companies

“I would like to say how inspirational I found your presentation to us on our last module. You'll be pleased to know that I have just been promoted to a corporate accounts position which I'm proud of. Once again, thanks for sharing with us what helped you reach your goal.” Neil Brown, ICI

How many years is it worth persevering to realise a dream? One? Five? Ten? For Paul Deegan, his 15 year dream began in 1988 when, at the age of 18, he proposed and co-led a 47 strong expedition to clean-up Mount Everest. So began a quest to reach the top of the world. Eight years later, Paul’s odyssey seemingly came to an end when he became embroiled in the infamous ‘Into Thin Air’ disaster. He vowed never to go back to the mountain of his dreams.

Why then did Paul decide to return to Everest eight years later? How did he overcome extreme self-doubt to make a final summit bid? And what lessons from Paul’s story can be applied by people striving to achieve their own ambitions?

During his presentation, Paul shares some of the techniques that helped him, including taking the rocking chair test to decide what to do next, and a trick of the mind to remove the fear of failure. Paul also explains why the best way to fulfill an ambition is to forget all about it.

10% of Paul's talks are delivered pro bono. He offsets carbon emissions from all his air flights, as well as car journeys to presentations.

Email Paul to request more information about his talks, or to enquire about his availability to speak at your next event.

“I came along to your talk last year and put my ambition in an envelope. What a good idea it turned out to be. As a total non-runner I wrote down that I wanted to run the London Marathon. Well, I’m doing the Great North Run next Sunday so it looks like I'm on track. It has been a good little boost to see I’m making progress. Thanks so much.” Colette Craddock, Cancer Research UK

"Statistics from the evaluations received to date for your presentation are: very good, 51; good, 19; satisfactory, 3; unsatisfactory, 0; poor, 0. Typical comments included: 'Very good metaphorical refocusing on the conference theme', 'Fantastic, a really positive ending', and 'Relevant, inspiring and a motivating end to the morning'. Your attention to detail certainly paid dividends in helping us to make this year's conference such a successful event." Nigel Battey, Cambridgeshire County Council

"Paul spoke at three international conferences that I was involved with in 2008, two in London and one in Hong Kong. I had the pleasure of attending all three of his presentations, and I found each of them to be of a very high standard. Paul is an excellent speaker; he had the audience of senior-level business executives captivated as he shared his Everest experiences (and life lessons learned) with them. Paul's talks are inspirational, and he is extremely professional, polite, punctual and proactive." Jeffrey Ong, IIR

All quotes are from unsolicited correspondence.

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