No Opportunity Wasted

Finally something interesting happened to post about!

Yes, I know, we're living our lifetime dream abroad on the shores of New Zealand and every day is filled with excitement and wonder...so what am I talking about??? Of course day-to-day life is much like anywhere else...go to work, go grocery shopping, go to sleep, etc, etc. But there was a break in the routine this week when we had the opportunity to meet Phil Keoghan, host of the one of our favourite shows "Amazing Race" and an inspiring person in his own right.

Stacey looks particularly happy, don't you think?

Many people probably don't realise that Phil is actually a New Zealander by birth, born in the South Island town of Lincoln. Although he's successfully adopted an Americanised accent, you can still detect hints of Kiwi in his voice every so often. In a 2005 interview with Upfront, Phil confirmed that he was in the running to host Survivor but was not chosen partially due to his accent, which at the time was undesirable for hosts of American TV shows. That setback was minor though. His career has skyrocketed with the success of Amazing Race. He's earned five Emmy Awards and travelled to over 100 countries in pursuit of 'great TV'.

At 19 years of age, while filming an underwater dive in a shipwreck in the Marlborough Sounds, Phil had a near-death experience that shaped his life forever. The event drove him to create a "life list" of the things he wanted to do before he died. Obviously he's managed to tick a lot of those boxes, having done everything from feeding live sharks to eating dinner on a volcano.

A photo from one of Phil's many adventures

The concept was also the inspiration for his book and a television show No Opportunity Wasted: Creating a Life List, This was also the theme of the day for his speaking engagement in Wellington this week. His talk was about inspiring people to not be afraid, and to get out there live life to the fullest with no regrets. There were lots of younger people in the audience--they were the target audience for the event, not us old folks--and I hope they were paying attention. He certainly reminded me to get of my ass on a few of my own pursuits.

When Stacey introduced herself, she told Phil that our 'no opportunity wasted' was moving to New Zealand from the United States. How true that statement was. The look on his face was interesting...slight amusement, a bit of surprise perhaps? Maybe. But I'd like to think there was a little bit of pride in his reaction, both in New Zealand. and in us wayward travellers. Of course, you never know what a celebrity is really like without spending time with them, but you get the sense that Phil is a really cool guy and an authentic person. That's why I don't mind plugging his book.

And speaking of our relocation, the end of August will mark two years since our arrival. I will be writing an extended entry, a sort of situation report, in a couple of weeks. Until then, I hope everyone out there gets their pen & paper out and starts (or resumes) those lists!