[Applause]
have you ever felt stuck and frustrated
in your career or in your life asking
yourself why I’m not moving forward
when I graduated from the University
I got myself a really good job a
fantastic job in the financial market in
the city of London I had to work really
hard perhaps twice as hard as everyone
else to progress because I was born in
Iran I grew up there and as you know
they might have a comprehensive nuclear
program in Iran but not a great
financial industry as such however that
effort and my first career enabled me to
climb the corporate ladder very quickly
after few years I had a very good salary
great bonuses and I had everything that
usually defines a happy person but when
it got to my mid-thirties once the
novelty of their new job and money worn
off it was replaced by monotony a lack
of progress I wasn’t being promoted
I wasn’t progressing I wasn’t really
motivated
I felt like almond is treadmill that I’m
running running really hard without
moving forward wasn’t making a
difference therefore I was unhappy deep
down I knew why I wasn’t happy because I
wanted to become I was a risk analyst
and I liked risk as you will see in my
career analysis wasn’t something that I
was made for instead water was growing
increasingly attracted to was sowed
risky dreaming and unachievable but I
wasn’t willing to share it with
people would go and say you you’re out
of your mind you’re mad I wanted to
become an explorer and make adventure
television programs I was spending all
my time dreaming about it thinking about
it
reading explorers book watching
television I was doing everything but
exploring and making TV my dreams were
my biggest demons they were so big that
they overwhelmed and paralyzed me I was
constantly thinking of big expeditions
and massive television crews while my
biggest outdoor experience was limited
to two days camping at a festival
one day I was walking towards my office
really frustrated and angry really
disappointed I was over London Bridge it
was a really gray and Misty November day
was really cold
I stopped for a second and I decided to
stop thinking about my big dreams and
start doing something small I knew no
matter how small it was would be still
better than doing nothing I knew her I
could cycle that’s an only thing I could
possibly do on that very November I
decided to open my front door get on my
bicycle and cycle I started the small
and gradually I started becoming
stronger and stronger
a morning right turned to a full day
right combine those with camping I could
make a weekend away in the country
little by little I started to learn new
skills endurance resilience Walt camping
Walt cooking and started to gain some
self-confidence and started building
momentum to the level but I started to
believe that I’m ready to take on a big
journey I started looking at different
the Sahara Desert is as big as the
United States and it’s covering most of
North Africa is one of the harshest
places for human survival and I wanted
to cross it with a bicycle well I knew
that I was a creature of comfort I did
three things I went and talked to in
order to not to pull out basically I
first of all I went and talked to
everyone about it then I teamed up with
a charity to raise fund for them and
foolishly I went and applied for the
to do this as a world record anyhow here
is me
six months after six months training in
a Sahara Desert and I was living the
dream and my dream was absolutely
horrible
I was keep falling off my bicycle I was
bruised and battered tired and hungry
and sunburned as far as the eye could
see was bare desert it was hot it was
really hot and life at 45 degrees is
punishing especially when you’re trying
to do such a demanding physical activity
but constantly had to protect myself
against the Sun because he was so strong
I couldn’t fight the nature so
adaptation was the key I was waking up
dead early in the morning at 4 o’clock
cycle and make sure wherever I am I’m
under the shade at 10 o’clock again at 3
o’clock I started cycling all the way
through the night however with a bit of
perseverance finally I got closer and
closer to the end of my journey and
finally reached the end and smashed the
Guinness World Record for crossing the
thank you I was tough but but for the
first time in my life I felt like I had
taken ownership in struggling through
those obstacles expanded my comfort zone
and let me believe that I was not made
for analysis but I was made for
undertaking I’ll go back to my normal
life and my life wasn’t the same anymore
so I wanted more out of my life at work
I started taking more responsibilities I
started putting myself up for projects
that no one wanted to touch therefore
they they find this idiot that wants to
take this take on this project there you
go
and I started executing them just on the
take and executing him and was really
satisfying the ownership gave me
satisfaction so little by little I
developed this reputation for myself as
an undertaker my salary went up
significantly to promotion in two
consecutive years and life was great I
was so pleased that I actually started
moving moved away from owning
unmotivated employee to became a
corporate entrepreneur however despite
