Miles Hilton Barber

Miles Hilton Barber has been blind for over twenty years but has not let that stop him from challenging barriers, seeking adventure and succeeding on expeditions to deserts, mountains and the polar regions.

Miles grew up in Zimbabwe with normal sight, dreaming of one day becoming a fighter pilot like his father.

At 18, Miles applied to join the Royal Rhodesian Air Force, but to his utter disappointment he failed the eyesight medical. Then at 21, both Miles and his brother Geoff were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic eyesight condition that would lead to total blindness for them both.

For the next 30 years, Miles lived with a kind of ‘victim mentality’, believing the established thinking that blindness was a massive barrier preventing him from undertaking any adventurous exploits.

At 50, Miles Hilton Barber’s life radically changed through the example of his blind brother Geoff who set an amazing World Record, becoming the first blind person in world history to cross an ocean solo, sailing from Africa to Australia unaided in a yacht that he built himself. Wow! What an amazing achievement!

This was Miles’ big ‘wake up call’ so to speak, for the first time understanding the life principle that the key to success in life is not our external circumstances, but our inner response to them – “attitude is what determines altitude!”

Since then Miles has had the huge privilege of setting numerous world records undertaking extreme events across all seven continents of our world in the fields of mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, powerboat racing, scuba-diving, motor-racing and long distance, aerobatic and supersonic flying amongst other achievements.

Miles Hilton Barber has now spoken at 1,500+ corporate events in 74 countries around the world to-date, sharing the transforming life lessons he has learned along the way, typified by his life philosophy that “The only limits in your life are those you accept yourself.”

Companies to whom Miles has spoken include: 3I, 3M, Abbott Pharmaceuticals, Accenture, AIG, Airbus, Allergan, American Express, Barclays Capital, BBC, BetVictor, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bombardier, BP, British Gas, British Telecom, Caterpillar, CibaVision, CIPD, Cisco Systems, CitiGroup, Coca Cola, Cunard, Danone, Del Electronics, Deloitte & Touche, Deutsche Bank, Diageo, Duracell, EDF Energy, Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, EON, Ernst & Young, European Court of Human Rights, Ferrero-Kinder, Fujitsu, GlaxoSmithKline, HBOS, Heineken, Hong Kong Jockey Club, HSBC, Husqvarna, IBM, Institute of Directors, John Lewis, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Konica Minolta, KPMG, Leica, Lenovo, Lloyds Banking Group, Logica, Marks & Spencer, MerkSharpDohme, Microsoft, Million Dollar Round Table, Nationwide, NATO, Nestlé, NHS, Nokia, Norwich Union, Novartis, Npower, O2, Orange, PepsiCo, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Philips Electronics, Powergen, Procter & Gamble, PWC, Raytheon Systems, Reckitt Benckiser, Red Bull, Rolls-Royce, Rotary International, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Geographic Society, Sandhurst Military Academy, Sanofi Aventis, Searcys, Shell International, Siemens, SKF, Sony, SPAR, Standard Chartered Bank, The British Council, The Daily Mail, The Red Cross, TomTom, Unilever, Unisys, Viacom 18, Virgin Atlantic, Vodafone, Volkswagon, Waitrose, Western Union

Miles Hilton Barber is an exceptional storyteller and keynote motivational speaker whose emotive messages come wrapped in a package of humour and profound personal insight.

He uses his experiences as an international adventurer to motivate and inspire others to achieve their potential. His words are not hollow generalisations - he offers practical ideas that work for everyone, and Mile’s managerial background complements his skills as a speaker, enabling him to tailor his talks to a client’s particular business and workforce.

Miles is one of the most widely sought-after motivational speakers on the world circuit today, having had the privilege of speaking at over 1,400+ corporate events in 73 countries around the world to date.

Despite losing his sight in his early twenties, his quality of life and level of success was radically transformed at the age of 50, not through sight restoration, but through changing his attitude to his blindness. Since the age of 50 Miles has set numerous world records undertaking extreme endurance events across all seven continents of our world, in the fields of mountaineering, desert and polar ultra-marathons, powerboat racing, scuba-diving, motor-racing and long distance, aerobatic and supersonic flying amongst other achievements.

His presentations outline a radical yet simple set of life principles that will enable businesses and individuals to become more successful today, despite facing unprecedented global change. These principles are wrapped up in a fast-moving, colourful and humorous presentation, with photos and video clips from his many expeditions and adventures.

Miles Hilton Barber will challenge you to look at how you can achieve so much more than you think you can in both your professional and personal life, because the only limits in your life are those you accept yourself.

is presentations are entertaining, motivating and inspirational, sharing with his audiences the things he would want to hear if their roles were reversed. "I want them [the audience] to feel they are looking inside the hearts and minds of the people who worked together as a team, took risks, extended the envelope, and made an impossible dream a reality," he says.

As a popular after-dinner and keynote motivational speaker, Miles Hilton Barber weaves together rich anecdotes and humour with powerful life-lessons he has learnt whilst overcoming his blindness covering themes such as:

• Dream Big To Achieve Big
• Expect The Unexpected
• Never Give Up
• The Importance of Teamwork
• Don't Let Your Past Determine Your Future
• Facing Your Fears
• Taking Advantage of Adversity
• Benefiting From failure

Miles has shared the speaking platform with such esteemed individuals as Rudi Giuliani, New York Mayor on 9/11, Olympic Medallist Roger Black, Jeremy Paxman, Lord Melvin Bragg, and Lord David Puttnam addressing corporate and celebrity audiences around the world.

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Miles Hilton Barber. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.