There was some expiration point to my life, and it became very important to maximize the time that I did have on Earth. That's what led me to my personal philosophy: "No Opportunity Wasted" - NOW for short, which is about living life to the fullest.

I once had a young musician come to me and say that he wanted to be a professional musician. I asked him to write his list. When he came back to me, the three things in his life he most wanted were: to be paid for his music; to travel around the world; to meet new people. We came to the decision, after thinking really creatively, that if he got a job on a cruise ship, he would fulfill those goals.

There are amazing teachers, but the system doesn't always allow them to address the individual needs of a child.

I'd always felt like I was going to take part in adventures in my life. That's what led me to diving in the shipwreck to begin with. But when you're faced with your own demise, you have to accept that you are vulnerable and that you are only here for a set period of time.

If you look around my room, you see lots of lists. I'm inspired by what's up on the wall.

We need diversity in our population to make it work.

I've always been about setting goals. Then when I had a near death experience at nineteen, it made it even more important to strive to achieve certain things.