[rank_math_breadcrumb]

Alastair Humphreys | The Legacy Project | Adventure Speaker

About

Alastair Humphreys is an English cyclist, adventurer, author, motivational speaker, blogger, film maker, photographer and a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. Whilst at University, he cycled from Pakistan to China, Land’s End to John O’Groats, Turkey to Italy, Mexico to Panama and across South America. Since graduating, Alistair has cycled round the world for 4 years, raced a yacht across the Atlantic Ocean, canoed 500 miles down the Yukon River and walked the length of the holy Kaveri River in India.

The Difference Between good And Great for Alistair Humphreys | He believes being brave enough to take risks and risk ridicule and failure.

 

Perceiving medioc rity to be the worst possible thing, worse even than failing (which at least gives you the chance of closure and time to begin something new…)

 

My Key Talent | THE VITAL THING to say here is that I have no special talent or strength. I am a normal person. Anyone could do the adventures I have done. The only difference, perhaps, is that I persuaded myself to BEGIN even when I was nervous. Beginning and persevering are key.

 

The Principles I Live By | Work hard but not too hard. Have fun. Be original. Cajole yourself to do things you find difficult and daunting: you might well surprise yourself. Be kind. Read a lot. Look after your body – it’s the most important tool you have.

 

Lessons I’ve Learnt | BEGIN! Think Big, Dream Big, but then chase down the first tiny little steps on the road towards your big dream. Don’t think that because you are not an expert you cannot do X. Think about the first tiny step that you CAN manage right now that will set you slowly on the road to where you want to go.

 

Dealing With Doubt | When I set off to cycle round the world I was convinced I would fail. But I persuaded myself to at least begin. It is better to begin and then to fail than it is to not even begin due to nerves or uncertainty. You’ll never know unless you try. Give it a go! You might surprise yourself…

 

Performing At My Peak | I don’t! And I don’t think any real people do this. Try your best, but accept that there are ups and downs in life. Acknowledge it and accept it. Sleep when you are tired. Find time to run and get into the wild. Read books. Do nothing. Let your brain tick over. And then when you do work, work very hard and efficiently! It’s about quality of work not quantity.

 

Resources I’ve Used | TED talks online, Economist magazine, Banff Mountain Film Festival winners, Seth Godin’s blog.

 

On Building Wealth | Think hard about how you define ‘rich’ and ‘wealth’. Is it amount of happiness? Quantity of new experiences? Good deeds done? Good stuff left behind?  Or is it fat piles of cash? There’s no right answer, but it’s important to be clear of your own right answer.

 

My Favourite Book | As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee

Interview Questions

[everest_form id="26923"]

View further interviews.

The Legacy Project

Gary Kirsten is a former South African cricketer and the World Cup winning coach of the Indian Cricket Team. He played 101 Test matches and 185 One-day internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman. He has recently established a cricket academy named the Gary Kirsten Cricket Academy (GKCA). Kirsten […]

The Legacy Project

I first spotted Seth Hulley surfing as a ‘grom’ in Umhlanga Rocks in the 80’s and even way back then it wasn’t hard to see that this young man was going to go all the way. He was everything a surfer needs to be: blond, tanned, strong, athletic, fun, bad-assed, uber-confident and competitive. You name […]

The Legacy Project

Andile Khumalo is the the ex Chief Investment Officer of MSG Afrika, a media and communications group. He is also the founder of I am an Entrepreneur, an online platform to find and assist entrepreneurs in South Africa. Andile was named one of Mail & Guardian‘s Top 200 Young South Africans in 2012. Andile Khumalo […]

The Legacy Project

Richard Griffin is the managing director of dinner theatre and restaurant group Madame Zingara Holdings. He has a talent for creating unique dining experiences for customers and his focus on delivering personalised service is almost fanatical. Every night that Madame Zingara runs, Richard Griffin and his crew transform the famed Belgian tent of mirrors into […]

The Legacy Project

In 2006, at the age of 23, Helder Guimarães became the youngest ever World Champion of Card Magic. He was awarded the title after his performance in a triennial competition, which left both the judging panel and over a thousand other performers utterly baffled. Since then, using his background in acting and theatre, he created […]

The Legacy Project

Ernie Els has 70 professional career victories to his name, including four Major Championships, two World Golf Championships and seven World Matchplay titles. He is ranked No.1 in all-time career earnings on the European Tour and is known as “The Big Easy” due to his imposing physical stature, along with his fluid golf swing. I […]

The Legacy Project

Edward Mogano is a vibrant and talented young South African, that we’ve recently discovered, who seems to have his head firmly entrenched in helping prepare the youth of today for the solutions of tomorrow, as he blogs about creating awareness around the current paradigm-shift trends taking place throughout the world right now. About my Life […]

John Smit

John Smit TLP was one of Rugby’s most successful players of all time. He was the captain of the South African Rugby team (with an astonishing 111 caps), leading the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2007 and was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011. He is currently the CEO of Sharks […]

  • South Africa
  • Keynote Speaker
Disclaimer
The profiles and images embedded on these pages are from various interviews conducted by The Legacy Project.

These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.

Our Mission

We are your partner creating memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond the event itself.

© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME