Book Excerpt: No Opportunity Wasted

Rediscover Your Childhood: Possibilities nnWhen it comes to childish possibilities, there are almost too many to choose from. If you're looking for some little starters -- things that are easy to do and will begin to get you in the right frame of mind -- flying a kite is an old standby. The same can be said of board games, particularly old favorites from childhood like Scrabble and Monopoly. Pictionary is great because it forces you to draw, often with hilarious results. To boost the "experience quotient" on game playing, take the games outdoors to a park and arrange an all-day high-stakes tournament; put kids in charge as referees. These are just warmups to more elaborate possibilities such as: nnPlay it again. This has proven to be a big theme among people writing in to the N.O.W. television series. The idea is to go back and re-play a big sports game from childhood. If you're going to do this right, you need to go all out and do a lot of pregame coordination. Assemble all the players from both teams in a Little League or high school game, even including cheerleaders if there were any. It works best with two teams that had a special rivalry: Maybe they played in the league championship, or maybe they competed in terms of last-place ineptitude (that's even more fun). And there are nonsports possibilities, too: You can restage a school play with all the same actors. nnGo treasure hunting. It's every kid's fantasy to go diving for buried treasure. And it's all around. You can start on land with a metal detector, combing the beaches. But the good stuff is under the sea. Almost any scuba-diving experience brings the sensation of discovery, the feeling that you're seeing life forms and rocks that no one else gets to see. You may be lucky enough to find some pirate booty down there, but you'll increase your odds considerably if you join up with a salvage operation that specializes in shipwreck dives. nnStay up all night. I'm a big believer in "up-all-night marathons" -- seeing how far you can prolong an experience, going past the point of fatigue. We've all had that childhood thrill of staying up late and breaking the rules, even as an adult. I did it once in New York City, completing a full 28-hour stretch of tourism from dawn to dawn, with my cameraman Scott fuming the whole time (I don't know how his shoulder held up). The best part was the wee hours of the morning, when it's just you and the die-hard night creatures. By 4:00 in the morning, my eyes were bleary, but I have a hazy memory of a deserted all-night bar where someone did a dance involving cellophane. nnGet dirty! This is one of the true pleasures of being a kid: You can make a mess of yourself and enjoy doing it. You don't have to search far for "dirty" opportunities; the mud in the yard is a good starting point. But if you want to go all out, I'll suggest two of the messiest possibilities in the world. The first is La Tomatina, which has been called the ultimate food fight. It takes place each summer in Bunol, Spain. The action begins when a firecracker explodes: That's the signal for everyone to begin throwing tomatoes at one another. By the time it's over, more than 40 tons of tomatoes will have been splattered and you will, without a doubt, be seeing red. (For more information, visit the Tourist Office of Spain's Web site, www.tourspain.es.) And when it's time to wash off after La Tomatina, you can hop over to Wales to take part in a "bog snorkeling" competition, which has established itself as "the world's yuckiest race" (that is an official title, by the way). nnGet back on that bike. If you think back on your childhood, you'll probably recall that some of your best experiences happened on a bicycle. If you've stopped riding a bike, you absolutely must climb back into the saddle seat, immediately. Start slow with rides around the local park to get your legs back. Then get started on planning an odyssey. A week on a bike can take you through an entire country, and you'll see it close-up, in a way you never could by car or train. One of my favorites: Bike the wine trail in Napa Valley (but make sure you drink more water than wine lest you swerve off the trail). Bike trips are also great for bonding with your kids or with old friends, or even new ones. nnTake lessons -- and pay attention this time. Remember those piano lessons or ballet classes you were forced to take as a child? Go back and retake them, but this time do it with a passion. Some of the things you didn't fully appreciate as a kid take on a whole new dimension when you do them as an adult (especially since you're paying for them now). And taking adult lessons is a great way to remind yourself that it's never too late to learn. Jeff Goodby, who runs one of the world's most successful ad agencies, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, recently began taking violin lessons -- at age 52. Another acquaintance of mine took up horseback riding, something she'd tried and never mastered as a kid. If you're learning a new skill as an adult, give yourself time to have fun and make mistakes. But also give yourself a goal and maybe even a N.O.W. challenge to shoot for down the line: a public performance in front of friends and relatives, a recital, a steeple jump. nnGet scared. Only children seem to appreciate what a wonderfully cathartic experience it is to scare the heck out of yourself. I'm not talking "bungee scared" here so much as "monster scared." This is another great experience to share with your kids: Turn your home-sweet-home into a house of horrors (just temporarily, mind you). If you don't know how to do that, ask the kids -- they'll have plenty of suggestions. If you don't want to mess with your own house, find the nearest haunted house that will let you spend the night. While there, swap ghost stories with your companions. If you're willing to go a long way for chills and thrills, think about spending dark nights in Dracula's castle. That's right, we mean the Count himself, also known as Vlad the Impaler. His Transylvania castle is now open to the public, and a trip there includes visits to his grave and spooky sèances (for more information, visit Quest Tours at www.romtour.com). nnGet rolling. Like cycling, inline skating can take you back to childhood memories. But its advantage over cycling is that it can be a very social activity, allowing you to become part of a rolling community and special event. A lot of cities have Friday Night Skate Nights that turn this childlike activity into a kind of performing art form for the masses (the Friday night ritual in Paris draws up to 25,000 skaters). If you really want to shoot for a N.O.W. event, you can organize some type of coordinated skate performance in your community. nnGet in the "Zorb." Maybe it's just me, but I think this is another great New Zealand invention that is destined to be as big as bungee. A Zorb is a giant beach ball that you climb inside; it has two layers, and trapped within the outer layer are soapsuds. In the center of it all is you, trying to stand up and walk as the ball rolls down a hill. It has been compared with being inside a tumbling clothes dryer, but that doesn't do the experience justice. All I can say is that I never feel more like a child than when I am rolling around inside the Zorb (check out www.zorb.com for more information). nnI have a lot of miscellaneous childish things on my own list. I can't explain why I want to do these things, but hey -- when you're a kid, you don't have to explain. That said, I would like to: nnPutt a golf ball coast to coast across Scotland. nBe a ball boy for a day at the U.S. Open. nEnter and win a hot dog eating competition. nWear a full-body Velcro suit and throw myself against a wall. nSpend 3 days on the Bahamian Bruise Cruise with pro wrestlers. nnReprinted from No Opportunity Wasted: 8 Ways to Create a List for the Life You Want by Phil Keoghan with Warren Berger © 2004 by Phil Keoghan and Warren Berger.(November 2004; $22.95US/$32.95CAN; 1-59486-086-6) Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.