Janus & NOW

I received a word origin-a-day desk calendar in our office gift exchange. I opened it today and the first page mentions that the name of the first month of the year comes from the Latin ‘janua’, or door. The god who protects doorways is Janus. Janus has two faces – one looking from the door into the future and the other looking into the past. That description of Janus accurately captures all the talk and blog posts reviewing 2006 and making predictions or resolutions for 2007 at this time of year. I suppose it’s time for me to do the Janus thing.

One item I didn’t post about in 2006 was the Phil Keoghan appearance I attended last November. He was here for a company event where he spoke, answered questions and stayed after to meet folks and chat. I went because I like Phil as the host of The Amazing Race (TAR). He answered questions about the show and described the grueling travel schedule, the racers, the challenges, etc. It was interesting. However, what I didn’t know about was his motivational work in the NOW (No Opportunity Wasted) context and his work with the NOW television show. In short, the series challenges and helps folks accomplish something they’ve always dreamed about – e.g. overcoming a fear, changing their community, realizing an idea, etc. We saw a couple clips from the NOW show. It looked like a good series. Phil told the audience how his near-death experience while younger caused him to reflect on his life and think about what he wanted to do in the future. This reflection evolved into a new philosophy for his life that is based on living each day to the fullest and seizing opportunities. He urged everyone to create a “life list” of things to do before you die – and to act on that list by creating and seizing opportunities to accomplish your goals. This life list and NOW philosophy is described in the book he co-authored as a result of the NOW series.

Phil was surprised that very few folks in the audience had written a life list – although many had ideas. He mentioned the first step in making those dreams a reality is getting that list down on paper. Perhaps I should prepare a list. I’ve seen a couple blogs with life list entries, but not many. Do folks reading this keep a life list?

If you have a chance to meet and talk with Phil, don’t pass it up. He’s a high energy guy with a zest for life that is infectious.