Phil Keoghan People Quotations

People ask me what the most important thing to take on the race is, and I always say it's a sense of humor. If you've got nothing but a sense of humor, you will survive.

With the reaction that we got from the family version, people clearly made a statement that they wanted that international element in the show. I think it showed that the places are as much stars in the show as the people themselves. People were missing that exotic element ? that fish-out-of-water element where people were completely and utterly dumbfounded as to what to do because of culture shock and language barriers. They missed that. And I think that is a huge hook for us.

We tried something. I'm really proud that we tried something, because I think if we hadn't tried to change the race, people might have criticized us for not being adventurous and doing something different. I'm proud of what we managed to pull together, but there is no denying that the race is most successful when it has less faces, more places and teams of two racing around the world.

For me, personally, I love to see the teams going to places we never get to see in mainstream media. . . . It's always a big eye-opener for these teams to go to someplace that is just very different from their local community. There's one location that we get to in the Middle East where the teams are immersed in a daily task that a lot of the local people have to go through. And it's great to see teams that are used to going down to the 7-Eleven suddenly having to cope with living life in a completely different way.

It has a dramatic impact on the teams. It was definitely tougher on the teams than a lot of other seasons. That has to do with the fact that we got the message from viewers that they wanted an international flavor. They wanted more exotic locations, more adventure, push the people more.

I think if we would have put people that were extraordinary athletes, extraordinary travelers in this extraordinary situation would be a total disconnect with the audience. The fact that they are more ordinary, the fact that a lot of them are unfit and have never traveled, that's what makes the show work.

It's the most number of miles we've done in that short an amount of time. People clearly wanted the international element. They missed it. The places are as much the stars of the show as the people themselves. That was illustrated when you look at season eight. People were missing that exotic element, the fish-out-of-water element. That is a huge hook.

I'm a big fan of human dynamics. Nothing fascinates me more than really interesting people and human dynamics.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't go to college or you shouldn't finish your degree, but sometimes people have a very clear vision about what they want to do, and they just want to get on with it.

I try to encourage people to identify the things in life that they really want to do, so that over a period of time they can design or steer their life towards those things.

I love stories. When I tell a story, I try to think of people sitting around a crackling campfire.

I love the underdog stories. I love people who refuse to give up.

I love underdogs, people who have achieved extraordinary things against the odds.

Stories have inspired me all my life. I like reading about what other people have done and it inspires me to share my own stories, and encourage people to make their own life stories.

When I hear people watched my film and then got on their own bikes and rode, whether a few miles or across America, to achieve their own goals - that excites me. It's the power of a story.

We have a gift of life. What we do with that gift is dependent on the choices we make. The people who we spend time with. The things that we go out to do every day.

Instead of focusing on the amount of money lacking in your budget, focus on what you DO have: a willing spirit, an imagination filled with bright ideas, people who care about you and can perhaps help you in some way. These are the things that will enable you to do almost anything.