Customer Reviews

No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a Life List

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

No, this book will not actually change your life. Phil's tips for living, however, will show you how to change it yourself.

It's hard to pin down what's really great about this book. It's probably because the influence is so invisible. Phil Keoghan and co-author Warren Berger have a very nice, conversational writing style that communicate directly to the reader. They speak from personal experience, both their own and that of dozens of other people.

That's right -- Phil brings not only his own stories (most impressive of which is having a gourmet Italian dinner on top of an erupting volcano), but those of such inspirations as a quadriplegic surfer, a Jewish rapper, and a man who anonymously planned an elaborate wedding for a couple he'd never met. He also shows us inspiration from the inventors of bungee jumping, the Red Hat Society, actress Doris Roberts, and many others.

If you have problems setting goals, this will show you how. If you have goals but lack the courage to step forward with them, this book will show you how to do that, too. If you lack the resources, it will show you how to overcome that, or most other obstacles you may face. It will do it all gently; Phil and Warren draw you into their world and show you that it's not all that different from yours.

And for that matter, even if you already live a life of pursuing dreams, this book can show you how to "tweak" your mission and make things even better.

I've only just started on my mission, so... thanks, Phil!

If your looking to move your life in a direction where you feel like you are actually living it, this is the book to help you get started. It not only offers suggestions and steps on how to make the most of your life but it actually helps you get into action. It is a fun read and very motivating. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.

This is the best self-development book I have ever read. Phil Keoghan inspires you with stories and examples of others who have learned how to lead a "NOW life." The commitment to write a list is important and what's on the "List for Life?" A balance of 8 different types of dreams that help you to have an exciting and full life. I wish I had this book back when I was a workaholic; that wasn't a life, but a compulsion. No matter whether you are Stuck in a Rut or a Wannabe Explorer, this is the right book to read.

I wasted a lot of time before I actually started reading this book. I purchased the book almost two years ago. Guess I was in the middle of a huge procrastination cycle? I wanted to make a change, eventually?

I enjoyed this book. It is an easy read and did get me motivated to start my list. The thing I like best about Phil's list technique is that you are not listing your top ten things you want to do, or five things to do before you die, etc. Phil breaks the list down into specific categories, like "Face your fear", "Test your limits", "Shed your inhibitions". Etc.

I think structuring the list using 8 separate and distinct categories makes a big difference. For instance your "Get lost" category might be to climb some sacred mountain in Tibet. Great goal, but seriously, that could take years to fund and accomplish. But you could easily cross off a few items on the rest of the list while you wait. Like "Shed your inhibitions" could mean you go skinny-dipping. That is easy, in theory, and does not cost anything, unless you get arrested for public indecency. That would suck. But I am sure you could probably talk your way out of the ticket if you explain why you did this. Unless of course you decide to do your skinny-dipping in the kiddie section of the public pool. Yes, some of the items on the list will require a little common sense.

One of the categories is "Rediscover your youth." I don't know about you, but I had a great time as a kid. There are many things I would like to relive from those times. I grew up in the Bronx and at that time there were a few areas that were in less than desirable conditions there. I am talking about blocks of abandoned buildings. Buildings where we used to play Wolf Tag. Simple game, someone is "it" and he has to chase and catch the other kids. Sounds easy, except we would play in and on the abandoned buildings. We knew all the spots where you could jump from one roof to another, where you could drop down through holes in the floors to escape, and even where you could climb easily up the outside of the building to back-track and sneak up on your friends. Fun times, except for the few times we would get hurt, and I still carry some pretty mean looking scars from those days.

After some further thought, I am not going to put wolf tag on my list. While it might be fun, the reality is that it would end up being a bunch of middle-aged men, some sporting pretty impressive beer bellies, breathing heavily from the exertion, trying to jump from one roof to another. While I believe I am still in pretty decent shape and could make the jumps, I am sure many could no longer make them. Then it would be left up to me to explain to the Paramedics and Police why there is a pile of my old friends laying in the alley, hurt or dead, from a 40 foot fall. Ok, some things should not be rediscovered.

