Warren MacDonald

First Double Above-Knee Amputee To Summit Mt. Kilimanjaro

Bestelling Author of ‘A Test of Will’

Warren Macdonald’s life’s boundaries were redefined in April 1997 with his accident on North Queensland’s (Australia) Hinchinbrook Island. Climbing to the Island’s tallest peak, he became trapped beneath a one-ton slab boulder in a freak rock fall. Two days later he was rescued and forced to undergo the amputation of both legs at mid-thigh. Just ten months later, he climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants.

Warren became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro (19,222ft), and more recently, in a spectacular effort requiring more than 2,800 pull-ups over 4 days, created history once again in an ascent of America’s tallest cliff face, El Capitan. He is also the only above knee amputee to make an ascent of Canada’s landmark frozen waterfall, the 600 ft “Weeping Wall” in Alberta.

Warren’s bestselling book, A Test of Will is the subject of the “Trapped under a Boulder” episode of Discovery’s I Shouldn’t Be Alive series. His documentary film “The Second Step” has been acclaimed worldwide, screening on National Geographic Television and winning eight international awards.

Warren has appeared on Larry King Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. He has written articles for CNN World Edition, Australian Geographic, Speaking of Impact and Professional Speaker.

Warren is a visionary who lives and breathes change management every day. He is routinely sought out as a keynote speaker and motivator by innovative, forward thinking organizations looking to foster “out of the box” thinking. A powerful catalyst for change, Warren’s presentation challenges the status quo by telling audiences what they need . to hear, rather than what they might want to hear.

Warren’s mission is to help you change the way you see the world, and your place in it.

The Challenge of Change: Finding Opportunity In Adversity

We’ve all heard the cliches a million times: “change is constant”, “the only certainty in life is change,” “change or perish”. We already know this about change; what we need is for someone to show us how to deal with it. Warren’s “Challenge of Change” presentation will help your group realize that challenges brought on by change hold endless opportunities for innovation and personal and professional growth. It’s the challenges we face that build the resilience we need as we’re asked to do more, with less. It is possible to not only survive but to thrive, even amidst adversity.

Expected Outcomes:

• The ability to recognize and break through mental barriers to change.
• Tools to build resilience for both business and personal growth.
• A powerful shift in thinking that will put challenges into perspective.

The Power of Perception

If we can’t see where it is we need to go, what are our chances of getting there? If your team or your members can’t see where you’re going, what are the chances they’ll get on-board?

In navigating change, and overcoming the challenges that come with it, we need to address the foundation, the root cause of why we often get stuck or disengaged, and that is, how we perceive change in the first place.

Expected Outcomes:

• An understanding of the incredible importance of mindset, and how perception is the most important factor when it comes to limiting, or improving, our performance.
• Specific tools and techniques to help break through the barriers that limit us.
• How to develop strategies to counter inevitable setbacks that always come when pursuing big goals.

Return on Resilience: Bouncing Back is just the Beginning

If there’s one certainty in business and in life, it’s that we will all face challenges; we will all, at some point, be faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle or obstacles. When that happens, our greatest ally is found in our ability to endure, to adapt. When that happens, it pays to have banked some resilience.

This keynote presentation focuses on what we can do to prepare for our challenges in advance. On how we can fortify ourselves against the curveballs and roadblocks before they happen by practicing resilience.

Expected Outcomes:

• An understanding of how resilience is banked, and is transferable across all areas of our lives.
• Specific tools and techniques to build resilience.
• Learn that “Bouncing Back” is just the beginning. By practicing resilience, we position ourselves to Bounce Forward towards our goals.

Next Level Quality of Care: A Patient’s Testimony

As a keynote speaker, I present at thirty to forty events each year on topics ranging from navigating change to setting impossible goals. I have to say though that the strongest connection I feel with an audience is when I get to share my patient’s story as a healthcare speaker with people that do the work that you do; those of you in healthcare.

I’ve seen firsthand what you do. I’ve been there, on the receiving end.

I’d never been in hospital before until that night, after being rescued off of the side of a remote mountain, when I was wheeled on a stretcher into your world. Ten days in intensive care; a month in the first hospital, then seven months of rehabilitation; learning how to live as a double above knee amputee.

The big picture aim of this presentation is to validate the importance of the work you do; whether you’re a front line practitioner or clinician; a caregiver or caseworker or a hospital administrator. Second to that is to share an example of the results we can achieve in our quality of care when we adopt a client centered (or patient centered) approach or model. When we partner with our patients to achieve a common goal.

Expected Outcomes

• Validation of the importance for the role you play. You make a difference!
• Strategies to improve the quality of care you deliver.
• The importance of perception in your role in healthcare, both in how you see your patients and how you see yourself.