all these success I felt part of me was
left in the Sahara Desert and I was
hungry to explore more for the first
time I started to believe that I might
have a chance as this to make a career
out of something I absolutely like and
this summer was ready to take on a
bigger journey I started looking at
different plans and it had to be
something really big that enabled me to
just basically shoot me to the level
that I could sort of be out there and
you know have something to offer to be a
be an adventure so I needed to go big
I looked at different plans and I
decided this time to cycle the length of
the planet from north to south and put
it on the map as a world record it took
me two years in the making and during
this process friend of mine Steven
decided to join me and we decided to do
this together the last thing I did I
resign my job in the city of London and
called myself an adventurer a job title
that my mother up until today thinks
that’s another world for being
unemployed up until today anyhow we got
to north cap this is northernmost point
in mainland Europe in the Arctic Circle
adrenaline was pumping we were really
fresh and excited ready to go started
our journey go through Norway in Finland
very quickly and entered Russia Russia
was a big country it felt that we were
pedaling pedaling so hard without
getting anywhere but in a grand scheme
of things things were going quite well
we were making progress buying one time
everything was great we entered Africa
we got to the Middle East and entered
Africa in Africa things got more
difficult atomic Road turned to a gravel
road and progression was more and more
difficult it was hard to find food and
water so we started to lose weight I
started in north cap I weigh 80 kilos 85
kilos by the time I was in I was in near
the equator I was 70 kilos lost 15 we
entered Ethiopia due to the lack of
Hygiene we both caught stomach bug and
that led to a severe diarrhea and we
constantly had to jump behind the bushes
well good job there was bushes there can
you imagine that would happen in a
but northern Ethiopia is heavily
populated so finding a quiet patch was
it it was it was really difficult so
then they get to acquire patch we look
around and see no one’s around and we
jump behind the bushes all of a sudden
the entire village appeared out of
nowhere and staring at us like this it
was really uncomfortable
we carried on we entered Kenya in Kenya
things got even more difficult because
the stomach problem got worse and worse
and I started my stomach resorted to
swell and I started to look pregnant so
I had to get myself to the nearest
clinic it didn’t long take long for the
doctor to add to my food poisoning that
I’m burning up with malaria for four
days I was in that clinic that it was so
basic that they were cleaning my wounds
with toilet paper keep on going was an
only thing that I was thinking about and
stopping there was the worst feeling on
day four at 7:00 a.m. I received my last
injection and by 9 o’clock or was
prepared on my bike pushing South two
days later we enter the new deserts
progression was became more and more
difficult it was 40 degrees temperature
it was tough going my mind wanted to
carry on what my body couldn’t keep up I
had nothing left in me it was skin and
bones my malaria ravaged body didn’t
have anything
no no energy left in me but I wanted to
carry on at some point we ran out of
water for two hours we were pedaling in
this desert without water it was a
survival situation at some point I
collapsed my vision went Blair and I
collapsed I wish I was that kind of
Explorer could stand here and say I
raised the occasion my emergency plan
snapped to action and I picked myself up
on carry on carried on but not this time
I was breaking down I was thinking to
myself of being on the road for the last
70 days and I dealt with whatever
barriers that came in front of me but
there is only so much a man can take
I had nothing left in me but you know
what in my profession is quite tricky
you cannot call sick you’re in the
middle of nowhere and to get yourself
out of that situation there is only one
way and that is to move forward so I
told Stephen that let’s get get me to
the next village and from there I’m
gonna catch a lift to Nairobi and fly
back home as I got on my bike and
started pedaling towards the next
I was passing to the Samburu tribe
territories and the Warriors saw me
passing through the land they got really
excited and they decided to run
alongside me and they think we’re so
excited that never seen a cyclist
passing through the land they were never
excited they were running they’re
salivating they they they they gave me
they believed in me they gave me
recognition of what I was doing matter
it was tough moments for me and for a
second I thought this is absolutely
amazing total strangers gave me such
mental support it’s amazing how little
encouragement from total strangers
helped you to move forward in difficult
times I thought to myself this might be
difficult but my thwart persevering but
I couldn’t stop thinking that Cape Town
was still three and a half thousand
miles away and I really didn’t have
anything in me to get there so didn’t
occur to me that’s despite I’m not going
