LESSONS FROM THE EDGE
ADVENTURE | LEADERSHIP | RESILIENCE
QUIT TOMORROW
Oliver Foran is an Australian adventurer, world record holder and keynote speaker who shares practical lessons on leadership, decision making and performance under pressure through his presentation and workshop, Quit Tomorrow.
In 2026, Oliver travelled from the Bay of Bengal to the summit of Mount Everest entirely under human power. He completed the journey in 50 days, setting a new world record while raising more than $80,000 for youth mental health.
The expedition pushed Oliver through extreme heat, severe altitude, exhaustion, self doubt and the failure of his original route. At several points, continuing no longer looked possible. Each moment required something different: managing emotion, adapting the plan, reconnecting with purpose or finding the confidence to take another step.
These experiences became the foundation of his keynote, Quit Tomorrow.
Oliver explores the three reasons people most commonly want to stop: they feel emotionally overwhelmed, the original plan has failed or they no longer believe they are capable. Through powerful stories from the road to Everest, he shows audiences how to understand what is driving their response and make better decisions under pressure.
Quit Tomorrow is not about continuing at any cost. It is about feeling difficult moments without allowing emotion to control the decision, remaining committed to the mission while being willing to change the route and using evidence from past experience to rebuild confidence.
Oliver’s keynote gives leaders, teams and young people a practical way to respond when plans fail, pressure rises and the journey ahead feels too large to carry.
Key Takeaways
How to recognise what is driving the desire to stop
How to experience difficult emotions without allowing them to control the next decision
How to adapt the route without abandoning the mission
How to reconnect with purpose when the original plan fails
How to use evidence from past experience to rebuild confidence under pressure
How to reduce an overwhelming challenge to the next responsible step
A practical philosophy for pressure and uncertainty: go one more day. You can always quit tomorrow.
Testimonials
“Oliver delivered a moving and inspiring keynote to our team at Harcourts Property Centre, speaking about resilience, overcoming adversity and finding purpose. The experiences he draws from are incredibly rare, and he was able to turn them into lessons that really resonated with our team. He was genuine, engaging and left a lasting impact on the room.”
Sam Devlin - Director - Harcourts Property Centre
“Oliver is an emotive and engaging speaker who delivers a very powerful personal message in a manner that connects deeply with diverse audiences. By relating his experiences in dealing with adversity, on the side of the world’s highest mountains or in the intimate space of his personal life, Oliver’s stories of resilience and self-discovery resonated with our students, their mums and dads, and our wider community in equal measure.”
Michael Westlake - Head of Corporate Communications & Partnerships - Iona College
“Oliver’s presentation to our Year 10 students was outstanding. His honesty, energy, and ability to connect with young people was exceptional. Oliver’s story of resilience and finding purpose resonated deeply, sparking genuine conversations among students long after he left. Teachers also reported that students who weren’t even in the session were sharing what they had heard from those present. Oliver has a unique gift for inspiring young people to reflect on their own lives and discover their ‘why.’ We would highly recommend him to any school or organisation looking for a speaker who truly makes an impact.”
Erin Hardy - APRE - Carmel College, Thornlands