Another thing we used to play as kids was stickball. Stickball is a game invented for inner cities. You take a stickball bat, which is basically a thick mop handle about 5 feet long, and a rubber Spalding ball, pronounced "Spal-deen" in our neighborhood, and you play baseball. The rules vary slightly, but it is loosely based on baseball. We would play in the schoolyard of PS 102. If the large area was open, and we had enough kids, we would play using fielders and bases, just like baseball. If there were only two to four kids we would play against the walls of the building, in a "U" shaped area. It was a three story building with cages on the windows. The other guy would pitch the ball, you hit it, and it was a single, double, or triple depending on which floor of the building you hit. Bounce it off the front wall and into the rear wall and that is a home run. Unless the other player catches the ball. Stickball was incredibly fun. Until someone tried for a triple and hit a little high and "roofed the ball." Damn, time to go buy a new ball.

I put stickball on my list under the category rediscover your childhood. I will talk to the guys and see if I can't round up enough players to get a game going. We have the "Mudbowl" coming up the Saturday after the Superbowl. It is a Bronx reunion where we would gather to play football, full contact without pads or helmets, then after the game we go to a local bar to drink away the pain. The Mudbowl has changed a little over the last few years. As more of the original players are getting to the age when they are now candidates for osteoporosis medication, we no longer play football first. Now we head straight to the local bar and start drinking away our pains. It is funny that even though most of us have moved away from the old neighborhood decades ago, we fall right back into the fun instantly. What a great time it is. And this year I am going to set a date and round up enough players to get a game going this spring. I have to put it off until spring because we have had snow on the ground since before Christmas, and after 6 major storms I still have about two feet of snow on my front lawn.

On my "Take a leap of faith" category I have put down "send an audition tape to Survivor." I have watched the show since the beginning and my kids keep telling me I should be on the show. So I wrote it down and started my audition tape. It is almost complete. Wish me luck! Even if I don't win the million dollar prize I still come out a winner, because after 38 days of almost no food I will finally be able to see where I left my six-pack abs that have been missing the last few decades.

I think this is a good book if you have been sitting on your couch watching your life drift past. I am sure every one of you has things you want to do. Well put them on a list and start doing them. Cross off a few easy ones and you will get the ball rolling, and momentum is a great thing! Good luck to you.

This book is easy to read and very interesting. More importantly, it is very inspiring. So much of the time we talk about life, but we do not really live. This is the type of book you read, pass on to someone one and pick what you are going to DO now that you've read it. It is very action-oriented. Not a classic or a work of art, but a solid heart to heart from someone who undoubtedly is living an amazing life RIGHT NOW. It reminds me of a website called [...].

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, [...] 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

I enjoyed this book so much, that I bought more copies and had them sent to my friends and family. Basically, Phil talks about fears that hold us back from experiencing life to it's fullest. He then tells us why we should do our best to get over those fears. Then he takes us through a series of chapters to help the reader create a list of experiences the reader would like to have. The experiences themselves don't have to be expensive or dangerous. Some of them may relate to our childhood or goals the reader never attained.

My thanks go to Phil for setting down his experiences and the experiences of others to help me achieve my own.

NOW is a guide. For me, it's a reminder that encourages me to go ahead and do, explore, fulfill.

No Opportunity Wasted!

I think about the opportunities I wasted.. the opportunity to spend the time more constructively than I did when I was reading this book.

I feel like I was ripped off by this book.. it's nothing but a money spinning journey of self indulgence for the author.. to think I gave this guy any of my cash.

I put the book down before I finished.. I figured if I heard the phrase "We'll get to that later" again I would go mad. He spends most of the first few chapters saying that and and by the time you get halfway through the book all you've learnt is how great the author thinks he is.

Forget about wasted opportunities.. you should be more concerned about wasted cash.

Great book. I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in getting more out of life!!