefore maybe don't need quite as specific a list for guidance. If one of us has a goal or a challenge, we try to do what we can to make it happen, and we're willing to try new things. But it was a good reminder that we only get one life to live, so if there's something we really want to do, it's up to us to make it happen. I think this book would be a good wake-up call and source of encouragement for someone who wants to get out there and do things or face one's fears, but isn't sure where to start or how to even think about doing it.

And you know what? I really do think that this kind of thing is easier than ever now, with the preponderance of GroupOn and WagJag and other group buying sites. There are plenty of great opportunities that come up as "deals" on these sites -- things that otherwise might have been too expensive -- that make them more accessible than they were before.

Overall? A good "get off your butt and live" challenge for all of us! ( )

In my continuing quest to see what I want to be when I grow up (I'm in my 40's), I thought this instruction manual on creating your own "Life List" would put me on the right track, and the fact that I love Amazing Race (and do actually wonder what it would be like to participate in it), I thought it would be perfect. Well, I was a little disappointed.

Although some of the things they do on Amazing Race are "outdoors" and "athletic", what I did not realize is that in Keoghan's personal life, he is all about living on the edge and testing your limits - and the ideas behind writing a life list tended to focus on that type of activity. Although that it fine in and of itself, the writing took on the tone that if you didn't want climb Mount Everest (or something similar), you are lazy and not living up to your potential and here's how to get over your fears. I'm not afraid of Everest - I just don't want to do it. Ever. And I do not think less of myself because of it.

The book is chaptered by themes of the types of challenges you should present yourself (i.e., face your fears, test your limits, etc). Most of them did include ideas that were not physical in nature - facing your fears could be giving a public speech - but they seemed like afterthoughts. His excitement is palpable in this very readable book, and because of it, I did enjoy reading it. It simply did not motivate me to follow his example in creating his kind of Life List.

However, I have taken the concept to heart, and I am creating a kind of Life List, but a practical one. Trips I'd like to take, experiences I'd like to have with my daughter before she graduates, possessions I would like to (realistically) own, etc. If nothing else, it is starting a dialog in my own house about where our next trip should be. So maybe not the perfect read, but it served its purpose ( )

No Opportunity Wasted – a Good Idea

I’m an Amazing Race fan and quite like the personable host, Phil Keoghan, which is why I picked up this book. I am also always on the lookout for books that inspire and will give me new insight into life and getting the most out of life. I like the premise of No Opportunity Wasted – to make your life exciting, meaningful, and rewarding by writing out an eight-part “List for Life”. Through these eight useful categories – Face Your Fear, Get Lost, Test Your Limits, Take a Leap of Faith, Rediscover Your Childhood, Shed Your Inhibitions/Express Yourself, Break New Ground, and Aim for the Heart – Phil guides you along the path to creating the life you truly want for yourself.

I found this book to be fairly interesting and at times, entertaining, engaging and inspiring. It touches on a gamut of things for you to think about and do to get more out of your life. Much of the book is also dedicated to sharing Phil Keoghan’s many personal adventures. I actually found that the book improved in its interest for me by the second half. In the first half or so, I found this book to be an ok read. It presented some good ideas for moving yourself out of your comfort zone and gaining new, exciting experiences, but it heavily emphasized adventure travel and activities. I do find an appeal to adventure experiences, but as an aspect of a full, well-rounded life. I understand that this is the author’s perspective and interesting life experience that he wishes to share, and what people would expect from a book from him. I do see its value – as part of a larger whole. I was glad to see this trend didn’t carry through the entire book. The book gradually branched out into many more thoughtful ideas and strategies to personalize your journey of creating a meaningful, full, and rewarding life, and gives tips to keep your efforts alive and moving forward.

There were a couple of things I disliked about No Opportunity Wasted. In the first half of the book it puts forth killing and eating other life forms as a way to be adventurous, exotic and cool - like it’s some sort of exotic badge of honor. It’s not. I think that personal growth, challenges, and new experiences can be had in a myriad of other ways, without doing harm to others. It is a much more enlightened and higher level of existence to just peacefully coexist with our non-human neighbors on this planet, learn about them, observe them, and/or be of service to them. In fact, the challenges involving animals are also something I dislike about the Amazing Race TV show and I hope they do away with that entirely. If human beings want to be entertained, challenged and create TV shows and tests for themselves, then great, do that, just leave the animals out of it. Live and let live and let’s do unto others…

Another thing I didn’t like about the book was its structure; story boxes that appear everywhere constantly interrupt the flow. The information in these story boxes is interesting and relevant, but it makes it rather annoying to read as you always have to flip forward and backward to keep the flow of the sections you’re reading. I think it would have been better to just incorporate the information and stories at the end of, or as part of the related sections instead of breaking them up continuously.

Overall, I liked the message and spirit of this book; it has a positive message and intent and gives some useful insights and anecdotes to illustrate its point. It can help move you out of your complacency and push you along the path to realizing your dreams. There were a number of things I could relate to and take away. I think this book would give many people a good boost towards living a happy life and not having any regrets. I would give it 3.75 stars out of 5. I do commend Phil for his ideas, energy, enthusiasm and lust for life. His likeability and sense of humor comes through in this book. As the book suggests, I also believe it is important to take stock of things in one’s life and adjust your own course heading as needed and desired. If you decide to read the book, then do fill out the contract at the end of the book to commit yourself to your own life vision and go onto their website, www.noopportunitywasted.com to share it with others and read what other people have shared. No Opportunity Wasted is a light, fun read that does give you food for thought.

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands ( )