In his authentic and visually stunning presentations, National Geographic author, photographer and keynote speaker Tom Clynes brings audiences along on assignment to the most intriguing places on Earth. You’ll meet the astonishing people—explorers, archaeologists, virus hunters, Ebola doctors and more—whose stories embody the spirit of adventure. You’ll learn how these individuals shaped once-ordinary lives into extraordinary, world-changing adventures. And you’ll discover what these experiences can tell us about how to spark our own dreams into action.
Tom works with each organization to customize an adventurous program that will stimulate action and involvement. His high-intrigue, high-energy presentations catalyze creativity and challenge participants to open up their thinking. Let Tom Clynes give your constituents something substantial to talk about—and move them forward with an enduring sense of expanded possibilities.
Recent Keynote Presentations
THE ART OF AUDACITY
Audacity is the missing ingredient in far too many endeavors. And yet, some people seem to possess it in abundance: the explorer whose Congo Basin expedition led to the biggest African conservation victory in three decades…the “elephant whisperer” who rescued the animals in the Baghdad Zoo…the virus hunter whose ambitious plan to stop epidemics before they start is shifting the way the world confronts infectious diseases. Via astonishing stories and photos, this keynote presentation challenges audiences to believe in their own audacious dreams—and supercharges your meeting with an anything-is-possible spirit that can generate extraordinary results.
THE SEVEN HABITS OF WORLD CHANGERS
People who succeed in changing the world are not born—they’re self-made. In this enlightening and surprising presentation, you’ll discover the intriguing life lessons behind the success of people who dared to challenge and change the status quo. Expect to be entertained, provoked and wowed by these spectacular images and stories.
CAN ONE PERSON REALLY CHANGE THE WORLD?
Tom’s provocative and visually stunning presentation answers this question with dramatic and inspiring stories of real people who shaped once-ordinary lives into world-changing adventures. Discover how they did it, why they did it, and why the world needs us to pursue what we really care about. By artfully weaving the stories of your organization’s own “heroes” with the achievements of world-changing heroes, this program is designed to boost energy, involvement and enthusiasm.
EXTREME SCIENCE, EXTREME PARENTING AND HOW TO MAKE A STAR
When his grandmother’s impending death from cancer inspired 11-year-old Taylor Wilson to invent a better way to make medical isotopes, he started building a machine that could fling atoms together in a 500-million-degree plasma core. At the age of 14, he became the youngest individual in history to achieve nuclear fusion—the process that powers the sun and other stars.
Taylor’s restless intellect and enthusiasm have since astounded everyone from audiences at TED to the President of the United States. Now a young adult, Taylor is a science superstar who is developing lifesaving innovations in medicine and national security. Based on Tom’s book “The Boy Who Played With Fusion,” this talk is, at its deepest level, about the nurturing of genius—an adventure in extraordinary parenting, mentoring and educating.
Through Taylor’s story, Tom explores the challenges and opportunities facing gifted children as well as parents and educators, and the consequences of letting potential world-changers fall through the cracks. Since prodigies develop and flower via the same developmental processes that all children experience, the lessons of Taylor Wilson’s story are universal—and sure to inspire and inform anyone who cares about children, and the future of science, and humanity.