to be able to cycle eleven three and a
half thousand miles but I’m pretty sure
I can cycle 10 miles 10 miles in a grand
scheme of things and the the amount of a
cycle it wasn’t a big distance so why
don’t I cycle ten miles and once I got
there I make a decision whether to
continue or abandon my journey he got to
the next village and finish the ten
miles and I thought oh that wasn’t too
bad
maybe I can make this decision in the
next village
so cut myself on a bike go to the next
village when I got to the next village I
did exactly the same thing and I played
this mind game over and over until Table
Mountain appeared in a distance at the
end of Africa the end of my journey I
couldn’t believe it I was so happy I was
crying was pedaling
towards to the finish line and I was
crying in that moment everything started
to make sense all those hardship all
those night writing all those gravel
riding malaria heat exhaustion
everything as I was getting closer to
the finish line that lovely sandy beach
in Cape Town I was thinking to myself
the biggest lesson this very hard very
long expedition might be teaching is
that widely used cliche dream big is
great but it’s only enough to ignite a
passion is not enough to get you to the
destination it’s all those important
small steps that each day gets you one
step closer to the destination I held
true to that vision showed up every day
and turn those pedals fast forward to a
year later life changed I got a book
deal
I finished producing my documentary
which was sold all over the world was
broadcasted I got invited to speak to
great audiences such as yourself
I got I started production company which
enabled me to travel all over the world
producing amazing documentaries and
meeting incredible people these are
great and I don’t downplay them I’m
actually really grateful about them but
it’s not all about what I achieved it’s
about what I learn achieving those
struggling through and overcoming all
those obstacles unleashed my creativity
and train my resilience and
problem-solving muscles the muscles that
are not only enabled me to progress in
my adventure career but also helped me
to undertake an executor project in a
corporate world and get
satisfaction for executing them I’m not
standing here to say you have to climb
mountains across desert or wrestle a
caiman in fact I’m trying to discourage
you to go anywhere near a caiman because
it’s bloody dangerous I’m here to say
whatever you do you won’t be satisfied
until you own it
dream big think small and add venture to
your life thank you very much indeed
[Applause]
thank you [Music]
have you ever felt stuck and frustrated
in your career or in your life asking
yourself why I’m not moving forward
when I graduated from the University
I got myself a really good job a
fantastic job in the financial market in
the city of London I had to work really
hard perhaps twice as hard as everyone
else to progress because I was born in
Iran I grew up there and as you know
they might have a comprehensive nuclear
program in Iran but not a great
financial industry as such however that
effort and my first career enabled me to
climb the corporate ladder very quickly
after few years I had a very good salary
great bonuses and I had everything that
usually defines a happy person but when
it got to my mid-thirties once the
novelty of their new job and money worn
off it was replaced by monotony a lack
of progress I wasn’t being promoted
I wasn’t progressing I wasn’t really
motivated
I felt like almond is treadmill that I’m
running running really hard without
moving forward wasn’t making a
difference therefore I was unhappy deep
down I knew why I wasn’t happy because I
wanted to become I was a risk analyst
and I liked risk as you will see in my
career analysis wasn’t something that I
was made for instead water was growing
increasingly attracted to was sowed
risky dreaming and unachievable but I
wasn’t willing to share it with
people would go and say you you’re out
of your mind you’re mad I wanted to
become an explorer and make adventure
television programs I was spending all
my time dreaming about it thinking about
it
reading explorers book watching
television I was doing everything but
exploring and making TV my dreams were
my biggest demons they were so big that
they overwhelmed and paralyzed me I was
constantly thinking of big expeditions
and massive television crews while my
biggest outdoor experience was limited
to two days camping at a festival
one day I was walking towards my office
really frustrated and angry really
disappointed I was over London Bridge it
was a really gray and Misty November day
was really cold
I stopped for a second and I decided to
stop thinking about my big dreams and
start doing something small I knew no
matter how small it was would be still
better than doing nothing I knew her I
could cycle that’s an only thing I could
possibly do on that very November I
decided to open my front door get on my
bicycle and cycle I started the small
and gradually I started becoming
stronger and stronger
a morning right turned to a full day
right combine those with camping I could
make a weekend away in the country
little by little I started to learn new
skills endurance resilience Walt camping
