Why NOW Matters

 "Never confuse movement with action."

                                - Ernest Hemingway




I have mentioned and even blogged about television presenter Phil Keoghan's book and philosophy of N.O.W. -- No Opportunity Wasted. It's an approach to life which my wife and I espouse (pun intended) wholeheartedly.

When we first discovered the book -- roughly around 2006, 2007 -- it made a lot of sense. Generally speaking, NOW simply suggests you set specific Life-List goals and outline the way you are going to achieve them. It differentiates between the material and the self-enriching goals, rightly suggesting that those things you can do which enrich your life, make yourself happier, are as -- if not more -- significant than simply making more money. 

(Don't get me wrong: making more money does serve as a means to your Life List end, but it's not in and of itself, the goal.)

In the first chapter of the book, Phil recounts how he came to develop the philosophy. As a young man he found himself in a life-threatening (and terrifying) situation which caused him to re-examine his priorities.

If you are given a short duration to live, what would you do to make yourself as fulfilled as possible? Chances are it doesn't involve spending time at work, putting more cash in your wallet.

So we embarked on our own series of goals, setting up specifics and knocking them down one by one. By creating the Life List, you're only doing half the job. As Phil repeatedly notes, the concept is not to simply write down what you want to do, it's creating a plan to get it done.

Since that time, my wife and I have achieved a goodly number of adventures which might have otherwise remained on the "I Wish" list rather than being on the "Done That" list. She and I both served on the board of The Jazz Angels, a local nonprofit which teaches young people about America's native musical style, Jazz, and the social skills it can represent.


We have had a number of adventures. Seeing Polar Bears in Churchill, Alaska. Scuba diving on The Great Barrier Reef and with Manta Rays up-close and personal just off the Big Island of Hawaii. Ridden a hot air balloon over Albuquerque. Visited Venice and Rome. Gone backstage with comedians Penn and Teller. Tasted wine in several major wine regions around the world.

All well and good. Up until two years ago, when the List gained new importance.

(Let me start by stating that all is okay at the moment. No need to panic, no need to stress.)

Two years ago my wife had a blood test come back a bit...weird. She felt fine and it was a routine test, until the results came in. Two months later her doctor ran another test which came back...weirder. Her white cell count was well above what she should have had, but no infection could be found to explain it. Her doctor referred her to a specialist, and to cut to the point, she was diagnosed with very early stage Hairy Cell Leukemia. A cancer of the blood.

Ten years before this would have been a death sentence, but medical science has advanced to the point where, according to her doctors, this is readily treatable. Very, very rare, but treatable.

But a cancer scare is a cancer scare, no matter early and how treatable the variety is. There's always that off chance, right?

Suddenly the importance of doing things, seeing things, accomplishing things came roaring to the front of our consciousness. Put things in perspective, so to speak.


And so that is why NOW matters. Even though my wife is expected to make a full recovery we have reinforced The Dogma of Adventure. In the years to come we have plenty of others things we need to see, to do, and to experience.

A little later today we're attending the Travel and Adventure Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. Phil is speaking about the Importance of NOW. 

It's a presentation we don't want to miss because, hey, you never know where life is taking us next.