Ben Nemtin Speaker Biography
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author | Global Gurus #2 Motivational Speaker | Cofounder of MTV’s The Buried Life
Ben Nemtin is a renowned motivational speaker and co-founder of The Buried Life movement. As a #1 New York Times bestselling author, he inspires audiences worldwide with actionable strategies for living boldly. Moreover, Ben Nemtin’s journey from personal adversity to global impact resonates with corporate, academic, and personal growth audiences. His hit MTV series transformed a simple idea into a cultural movement, encouraging millions to ask, “What do you want to do before you die?” Through sold-out events and bestselling books like The Bucket List, he equips audiences with tools for goal-setting, accountability, and life design. Additionally, his storytelling blends humor, vulnerability, and practical advice. Ben Nemtin delivers more than motivation—he delivers a wake-up call to start living intentionally and break free from limitations that often hold people back.
The Buried Life Movement
The Buried Life began as a daring experiment and evolved into a global movement. Ben Nemtin and three friends traveled in a beat-up RV, pursuing 100 personal dreams while helping strangers achieve theirs. This radical idea of shared purpose quickly captured media attention. Consequently, outlets such as The Today Show and Oprah featured their story, while President Obama praised them as “a new generation of leaders.” The movement’s core message is clear: goals are essential, not indulgent. By combining accountability with collective action, Ben Nemtin—the Buried Life life goals challenge speaker—demonstrated that even the wildest dreams can become real. Furthermore, the project’s evolution inspired a generation to dream fearlessly, take deliberate action, and create meaningful connections. Its lasting impact continues to shape life-design principles across industries, from education to corporate leadership.
The Bucket List: A Turning Point
Before his global recognition, Ben Nemtin faced a profound personal crisis. Depression forced him to leave college and rethink his future. During this challenging period, he and his friends compiled a bucket list of extraordinary goals. These included daring ambitions such as delivering a baby and having a beer with Prince Harry. Out of these experiences emerged The Bucket List Journal, a framework transforming aspirations into tangible plans. Yet, the most powerful principle was giving back: for every goal achieved, someone else received support in accomplishing theirs. This philosophy became central to Ben Nemtin’s approach to personal and professional growth. Today, as a keynote speaker, he shares these principles with Fortune 500 leaders, students, and healthcare professionals. His presentations bridge the gap between inspiration and execution, guiding audiences to take meaningful action toward their dreams.
The Journey: From Impossible to Impact
Since launching The Buried Life, Ben Nemtin has achieved 96 of his 100 bucket list goals. Milestones like playing basketball with President Obama made headlines, while others, such as helping a girl gain a life-changing bionic arm, changed lives quietly. These experiences reinforced his belief: nothing is impossible if you start boldly. Even as he pursues item #100—going to space—Ben Nemtin remains committed to helping others break their personal barriers. Each keynote combines real stories with actionable strategies. Therefore, audiences leave not just inspired but prepared to take their first steps. Whether addressing executives, students, or large audiences, his energy and authenticity resonate. His guiding message is simple: live a life true to yourself, and avoid a life of regrets. The measurable and lasting impact of his work continues to grow globally.
Why Ben Nemtin Inspires Millions
Ben Nemtin’s distinction lies in how fully he embodies his message. As The Buried Life life goals challenge speaker, he empowers people to live aligned with their true desires. Furthermore, he teaches prioritization, planning, and deliberate action in a distracted world. By prompting audiences to ask life’s biggest question, he redefines success on personal terms. His presentations skillfully blend humor, strategy, and emotional resonance, leaving lasting impressions. Spanning industries, generations, and cultures, his influence is universal. Whether leading a company, starting college, or feeling stuck in life, Ben Nemtin’s message lands with clarity and urgency. Ultimately, he reminds everyone that it’s never too early—or too late—to chase dreams. After all, the only list that matters is the one you’re courageous enough to live.
