Read Excerpt: 'The Other 8 Hours' by Robert Pagliarini

March 24, 2010— -- Robert Pagliarini's new book looks at the importance of the eight hours of the day not spent working or sleeping.

He writes that "Your day doesn't start when you crawl out of bed. Your day -- and even your life -- doesn't really start until 5:00 pm. What you've done with your time after 5:00 pm last week, last month, and last year hasdetermined where you are today. How you use the other 8 hours today, tomorrow, and next year will determine your future -- they are your only hope to radically improve your life. The 8 hours you sleep are lost.The 8 hours you sell for a paycheck are gone. What you have -- really, all you have -- are the other 8 hours. Life not only happens in those other 8 hours, but life is the other 8 hours."

CLICK HERE to see a quiz from the book about how you spend the most meaningful moments of your life.

Read an excerpt of the book below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.

Six years ago, Mark andSarah were on a cruise ship touring the south pacific when a violent tropical storm damaged the ship's hull. Several passengers were knocked overboard and into the dark, churning watersnearly fifty feet below. Mark and Sarah were two of the passengers who plunged into the cold waters that night. They frantically grabbed pieces of debris and hung on tight -- doing whatever they could to keep theirhead above water.

The next morning, Mark washed up onto a small and uninhabitedisland. Sarah washed up onto a neighboring island, also uninhabited,About two miles from Mark.

After the initial shock of the situation wore away, fear and anxietyovercame them. They knew that it would not be easy. They would haveto work hard to build a shelter, pick fruits, locate fresh water, and fishfor food. The first few days were scary and difficult, but they bothmanaged to build makeshift shelters to protect them from the rain andsun. They found freshwater streams deeper into the islands and plentyof fruits and nuts. As the days turned into weeks, they even got good attrapping crabs and spearing fish.

In the late afternoons, Mark had some time to relax after a hardday's work. He'd climb to his favorite bluff and watch the waves crashagainst rocks. As the sun set and the stars lit up the sky, he'd dream ofgalaxies far away and pray that he'd be rescued soon.Sarah struggled to survive each day, too. Like Mark, her day beganwhen the sun came up. Chopping wood, climbing trees for fruit, pickingnuts and berries, fishing, and getting water kept her busy. At the endof her daily routine, she'd long to relax on the beach, but she knewshe wanted more than just to survive. Sarah wanted to get off theisland.

Each afternoon, Sarah spent a couple of additional hours gatheringand storing wood. She tested nearly every type of vegetation on the islandto see which produced the darkest and thickest smoke. She collectedrocks of all sizes and used them to spell "h e l p" in giganticletters on the beach in four areas around the island. Sarah also dug firepits on the beach in several areas where she kept a large supply of drywood and special vegetation.

Because it rained often, Sarah found it necessary to continuouslyreplace wet wood and vegetation with dry supplies. Her rock signsaround the island also needed care and attention. Not wanting toalace her fate in the hands of a rescue team that might never come,Sarah started building a raft out of bamboo and vines -- a little biteach day.

Of course, she'd relax as well. Her favorite time of day was sunset.Sarah would take a handful of nuts and berries she'd picked earlier inthe day down to the beach and sit under her favorite palm tree. She'ddaydream about her family and how wonderful a big piece of hermother's special chocolate cake would taste. During these daydreams,she'd also spend a few minutes going over her rescue plan.

Day after day, without any fanfare or recognition, Mark and SarahDid what they needed to do to survive. After several noneventful weeks,That day finally came. Sarah was picking fruit near the beach and Markwas trapping crabs when they both -- almost at the same time -- saw asmall plane in the distance.

Sarah jumped into action. She ran to the small fire and used it toLight the large pile of wood. She dumped the vegetation on it and usedHer homemade tiki torch to light the other stacks of wood on fi re. SheThen ran back to add more wood and vegetation to the fi re. HugePlumes of smoke rose into the air and fi lled the sky above her island.Meanwhile, Mark was frantic. He ran around trying to fi gure outWhat to do. He fumbled, trying to light a fi re, and once he had one lit,He was disappointed that it produced very little visible smoke. He sprinted into the jungle and grabbed any kind of vegetation he could find to throw on the fire. Unfortunately, the vegetation he used quickly suffocated the fire and Mark wasted several precious minutes trying tolight another one. Each time he threw new vegetation on the fire tocreate more smoke, the fire would die and he would waste time tryingto restart it.

The plane turned and started heading toward the islands. As it gotcloser, Mark realized it was not flying toward him but was headed severalmiles off course. The plane circled Sarah's island and toucheddown a hundred yards off shore. Two rescuers jumped out of the planeand started paddling toward her in a raft. As they got closer, she lookedaround her island one last time and dove into the ocean and swam towardthe raft. Minutes later, Sarah was airborne. The pilot asked her ifthere were any other survivors and Sarah told them that she had beenalone.

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

2. When did you have your first child (please note,office stairwell fans, the question is when didYou have, not conceive, your first child)?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

3. When did your most emotionally painfulexperience occur?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

4. When did you see the most spectacular sunsetyou've ever seen?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

5. When do you feel the most intellectually aliveand excited about your future?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

6. When do you participate in your favorite hobby?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

7. When was the first time you saw your childwalk?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

8. Think about your favorite movie of all time.When was the first time you watched it?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

9. When did you meet your best friend?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

10. When was the last time you could hardly catchyour breath because of your excitement?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

11. When was your most profound spiritualmoment?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

12. When did the most rewarding physical thingyou've ever done occur?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

13. If you could relive one event from your past,when would it occur?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

14. When do you find you feel the most sure andconfident?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

15. If you had one year left to live, what would youspend the majority of your time doing?

Sleeping:
Working:
Other 8:

TOTAL:

Now add the checkmarks in each column. Do you notice anything?I've done this exercise with a whole lot of folks and the results are almostalways the same.

Sleeping: Necessary and feels great, but doesn't provide much "life" tolife. Most likely, you don't have a single checkmark in this column.

Working: Also necessary and can feel rewarding, but it is typicallysomething you must do and not something you love to do. Most peopleHave between one and three checkmarks in this column.

Other 8: Surprise! The majority of the most important events in yourLife don't occur while you sleep or work . . . They occur during the other8 hours.

While it's true that I created the quiz to convince you of the significance of the other 8 hours, I think it is still a valuable illustration.

Prove it to yourself by thinking about the most meaningful events andmemories in your own life. When did they occur?