1. It Is Never Too Late.

 

When I was a little boy, my dream was to one day work with great white sharks, and that dream came true. And not only did I work with these extraordinary creatures, but I reached the top of my game and achieved far more than I ever dreamed of - far more than my wildest expectations. I achieved a number of world firsts, I led international research and filming expeditions around the world, I worked with incredible people, wrote meaningful scientific papers and books, was part of the team that had the White Shark declared a protected species and I have been honored for my work by The Royal Geographic Society.
 

 Another of my dreams was to sail around the world with my family, and that is exactly what we did. From 2011 to 2015, we sailed the oceans in our beautiful catamaran, visiting places like Cuba, Guatemala, Cayman Islands, Panama, Ecuador, Galapagos, Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand and many, many other exotic destinations. It was an adventure of a lifetime, filled with life altering experiences, interesting places, diverse cultures, dangers and influences that most people unfortunately never enjoy.
 

Yet another of my dreams was to be a successful author and an international inspirational speaker, and today, that is what I do. I travel the world writing books and inspiring audiences. It’s like I died and went to heaven.

Most of us start out with wonderful dreams. Some of which, are grandiose, while others are more grounded, but tragically, so many of us never achieve what we really yearn for in life. We allow our beautiful dreams to slip through our fingers, like fine sea sand, until we arrive at a point where we convince ourselves that it is too late. Well, I am here to tell you, that IT IS NEVER TOO LATE. I achieved all my dreams and there are still more to come, which I will also achieve and so can all of us. We all have the potential to reach our dreams and our highest goals, no matter who we are, where we are, or how old or young we are.

Achieving our goals, is a mindset and a willingness to walk through our fears. This is all that stands in the way of having what we desire. And once we choose to step up to the plate, life puts wind under our wings. I know, because I have experienced it. People say I am an over achiever, but they are wrong because it has nothing to do with that. It all has to do with desire, belief, what we choose and a willingness to walk through our fears. 

I love giving this talk because I believe it is a travesty to allow our dreams and highest goals to fade away with time. I’d like the audience to leave with a knowing that our dreams are far too important to let go of.

 

 

2. Facing Change, and Succeeding.

 

One of the things we as humans fear the most, is change, so we resist it. And this resistance to change can stagnate us and keep us from achieving success because the reality is, that we are living in a world of constant flux and flow. What works today is gone tomorrow, disruptive innovations can destroy entire industries and in this day and age, companies find themselves constantly scrambling up slippery slopes to stay on top. Gone are the days of a nice steady flow of change.
 

And not only does the world of change we are living in, affect organizations, it affects us as individuals. Change can paralyze us in fear because it is often perceived as a threat. Change means having to do things differently, it means getting out of our comfort zone, it means absorbing new information and developing new skills, and this can make us afraid.
 

When I stood on the threshold of purchasing a catamaran to take my family sailing around the world, I was consumed with fear and self-doubt. Reality ambles along and pierces the dream, and my reality was this. By signing on the dotted line, I was committing us, as a family, to a world of change. Purchasing that yacht would mean taking our three boys out of school, placing our careers on hold, leaving behind our fantastic social lives, renting out our home, committing our life savings to the project and nipping off our income streams, not to mention a thousand other details, we had not even thought of.
 

At this juncture, with my heart pounding, my mind full of self-doubt and feeling short of breath in the face of life altering changes, I had a choice to make, and that is what it ultimately comes down to – the choices we make. I could choose to play it safe and allow that dream to escape, or I could choose to embrace those changes and see them from a different perspective. 
 

More often than not, it comes down to how we view change that makes all the difference. We can view it in the negative and resist it, or we can see change as a world of new opportunities, and embrace it. 
 

The great white shark is one of the most successful species the world has ever seen and the foundation of this animal’s success, is its ability to constantly adapt to a changing environment. Nature adapts to change seamlessly, because nature never resists change and if we learn to do the same, if we learn to accept that we are living in an ever changing environment, then like the Great White Shark, we will succeed. 
 

Life is changing all the time. It is natural, and my aim with this talk is to illustrate that how we deal with change comes down to the choices we make. We cannot stop change, but we can embrace it and use it to our advantage. 

 

 

3. Life wants us to succeed.

 

Many of us unfortunately go through life believing that we are flotsam, victims of circumstance, where we have little or no control over our destinies. We wake up, push auto-pilot and proceed in the hope that things will work out. We are often in a constant struggle of holding onto what we perceive to be good, and fighting against that, which seems bad.
 

Some years ago, I went through a life crisis, and during this period, I discovered that we are not mere victims of circumstances. I discovered that we exert immense power over our destinies and I discovered that we live in an intelligent universe, which supports our endeavors. I learnt that by default, my life had transpired as a reflection of my inner world and thoughts, and upon reflection, I could clearly see where life had put wind under my wings. I saw, how when I truly desired something and was willing to work towards my dreams, magic took place. Often inexplicable magic, but magic nonetheless, that joined the dots and assisted me in my achievements. 

I have accomplished all my dreams thus far. Dreams that from the outside, may seem impossible for most to comprehend and which have coaxed people to often ask me how I did it? Well, if truth be told, all of my dreams came to pass quite easily. In fact, I often look back and shake my head in wonder.

The point of this talk is to use my own experiences to show the audience that life wants us to succeed. All we need do, is get out of our own way, reevaluate our belief system and learn to trust in a natural process that propels entire galaxies. 

 

 

4. Do they trust you enough, to follow you?

 

I have been to talks and read books on leadership, so I understand that there are many aspects which contribute to being a good leader, however, there is one value I believe to be the most important. That value is TRUST, and I believe it is the difference between being a good leader, or a great leader. 

 
I have led expeditions and research and filming trips around the world, and I have been captain of my own yacht as I sailed for more than 25 000 kilometers across oceans with my family. I have often had to ask my teams to push themselves beyond the limits. The environments and situations I have found myself and my teams in, have often been extreme, dangerous and life threatening and in all of this, what kept the glue together, was their trust in me. I did not learn this by reading books or attending workshops. I learnt this through experience, thus, it is my firm belief that the most important attribute a leader can possess, is the level of trust instilled in the people being led.

Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed. In my experience, if my teams did not have trust in me, my abilities, purpose and goals, then I would have failed before I even started.