Episode 7 - Colin O’Brady
On Dec 26th, 2018 I wrote the following entry on my Facebook page (it’s still there):
“As I prep for 2019, I am inspired AND challenged by this piece of history that JUST happened a FEW HOURS AGO!
I don’t know Colin O'Brady yet, but many of my friends do, and they speak of how he squeezes every drop out of life.”
The piece of history I was referring to was the fact the Colin had just become the FIRST human, in the history of planet Earth, to cross Antarctica Alone,
Now, obviously, there's a reason no one else had ever accomplished this colossal feat...it’s because most considered it to be Impossible.
So impossible, in fact, that many polar explorers had tried and failed, and even lost their lives in pursuit of being the First.
I'm absolutely thrilled that Colin O'Brady is my guest on the Show today!
Colin's amazing book is called: The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice -- Crossing Antartica Alone
In this New York Times Bestseller he shares that he overcame severe burn injuries (That’s the FIRE) and how—despite being told by doctors that he would never walk normally again—
he defied the odds to become a Triathlete on Team USA, and the holder 10 World Records including his crossing of Antarctica. (That’s the ICE)
At the beginning of the interview, he shares a story of Frozen Tears —
which is an image that captures both the unforgiving harshness of the external environment,
and the internal doubts, fears, and memories that populated his thoughts throughout his journey
I love Great Tales of adventure, but I wondered how 54 days of pulling a 350-pound sled across flat and featureless ice would translate into a book.
We take a deep dive into how he turned this sub-zero trek into a compelling book— a book WORTH reading.
We explore How this book differs from most of the books in the Adventure genre, and why that was an important goal for him during the writing.
Experiencing a great adventure is one thing
But turning that adventure into a good book is quite another
So we talk about how all of the experiences and thoughts from his epic quest eventually become THIS particular book.
Socrates once said that the Unreflected life is not worth living…
and I know how valuable reflection has been to me in my own life. I used to go to monasteries for three or four days of silent prayer and reflection. And I found that 3-4 days was a really really long time to be alone with my thoughts!
But 54 days…
54 days of solitude and reflection… that’s CRAZY!
Colin talks about how cathartic it was to write the book
And he shares several behind-the-scenes stories—including how beating Captain Rudd by two days serendipitously helped him shape the book.
I think it’s pretty dang cool that the ultimate lesson Colin gleaned
as a result of his undaunted courage and relentless reflection… was INFINITE LOVE
Go buy the book—after you finish listening to our conversation, of course!
Say hi to Colin on IG…. @ColinOBrady
And all of his public speaking and non-profit work is on his website ColinOBrady.com
Buckle up! Let’s get started!
