Paul Watkins – The stories we tell ourselves

^{Image: Paul Watkins with ACV President Craig Wood}

Australia’s cattle veterinarians are in for a treat next month when Paul Watkins brings his stories of soaring success and crushing failure to the ACV Conference in Wodonga.

Paul Watkins is a self-confessed nerd. A school chess, debate and theatre club nerd with zero sporting ability. “A nerdy dad from a country town, of below average height and poor eyesight”, he says.

It’s precisely this lack of superhero status that makes what he’s done – and the stories he’s got to share – so compelling. He may be an ‘everyday dad’, but his tales of extraordinary achievement are guaranteed to spark deep thought and reflection in all of us who sometimes question “Who am I?”

For Paul, there’s no one-word answer. He’s a stay-at-home-dad, pharmacist, property developer and entrepreneur, but that’s just him warming up. He’s also a mountain climber, adventure racer and ultra-marathoner. Over the last decade he has built a considerable résumé covering high altitude mountains on all seven continents, completing the Kokoda Track twice as well as some of the most gruelling ultra-marathons on the planet, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle.

This question of ‘who am I?’ is one that Paul encourages us to ask – and challenge. In his 2021 TEDx talk, he argues that how we define and value ourselves, and how we allow society to value us, has implications. “You are under no obligation to be the same person; you have the right to change”.

What we all want, according to Paul, is a great story to tell, even if it’s only to tell ourselves: “I believe many of us, if not all of us, have that quiet voice inside that tells us we could be doing more. There is more to what we are capable of if we could just find the courage. If we could just clear the roadblocks and find the path, we could go out and have that great story… And keep in mind adventure doesn’t have to be climbing Everest or crossing the Arctic, it just needs to be a vast divergence from your day-to-day. To be a great adventure to you, it only needs to fulfil 2 requirements: there must be a risk of failure, and it must stoke a great fire within you.”

Failure, Paul argues, is inevitable. “You will fail. I have failed as much as I have succeeded. Failure doesn’t make you less. It gives you 2 things you didn’t have before – knowledge and experience.”

ACV President Craig Wood is looking forward to hearing Paul speak next month and believes his stories of wild adventure blended with philosophy and science-based tools will resonate deeply with his colleagues. “I really love Paul’s message around valuing yourself by metrics that are important to you and that we aren’t our job title or what our parents think we should be. You don’t need to be a superhero; normal people go out and do amazing things all the time.”

You can hear more from Paul, with thanks to our sponsor AVET, on Wednesday 20 March at the ACV Conference in Wodonga. He’ll be sharing his incredible stories, life lessons and expertise around how we build our identity, how to build a mental and behavioural toolkit, and how to find confidence in a dynamic and challenging world.

Register before Monday 26 February to take advantage of early-bird pricing and save up to 25%.