While on a morning run along a Torquay beach in Victoria, Australia; Sean Purcell went into cardiac arrest and his heart stopped beating - Sean was left face first in the water.
What happened next was truly remarkable. A group of quick thinking strangers came together to administer lifesaving CPR for more than 45 minutes, sourced a defibrillator and re-started Sean’s heart before Paramedics could stabilise him and air-lift him to hospital.
Sean’s prognosis was bleak, clinically dead for 45 minutes - his family were told that survival was unlikely, if he was to survive he would have severe brain damage.
But Sean did survive and thrived, and is here to share his story: the collapse, a five-day coma, a journey of recovery and his quest to find and thank the locals who saved his life that went global!
Sean is now driven to make the most of his second chance and live his best life, he has shared his story Life Of Purpose with thousands of people all over the country. His talk focuses on the beauty of the human condition, the importance of gratitude, how capable we all are when faced with direct opportunity or adversity and the need for all of us to capitalise on our skill set and truly live a life of purpose!
A very powerful and engaging presentation that impacted everyone in the room. The feedback and discussion amongst staff following your talk has been really positive. From what I’ve heard s ... keep reading Tim McDonald, Manager - Customer Service & Council Business, City of Greater Geelong
Sean Purcell was the guest speaker at our empower program event at The Gordon. Sean’s story of survival after collapsing on the beach is truly amazing! Sean has used this life changing event to impact and inspire others. Sean was a highly effective communicator, extremely engaging and a polished speaker. Sean had a natural ability to connect with the audience his passion was infectious. Sean’s story highlights how we can use adversity to catapult us to success; his story was unforgettable and impacted all of us in the room.
Sean Purcell was the guest speaker at our Men’s Retreat for Brain Cancer. Sean’s life changing story was a source of inspiration and hope for the men attending our retreat who were also facing life changing circumstances. Sean’s friendly demeanor, professionalism and humility shone through during his presentation and all of our guests found him to be very relatable. He delivered his talk in a very engaging manner and his level of sincerity and sensitivity to his target audience ensured that it was a huge success. There was not one person in the room that did not thoroughly enjoy and gain empowerment from Sean’s talk - It was a talking point at breakfast the following morning. I would highly recommend Sean as a guest speaker for any event and we look forward to having him return next year as guest speaker for our National Women’s Retreat for Brain Cancer.
As part of our Positive Education programme at Geelong Grammar School, we have the privilege of being able to regularly invite Australian and international guest speakers to address our staff and students in relation to wellbeing, health and performance. Last year, Sean visited our school and delivered a highly engaging and very powerful presentation to a range of different student groups. His story of resilience touched on many of the themes of our wellbeing programme including: the overcoming of adversity, hope, relationships, grit, positive emotion, and meaning and purpose. The integrity and humility with which Sean recounts his experience immediately endeared him to both staff and students and his use of humour and audience interaction allowed students to connect personally with his message. Importantly too, Sean’s style and visuals worked very well with smaller groups and when he presented to 600 students in a large theatre. Our students and community gained much from his visit and we look forward to inviting Sean back again this year.
We booked Sean Purcell as a guest speaker for a Geelong Young Professionals networking breakfast. Sean was absolutely amazing to deal with, so professional, yet personable. He took the time to really understand who we were, and who our audience was, to tailor his presentation accordingly. During the presentation, Sean had the audience captivated for the entirety. Everyone was taken along on the journey, and shared all emotions that came along with it. Sean was able to provide the audience with key take-always from his presentation, and definitely left everyone feeling inspired and motivated to be the best version of themselves. We would highly recommend Sean as a speaker, and really look forward to working with him again in the future.
Sean was the perfect guest speaker for our professional development seminar. The presentation was extremely engaging, with our audience hanging onto every word. He was also able to tailor an inspiring message that teaches could take back with them to their students. His incredible story and invaluable advice were talking points long after the presentation was finished. Sean’s professionalism and humility shines from beginning to end.