Ben Nemtin Speaking Topics
Make the Impossible Possible
Ben has driven countless people to achieve their dreams, as both a helping hand and as an inspiration. His message of radical possibility combined with his ‘5 Steps to Make the Impossible Possible’ leaves audiences not only inspired but also equipped with tools to tackle the seemingly insurmountable. What if “impossible” was just a mindset waiting to be shattered? Ben’s extraordinary journey—from debilitating depression to achieving 100 seemingly impossible dreams—reveals a powerful truth: impossible is merely a starting point. Ben weaves the captivating story of how The Buried Life evolved from a simple list of 100 impossible dreams into a global movement, seamlessly connecting these lessons to the fabric of our daily life. His remarkable achievements—from creating a hit MTV show to playing basketball with President Obama, from becoming a #1 New York Times bestselling author to sharing beers with Prince Harry—weren’t a matter of luck. They were the direct result of a repeatable system, a proven blueprint for remarkable success that anyone can master. This isn’t just another inspirational talk—it’s a practical guide to achieving the extraordinary. Ben shares the exact, field-tested framework that empowered his team to defy impossible odds, demonstrating how these principles can transform your biggest challenges into your greatest triumphs. He reveals how small, consistent actions compound like interest over time, generating unstoppable momentum that turns seemingly impossible goals into inevitable successes. Ben establishes an undeniable truth: personal growth fuels professional growth, which drives organizational success. Through his journey of completing seemingly impossible dreams, he demonstrates that purpose is the fuel that ignites the impossible and giving back is the catalyst that multiplies your impact exponentially. Program Takeaways: • Master the Impossible: Learn Ben’s proven ‘5 Steps to Impossible’ framework and turn ambition into reality. • Fuel Your Momentum: Discover how purpose-driven action creates unstoppable momentum. • Build a Resilient Team: Forge a high-performing team by connecting individual fulfilment with organizational success, creating a culture where everyone thrives. • Accelerate Your Growth Through Giving: Experience the transformative power of helping others and discover how it fuels your own personal and professional growth. • Unlock Radical Possibility: Embrace a growth mindset and break free from the limitations of “impossible”. • Amplify Your Impact: Unite your team around a shared purpose and create a ripple effect of positive change that extends far beyond your immediate goals.
Powered by Purpose
Transformational leaders want their teams to succeed in life, not just at work. This is the new leadership. In today’s relentless environment, where uncertainty reigns supreme and burnout threatens even the strongest teams, why do some organizations continue to thrive while others struggle? Ben reveals the game-changing truth: purpose isn’t just a buzzword – it’s the secret weapon that fuelled his own extraordinary journey, lifting him from the depths of depression to ignite a global movement and achieve the seemingly impossible. Through compelling scientific evidence and unforgettable stories, Ben demonstrates how embracing your professional and personal purpose unleashes untapped potential, creates true work-life harmony, and empowers you to become the best version of yourself. In this revolutionary keynote, discover why purpose-driven individuals and teams are 7x more likely to overcome challenges, focusing on the “why” that ignites passion and resilience. Ben masterfully blends cutting-edge science with captivating storytelling to reveal how purpose transforms organizational culture from the inside out. Leaders will gain actionable strategies to build trust, authentically demonstrate care for their teams’ well-being, and foster innovation, retention, and breakthrough performance. This isn’t merely theoretical—it’s a strategic blueprint for translating purpose into tangible outcomes and cultivating a workplace that inspires genuine passion. Program Takeaways: • Unleash Your Potential: Discover how aligning your personal and professional purpose fuels sustainable growth and empowers you to become your best self. • Create Purpose-Driven Retention: Learn how to champion whole-person growth and cultivate a culture of trust, fuelling engagement and retention. • Build Resilience in Uncertainty: Master practical strategies for maintaining well-being and navigating challenges with purpose and unwavering resilience. • Fuel Success Through Service: Discover the power of purpose-driven leadership to create a culture of service, where helping others becomes a catalyst for individual and collective success. • Magnify Your Impact: Reconnect to the profound ripple effect of your work and discover how purpose amplifies your impact, even when results are unseen. • Forge Deeper Connections: Cultivate authentic connections with your team and leadership, fostering a culture that attracts the best talent
From Burnout to Balance
