What’s your Everest? That’s the question world-renowned athlete Colin O’Brady asked a rapt crowd on Tuesday during his keynote address at the 2018 ASI Power Summit in Tucson, AZ.

O’Brady is known for holding the world speed record for completing the Explorers Grand Slam: reaching the North Pole, South Pole and climbing the Seven Summits – the highest peaks in each of the seven continents. It took O’Brady just 139 days, back in 2016, to achieve this lofty goal.

Colin O’Brady

A decade before, however, doctors were telling the motivational mountaineer that he’d never walk normally again, after an incident with a flaming jump rope in a remote beach in Thailand left a quarter of his body severely burned. The accident sent O’Brady into a negative emotional spiral, until his mother, with a smile, “dared me to dream about the future” and set a measurable goal.

“That was the beginning of my journey to get strong again,” O’Brady said.

A competitive swimmer during college, O’Brady decided he would set his sights on completing his first triathlon, and began lifting weights from the bed of the Thai hospital where he was recovering.  After three months there, O’Brady was sent home in a wheelchair. His mother promptly put a kitchen chair in front of him and encouraged him to take his first step. “It took me three hours to get out of the wheelchair and take that first step, but I did it,” O’Brady recalled.

Each day, O’Brady was able to take a few more faltering steps. Some 18 months after his accident, he crossed the finish line in the Chicago Triathlon – and actually won the entire race.

“What would have happened had my mom not forced me to look into the future and set a measurable goal?” O’Brady asked. “I realized that as humans we all have untapped potential inside us to achieve extraordinary things.”

Colin O’Brady on stage at the 2018 ASI Power Summit.

After that first success, O’Brady became a professional triathlete, but wasn’t content to let his inspirational story stop there. He set his sights on the Seven Summits and the Explorers Grand Slam. He and his wife, Jenna, hatched a plan to tie his speed climbing ambitions to a nonprofit they started to promote children’s health and wellness.

While seeking sponsors, O’Brady was turned down countless times, until he had a chance encounter with the CEO of Nike after a spin class. “All of those hundreds of ‘no’s’ leading up to this got me to that moment,” O’Brady said. “In the most important moment, the most polished elevator pitch came out.”

O’Brady shared incredible stories from his journey across the world’s tallest mountains, from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in a single day to braving a huge storm on Denali and still managing to reach the peak in three days. He surmounted obstacles like frost bite, polar bears, sub-zero winds and freezing sea water. In the process, he racked up around 500 million media impressions, giving him a huge platform to grow his nonprofit.

O’Brady and his wife often share their story at public schools and ask children to share what their Everest is. “They know the answer to the question and they want to share it,” he said.

Asking the same question to a roomful of adults rarely garners more than a few meek hands in the air, he added. Nonetheless, the question is relevant for everyone, O’Brady said. “What are you passionate about? What feels so out of reach, but maybe if you actually believed in it you can get there?” he asked. O’Brady encouraged attendees to set an ambitious goal, then start taking those first small steps toward reaching it. “Achievement is not for the select few; it’s simply for those who don’t quit,” he said.