American adventurer John Goddard listed 127 lifetime goals when he was 15 years old, from learning to type to climbing Mt. Everest.
“When I was fifteen, all the adults I knew seemed to complain, ‘Oh, if only I’d done this or that when I was younger.’ They had let life slip by them. I was sure that if I planned for it, I could have a life of excitement and fun and knowledge”.
John graduated from the University of Southern California with a major in anthropology and psychology: subjects that probably spurred him on to study remote cultures the world over.
After serving in World War II with the Army Air Forces, he began pursuing the goals on his list in earnest, and in 1951 became the first man to navigate the entire length of the Nile in a kayak; this and subsequent adventures, such as exploring the Congo River in 1956 and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1968, fueled a successful career on the lecture circuit.
The adventures of this great explorer have led him to 120 countries, to the peaks of 12 of the world highest mountains, to explore the entire length of the Nile and the Congo, to endure blizzard conditions on the Matterhorn and study alongside 260 remote and primitive tribes.
Not only this, but John has also completed many underwater feats such as exploring the Fiji Islands and the Everglades as well as studying and speaking English, French, Spanish and Arabic, and becoming a respected and accomplished pilot.
To date, John has published two books: The Survivor, and Kayaks Down the Nile, and has appeared in most of the world’s major publications.
Co-written by Rob Nightingale
