I'm here today to talk to you

about overcoming the biggest obstacle you'll ever face.

Let me take you on a journey.

It was the middle of the night, almost a year ago.

I struggled to breathe.

Each step taking longer than the last,

I fought my way upward

at the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner.

"Focus," I thought, "keep pushing forward."

The combination of 130 days of consecutive climbing,

the -60-degree windchill,

and the actual physiological state of my body

fighting back at 28,000 feet on Mount Everest summit ridge

was pushing me to my breaking point.

"Get a hold of yourself, Colin."

I desperately tried to regain control of my mind.

But doubts, fear, and pain swirled in my thoughts.

"One step at a time," I thought.

In an apparent daze,

a chair appeared in the snow in front of me,

blurring in and out of my vision.

"One step at a time," I thought.

These labored steps reminded me of steps I had taken before -

steps that had given me a new lease on life,

steps that would bring me to my knees

yet simultaneously teach me life's greatest lesson.

My mind flashed back.

10 years ago,

I had just graduated from college.

It was time to let loose, to see the world.

I took my life savings from three summers painting houses,

packed a backpack and a surfboard,

and set off into the world for an adventure with no itinerary.

After all,

adventure is just bad planning, right?

(Laughter)

Three months into the journey,

I found myself on a beach in rural Thailand.

It was a beautiful evening.