Walt cooking and started to gain some
self-confidence and started building
momentum to the level but I started to
believe that I’m ready to take on a big
journey I started looking at different
the Sahara Desert is as big as the
United States and it’s covering most of
North Africa is one of the harshest
places for human survival and I wanted
to cross it with a bicycle well I knew
that I was a creature of comfort I did
three things I went and talked to in
order to not to pull out basically I
first of all I went and talked to
everyone about it then I teamed up with
a charity to raise fund for them and
foolishly I went and applied for the
to do this as a world record anyhow here
is me
six months after six months training in
a Sahara Desert and I was living the
dream and my dream was absolutely
horrible
I was keep falling off my bicycle I was
bruised and battered tired and hungry
and sunburned as far as the eye could
see was bare desert it was hot it was
really hot and life at 45 degrees is
punishing especially when you’re trying
to do such a demanding physical activity
but constantly had to protect myself
against the Sun because he was so strong
I couldn’t fight the nature so
adaptation was the key I was waking up
dead early in the morning at 4 o’clock
cycle and make sure wherever I am I’m
under the shade at 10 o’clock again at 3
o’clock I started cycling all the way
through the night however with a bit of
perseverance finally I got closer and
closer to the end of my journey and
finally reached the end and smashed the
Guinness World Record for crossing the
thank you I was tough but but for the
first time in my life I felt like I had
taken ownership in struggling through
those obstacles expanded my comfort zone
and let me believe that I was not made
for analysis but I was made for
undertaking I’ll go back to my normal
life and my life wasn’t the same anymore
so I wanted more out of my life at work
I started taking more responsibilities I
started putting myself up for projects
that no one wanted to touch therefore
they they find this idiot that wants to
take this take on this project there you
go
and I started executing them just on the
take and executing him and was really
satisfying the ownership gave me
satisfaction so little by little I
developed this reputation for myself as
an undertaker my salary went up
significantly to promotion in two
consecutive years and life was great I
was so pleased that I actually started
moving moved away from owning
unmotivated employee to became a
corporate entrepreneur however despite
all these success I felt part of me was
left in the Sahara Desert and I was
hungry to explore more for the first
time I started to believe that I might
have a chance as this to make a career
out of something I absolutely like and
this summer was ready to take on a
bigger journey I started looking at
different plans and it had to be
something really big that enabled me to
just basically shoot me to the level
that I could sort of be out there and
you know have something to offer to be a
be an adventure so I needed to go big
I looked at different plans and I
decided this time to cycle the length of
the planet from north to south and put
it on the map as a world record it took
me two years in the making and during
this process friend of mine Steven
decided to join me and we decided to do
this together the last thing I did I
resign my job in the city of London and
called myself an adventurer a job title
that my mother up until today thinks
that’s another world for being
unemployed up until today anyhow we got
to north cap this is northernmost point
in mainland Europe in the Arctic Circle
adrenaline was pumping we were really
fresh and excited ready to go started
our journey go through Norway in Finland
very quickly and entered Russia Russia
was a big country it felt that we were
pedaling pedaling so hard without
getting anywhere but in a grand scheme
of things things were going quite well
we were making progress buying one time
everything was great we entered Africa
we got to the Middle East and entered
Africa in Africa things got more
difficult atomic Road turned to a gravel
road and progression was more and more
difficult it was hard to find food and
water so we started to lose weight I
started in north cap I weigh 80 kilos 85
kilos by the time I was in I was in near
the equator I was 70 kilos lost 15 we
entered Ethiopia due to the lack of
Hygiene we both caught stomach bug and
that led to a severe diarrhea and we
constantly had to jump behind the bushes
well good job there was bushes there can
you imagine that would happen in a
but northern Ethiopia is heavily
populated so finding a quiet patch was
it it was it was really difficult so
then they get to acquire patch we look
around and see no one’s around and we
jump behind the bushes all of a sudden
the entire village appeared out of
nowhere and staring at us like this it
was really uncomfortable
we carried on we entered Kenya in Kenya
things got even more difficult because
the stomach problem got worse and worse
and I started my stomach resorted to
swell and I started to look pregnant so
I had to get myself to the nearest
clinic it didn’t long take long for the