What if the secret to peak performance wasn’t working harder, but working with deeper purpose? Before becoming a #1 New York Times bestselling author, playing basketball at the White House, and being interviewed by Oprah, Ben Nemtin faced a formidable opponent: crippling depression. Through his powerful journey, he reveals how purpose transforms burnout into sustainable success and shares a counterintuitive truth that challenges conventional wisdom: prioritizing your well-being isn’t selfish—it’s the essential foundation of exceptional performance in every aspect of life. This groundbreaking keynote revolutionizes how organizations approach well-being and performance. Nemtin demonstrates how genuine work-life harmony creates a powerful positive feedback loop that fuels innovation, dramatically boosts retention, and drives breakthrough results. Through honest personal stories and cutting-edge scientific insights, he shows how personal fulfillment becomes the catalyst for professional excellence. Using a powerful blend of vulnerability and practical wisdom, Nemtin provides a proven system for turning life’s challenges into opportunities for renewal. He shares the exact tools that helped him build resilience and how sustainable excellence isn’t about pushing harder—it’s about aligning your actions with what truly matters… This isn’t another wellness talk—it’s an invitation to rediscover what makes you feel truly alive. Program Takeaways: • Master Your Well-being: Acquire Nemtin’s ‘Mental Health Toolkit’ and discover 10 powerful practices to transform stress into strength and cultivate lasting resilience. • Fuel Your Performance: Unlock sustainable energy and peak performance by creating true work-life harmony, where your personal and professional lives thrive in synergy. • Navigate Life’s Challenges: Develop resilience to effectively manage stress, navigate life’s ups and downs, and emerge stronger from adversity. • Build a Resilient Team: Empower your team with science-backed strategies to cultivate resilience, foster well-being, and create a culture of support. • Lead with Vulnerability: Destigmatize mental health and discover how vulnerability can become a source of strength and authentic leadership. • Unleash Your Full Potential: Infuse your life with passion and energy by prioritizing personal growth and discovering how it ignites professional advancement.
Thriving in Uncertainty
In an era where change and disruption are the only constant, leaders face perhaps their most critical challenge: how do you build truly unshakeable teams that don’t merely survive disruption—but actively harness it as a catalyst for growth and competitive advantage? Ben Nemtin’s extraordinary journey from achieving 100 “impossible” goals to helping strangers worldwide achieve their wildest dreams provides a compelling answer: purpose-driven individuals and teams don’t just endure change—they transform uncertainty into their decisive advantage, proving that you’re always just one step away from turning disruption into opportunity. Through masterful storytelling and evidence-based insights, Nemtin demonstrates why those anchored in purpose consistently outperform their peers during periods of disruption, showing leaders exactly how to build this cultural resilience into their teams. This isn’t another change management talk—it’s a blueprint for organizational transformation. Nemtin provides leaders with actionable frameworks to not only adapt to change but actively leverage it for unprecedented growth. He reveals the counterintuitive truth that connecting with your deepest values and boldest dreams creates the stability needed to navigate uncertainty with confidence and creativity. This powerful message inspires audiences to embrace cultures of service, gratitude and endless potential— where change becomes the catalyst for your team’s greatest breakthroughs. Program Takeaways: • Embrace the Unknown: Step boldly into uncertainty, push past discomfort, and discover the extraordinary opportunities that lie hidden within disruption. • Embrace a Growth Mindset: See challenges as opportunities to experiment, innovate, and unlock your organization’s true potential. • Turn Purpose into Performance: Master a proven framework for turning purpose into performance, fueling growth and success even during disruption. • Build Your Resilience Toolkit: Acquire practical tools and strategies to increase well-being, navigate uncertainty, and emerge stronger from adversity. • Unleash Your Potential: Align your personal and professional purpose to build unstoppable momentum.
Ben Nemtin Books
What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?: Moving, Unexpected, and Inspiring Answers to Life’s Most Important Question
Purchase BookBen Nemtin Videos
Ben Nemtin Speaker Testimonials
Ben unlocks the power of purpose! He aligned our personal goals with our organizational purpose and lifted our team's energy. He left our team with a roadmap to thrive personally and professionally. Since Ben’s session, we’ve been sharing our life goals regularly and supporting each other in achieving them. Without Ben’s motivation, there would be less transparency in our organization about where we want to go as individuals.
- Ames McArdle, Head of Industry, Global Media & Entertainment / Retail | Google
Ben has a gift! Our team was so inspired and talked about the impact for days. We know that the ripple effect is real when we dream of what is possible and serve others along the way to create a more beautiful life.
- Katherine Twells, Senior VP | The Coca-Cola Company
Ben’s keynote & Bucket List Journal inspired, reenergized and motivated the team in an outstanding way. His personal story combined with actionable resources was the perfect combination.
- Lina Brouneu, Director of Films Acquisitions | Netflix
Ben's session was an absolute hit! Hands down my favorite session. The way he worked in so much of our messaging and benefits was truly amazing and so impactful.
- Kacy Ashley, Senior Communications Manager |
