Stop The Excuses, Live Your Dreams
If you're one of those people who feel life is passing you by and you want to make a change, there's no time like the present.
Phil Keoghan, host of "The Amazing Race" and author of the book "No Opportunity Wasted," and Susan Ungaro, the editor in chief of Family Circle magazine, believe making a change begins with writing it down.
They visit The Early Show's "In The Family Circle" to offer advice. Keoghan wrote an article for the March issue of the magazine entitled "8 Ways to Create the Life You Want."
In it, Keoghan highlights several of the key motivational and inspirational points he features in his book. He also helps readers identify and create a "List for Life" which, according to him, contains all the "meaningful, memorable or just-plain-crazy things you want to do in your lifetime."
"Excuses hold us back," Keoghan says. "It's really easy to make up excuses: I don't have time, no money, family pressures, etc. 'It's 'shoulda, coulda, woulda.' The whole point of the book is to get people past that."
He offers several tips:
Face Your Fear: It's about the journey. Michael Jordan says, "I've failed again and again and again -- that is why I've succeeded." Nobody likes failing, but we usually learn something from every failed experience. You acknowledge the fear head on. You confront the fear. We had a man on our show named Shane Platt who was a diver, but only dived in fresh water. He was afraid of diving in the ocean because of sharks. So he came on our show and faced his fear. Now he's fine.
Get Lost: Everyday, we get caught in a rut and a routine. We all fantasize about escaping from our everyday lives. It's why we enjoy watching such shows as "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." We all fantasize about doing something crazy and escaping our dull lives. It's the ultimate fantasy. You can do it in extreme forms or smaller forms. For instance, short weekend excursions work. I say, just get out there and do it.
Test Your Limits: Regardless of your age, get the most out of an experience by pushing your capabilities. On the TV show, Scott Bramble was riding horses in a Wild West show in Europe, and one day he had an opportunity to ride a bull, but he chickened out. At first, he didn't want to grow. But he got on that bull, and he's happy as can be.
Take a Leap of Faith: To change your life, you must be willing to take leaps into the void. It's the only way to get to experience many of the great opportunities and experiences that await you. Almost any activity that requires a bold step away from safety, and into the realm of risk, can be thought of as a leap of faith. More often than not, that means an emotional risk, rather then a physical one.
Rediscover Your Childhood: When you are a kid, you're curious; you see things differently. Adults are jaded. Remember what it was like when you were a kid? You used to really get excited about things. When you become an adult, you should never lose that sense of excitement. For instance, my 90-year-old friend water skis barefoot just for the excitement of it.
Shed Your Inhibitions Finding ways to express yourself creatively and passionately can be as exhilarating and freeing as any physical adventure. Inhibitions can be just as paralyzing as more extreme fears, and they are likely to have a bigger effect on you. You just have to shed them.
Aim For the Heart: Sometimes, the best way to fulfill your dreams is to help others live out theirs. We had this guy on the show who put on a wedding for a needy couple and spent all of his own money. But he felt great about himself.
Keoghan is now in his sixth season as host of the Emmy-winning CBS prime-time series, "The Amazing Race." He is also currently starring in and co-producing the new "No Opportunity Wasted" reality television series on the Discovery Channel, one of the most highly anticipated prime-time series launches in the history of Discovery Networks. He has co-produced a number of original series, including Phil Keoghan's "Adventure Crazy," which was a highly rated worldwide series for the Discovery Channel and currently airs in primetime around the world.