doctor to add to my food poisoning that
I’m burning up with malaria for four
days I was in that clinic that it was so
basic that they were cleaning my wounds
with toilet paper keep on going was an
only thing that I was thinking about and
stopping there was the worst feeling on
day four at 7:00 a.m. I received my last
injection and by 9 o’clock or was
prepared on my bike pushing South two
days later we enter the new deserts
progression was became more and more
difficult it was 40 degrees temperature
it was tough going my mind wanted to
carry on what my body couldn’t keep up I
had nothing left in me it was skin and
bones my malaria ravaged body didn’t
have anything
no no energy left in me but I wanted to
carry on at some point we ran out of
water for two hours we were pedaling in
this desert without water it was a
survival situation at some point I
collapsed my vision went Blair and I
collapsed I wish I was that kind of
Explorer could stand here and say I
raised the occasion my emergency plan
snapped to action and I picked myself up
on carry on carried on but not this time
I was breaking down I was thinking to
myself of being on the road for the last
70 days and I dealt with whatever
barriers that came in front of me but
there is only so much a man can take
I had nothing left in me but you know
what in my profession is quite tricky
you cannot call sick you’re in the
middle of nowhere and to get yourself
out of that situation there is only one
way and that is to move forward so I
told Stephen that let’s get get me to
the next village and from there I’m
gonna catch a lift to Nairobi and fly
back home as I got on my bike and
started pedaling towards the next
I was passing to the Samburu tribe
territories and the Warriors saw me
passing through the land they got really
excited and they decided to run
alongside me and they think we’re so
excited that never seen a cyclist
passing through the land they were never
excited they were running they’re
salivating they they they they gave me
they believed in me they gave me
recognition of what I was doing matter
it was tough moments for me and for a
second I thought this is absolutely
amazing total strangers gave me such
mental support it’s amazing how little
encouragement from total strangers
helped you to move forward in difficult
times I thought to myself this might be
difficult but my thwart persevering but
I couldn’t stop thinking that Cape Town
was still three and a half thousand
miles away and I really didn’t have
anything in me to get there so didn’t
occur to me that’s despite I’m not going
to be able to cycle eleven three and a
half thousand miles but I’m pretty sure
I can cycle 10 miles 10 miles in a grand
scheme of things and the the amount of a
cycle it wasn’t a big distance so why
don’t I cycle ten miles and once I got
there I make a decision whether to
continue or abandon my journey he got to
the next village and finish the ten
miles and I thought oh that wasn’t too
bad
maybe I can make this decision in the
next village
so cut myself on a bike go to the next
village when I got to the next village I
did exactly the same thing and I played
this mind game over and over until Table
Mountain appeared in a distance at the
end of Africa the end of my journey I
couldn’t believe it I was so happy I was
crying was pedaling
towards to the finish line and I was
crying in that moment everything started
to make sense all those hardship all
those night writing all those gravel
riding malaria heat exhaustion
everything as I was getting closer to
the finish line that lovely sandy beach
in Cape Town I was thinking to myself
the biggest lesson this very hard very
long expedition might be teaching is
that widely used cliche dream big is
great but it’s only enough to ignite a
passion is not enough to get you to the
destination it’s all those important
small steps that each day gets you one
step closer to the destination I held
true to that vision showed up every day
and turn those pedals fast forward to a
year later life changed I got a book
deal
I finished producing my documentary
which was sold all over the world was
broadcasted I got invited to speak to
great audiences such as yourself
I got I started production company which
enabled me to travel all over the world
producing amazing documentaries and
meeting incredible people these are
great and I don’t downplay them I’m
actually really grateful about them but
it’s not all about what I achieved it’s
about what I learn achieving those
struggling through and overcoming all
those obstacles unleashed my creativity
and train my resilience and
problem-solving muscles the muscles that
are not only enabled me to progress in
my adventure career but also helped me
to undertake an executor project in a
corporate world and get
satisfaction for executing them I’m not
standing here to say you have to climb
mountains across desert or wrestle a
caiman in fact I’m trying to discourage
you to go anywhere near a caiman because
it’s bloody dangerous I’m here to say
whatever you do you won’t be satisfied
until you own it
dream big think small and add venture to
your life thank you very much indeed
[Applause]
thank you [Music]
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