I first met Colin Furphy when he was a guest speaker at a women’s pitching event. I had no idea at the time that I was about to hear a story that would stay with me long after the evening was over.

Colin’s journey is extraordinary. He has endured a devastating battle with epilepsy that took him to the darkest of places and brought him face-to-face with his own mortality. Yet, from that point, he made a decision that would redefine his life.

Rather than allowing his circumstances to determine his future, Colin set himself a series of enormous personal goals, committed himself to achieving them and simply got on with the business of living. He underwent major surgery against extraordinary odds and went on to achieve almost everything he set his mind to — including standing on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

But for me, Colin’s real inspiration isn’t found in a list of achievements. It is found in the person he has become because of everything he has experienced.

Colin is a genuine gentle giant — humble, warm and remarkably grounded. There is no bravado and no sense that what he has achieved somehow makes him more important than anyone else. Quite the opposite. His experiences have given him an extraordinary perspective on what it means to be alive and an absolute belief in what human beings are capable of when we stop placing limits on ourselves.

Having stared down his own mortality, Colin understands something most of us intellectually know but too easily forget: we get one life.

His message is wonderfully simple. Set goals that frighten you more than a little. Believe that you are capable of more. Don’t allow circumstances to define what is possible. And then, in Colin’s wonderfully understated way, “get on with it.”

Colin Furphy has made that decision. And hearing his story challenges the rest of us to ask ourselves whether we are making the most of ours.

— Andrew