Paul Watkins keynote speaker

Paul Watkins

  • Keynote Speaker
  • Adventurer | Mindset
  • Based in Australia
  • Showreel
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About Paul Watkins

Paul Watkins is probably best described as a cross between Harry Potter and Bear Grylls. Starting out as a local pharmacist in Warrnambool, he has spent time as a builder, property developer, entrepreneur, public speaker and trail runner.

Over the last two decades he has built a considerable resume of mountain climbing and adventure racing – covering high altitude mountains and expeditions on all seven continents, completing the Kokoda Track twice as well as some of the most gruelling ultra-marathons on the planet, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle.

Paul blends decades of extreme adventure and a successful business career with a scientific and philosophical approach to optimising performance. From high schools to c-suites he speaks to the power of building discipline and antifragility – on the power of doing hard things.

Description

Paul Watkins motivational speaker: hire him for your next event

Paul Watkins motivational speaker sessions come from a former pharmacist turned builder, property developer and elite adventurer. In fact, over two decades, he has taken on the Seven Summits. He has also completed expeditions from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle. Throughout, he built a genuine business career. Few speakers combine extreme physical achievement with real commercial credibility the way Paul does.

Paul Watkins motivational speaker background

That unusual combination is what makes Paul’s keynote, The Tao of Hard Things, land differently with audiences. Rather than relying on adventure stories alone, he fuses Eastern philosophy, Stoic thinking and modern performance science. He also draws on two decades of firsthand experience doing genuinely hard things, both on mountains and in business. As a result, he created a framework he calls the Five Pillars. It is a practical set of tools for handling adversity. It also helps build discipline and performance under sustained pressure.

International audiences in banking, health technology and professional services have engaged Paul for conferences, leadership offsites and company-wide events. His business experience is real, not anecdotal. So, the strategies he teaches hold up under scrutiny from even the most sceptical corporate crowd. Meanwhile, his physical achievements give him instant credibility from the opening minutes of any session.

Conversation topics

Beyond the keynote stage, Paul also delivers half and full-day workshops. These embed the Five Pillars more deeply across leadership and frontline teams. Exercises are adapted to each organisation’s specific pressures and goals. In addition, his other keynotes, Going the Distance and The Story We Tell Ourselves, draw on his unsupported 600km Arctic Circle race. They also draw on multiple winter ultra-marathons. Together, these explore motivation, discipline and building confidence through evidence.

Browse more motivational keynote speakers or connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

Keynote Topics

Paul Watkins keynote speaker sessions cover the following signature topics:

The Tao of Hard Things

Build and harness the skill of Doing Hard Things.

How to build the capacity and skill of doing hard things – a competitive advantage in work and life.

Blending Eastern philosophy, Stoicism and modern science interwoven with first hand experience across 20 years and 7 continents of doing very hard things, Keynote – The Tao of Hard Things

Takeaways:

  • The Five Pillars of the Tao of Hard Things – Action, Evidence, Journey, Agency and Curiosity.
  • Reframe your understanding of self discipline and motivation
  • How to think differently about what you are capable of and how to leverage hard things.

Going the distance

An Epic Two Year Battle with one of the World’s toughest races

A tale of adventure – transporting you right in the middle of the action.

An unsupported race 600km deep into the Arctic Circle.

Brutally honest, insightful and humorous account on being frozen, broken and hallucinating.

Going from a public and painful failure in 2017 to standing on the top of the podium in 2019 at the very end of the Earth.

Takeaways:

  • The difference between motivation and discipline and how to leverage it.
  • How and why the story you tell yourself changes who you are.
  • How ‘normal’ people can do extraordinary things Paul brings almost 30 years of hard earned experience to the table

The story we tell ourselves

Time to think differently about what you are capable of.

Set against the backdrop of multiple epic winter ultra-marathons across the Arctic, we dive into the story we tell ourselves, about who we are, what we are capable of and what the future holds.

Dig into building confidence through evidence, the power of action and curiosity and why discipline is the tool you bring to every job.

Takeaways:

  • How to build a powerful internal narrative.
  • Building a Mental and Behavioural toolkit built on curiosity and action.
  • Develop true confidence built on a cookie jar of evidence.

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