International Speakers

Miles Hilton-BarberAIR FORCE

Miles grew up in Zimbabwe with normal sight, dreaming of one day becoming a fighter pilot like his father.

At 18, Miles applied to join the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, but to his utter disappointment he failed the eyesight medical. Then at 21, both Miles and his brother Geoff were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic eyesight condition that would lead to total blindness for them both.

For the next 30 years, Miles lived with a kind of ‘victim mentality’, believing the established thinking that blindness was a massive barrier preventing him from undertaking any adventurous exploits.

At 50, Miles’ life radically changed through the example of his blind brother Geoff who set an amazing World Record, becoming the first blind person in world history to cross an ocean solo, sailing from Africa to Australia unaided in a yacht that he built himself. Wow! What an amazing achievement!

This was Miles’ big ‘wake up call’ so to speak, for the first time understanding the life principle that the key to success in life is not our external circumstances, but our inner response to them – “attitude is what determines altitude!”

Since then Miles has had the huge privilege of setting numerous world records undertaking extreme events across all seven continents of our world in the fields of mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, power-boat racing, scuba-diving, motor-racing and long distance, aerobatic and supersonic flying amongst other achievements. Miles has now spoken at over 1,000 corporate events in 69 countries around the world to date, sharing the transforming life lessons he has learned along the way, typified by his life philosophy that “The only limits in your life are those you accept yourself.”

Blind Adventurer and international Motivational Speaker Miles Hilton-Barber is one of the most widely sought-after motivational speakers on the world circuit today, having had the privilege of speaking at over 1,400+ corporate events in 73 countries around the world to date.

Despite losing his sight in his early twenties, his quality of life and level of success was radically transformed at the age of 50, not through sight restoration, but through changing his attitude to his blindness.

Since the age of 50 Miles has set numerous world records undertaking extreme endurance events across all seven continents of our world, in the fields of mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, power-boat racing, scuba-diving, motor-racing and long distance, aerobatic and supersonic flying amongst other achievements.

His presentations outline a radical yet simple set of life principles that will enable businesses and individuals to become more successful today, despite facing unprecedented global change. These principles are wrapped up in a fast-moving, colourful and humorous presentation, with photos and video clips from his many expeditions and adventures. He will challenge you to look at how you can achieve so much more than you think you can in both your professional and personal life, because “the only limits in your life are those you accept yourself.”

Whether Miles is giving a keynote corporate presentation or an after dinner speech, his humour, timing and use of material is exceptional. He mixes in laughter, telling stories from his own rich experiences as a blind person covering such life-lesson themes as:

Fulfilling your Business Potential in 2016 and Beyond
The Only Limits in Life are those you Accept Yourself
Dream Big to Achieve Big
Expect the Unexpected
Never Give Up
The Importance of Teamwork
Don’t let your Past Determine Your Future
Facing your Fears
Taking Advantage of Adversity
Benefiting from Failure