Sean Bell
PROFILE
At just 27 years old, Sean Bell broke the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of Australia on foot, running 13,383 kilometres in 158 days, 14 hours, and 52 minutes – shattering the previous record by 11 days. Averaging over 84 kilometres – two marathons – a day, Sean’s achievement was the culmination of a six-year journey marked by grit, purpose, and relentless dedication.
Sean’s story began in Vermont, Victoria, where Australian Rules Football taught him early lessons in resilience. But it was the devastating loss of a teammate at just 18 years old in 2016 that profoundly changed his perspective. Determined to live a life of purpose, Sean turned to running as an outlet for his grief and mental health. By 2017, he completed his first marathon and realised running could become more than a personal passion – it could be a platform to inspire and make a difference.
In 2018, Sean set a bold goal with his coach Jase: to run around Australia and raise funds for charity. The journey required years of meticulous preparation, balancing university studies, full-time work, and intensive training. Along the way, Sean faced further personal tragedies, including the unexpected passing of Jase in 2022 during his rehearsal run from Cairns to Melbourne. Despite this immense loss, Sean completed the 4,000-kilometre run raising $100,000 for Make-A-Wish Australia and proving his readiness for the ultimate challenge.
Finally in 2024, after six years of planning and perseverance, Sean achieved his dream, breaking the world record, while inspiring countless others with his story. He raised a further $177,000 for Make-A-Wish Australia, to help sick children achieve their dreams.
Sean’s journey is a powerful case study for the corporate world. Whether managing tight deadlines, navigating economic uncertainty, or driving ambitious KPIs, the principles that guided Sean – goal-setting and strategic planning, resilience, extreme ownership and accountability, leadership and teamwork, and a high-performance mindset – are the same qualities that drive success in business. His ability to adapt under pressure and maintain focus on long-term goals mirrors the challenges and opportunities teams face every day.
In his keynote presentations, Sean bridges the gap between extraordinary physical feats and workplace realities. He demonstrates how clear goals, preparation, and adaptability can inspire individuals and teams to achieve more than they ever thought possible. His six-year journey is proof that with the right mindset and strategies, even the most ambitious goals are within reach.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Goal Setting and Strategic Execution
Corporate and sporting teams require clear goals and strategy to achieve success. Sean discusses how he reverse-engineered his world record by developing a six-year roadmap, emphasising the critical importance of aligning goals to ensure effective execution.
Resilience as a learnable skill
Corporate and Sporting teams face constant pressure—tight deadlines, high expectations, and the need to deliver results under stress. Sean shares how he stayed mentally and physically strong running around Australia, offering practical tools to help teams navigate stress, adapt to change, and achieve peak performance.
Extreme Ownership and Accountability
Corporate and Sporting teams thrive when accountability and ownership are at the core. Sean achieved the impossible by taking full responsibility for his preparation and execution. He challenges teams to eliminate blame-shifting, embrace personal responsibility, and drive results.
Leadership and Teamwork
Corporate and sporting teams rely on trust, communication, and leadership to achieve exceptional results. Sean’s leadership approach emphasises careful planning, managing workloads, and supporting team members’ well-being. By fostering a culture of collaboration and encouraging leadership at all levels, teams can reach their full potential. Through his own experience, Sean shows how balancing responsibility, recovery, and mutual support enabled him to run around Australia, enjoy the journey with his team, and achieve collective success.
High-Performance Mindset and Purpose
Sean empowers teams to commit to being outstanding by aligning personal values with daily tasks and connecting them to larger goals. He emphasises that high performance is built on shared purpose, teamwork, and consistency rather than short bursts of intensity. Drawing from his experience during his run, where a shared sense of purpose made the journey both enjoyable and productive, Sean illustrates how teams that reconnect with their “why” can exceed expectations and find deeper fulfilment in their roles. He challenges individuals to shift their mindset from “I can’t” to “What if I can?” and introduces the concept of “WHY stacking”- building motivation and resilience by continuously connecting actions to a meaningful purpose.
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