Anthony Bennett: Saying ‘yes’ can transform your life

Did you say ‘yes’ when you were invited to attend the 2019 Swim England Teaching and Education Conference?

If you did, you were one of more than 350 swimming teachers, educators, CPD presenters, assessors, approved training centres and other members of the aquatics workforce who enjoyed a day of networking and knowledge-sharing.

Among the inspirational workshop presenters and keynote speakers in attendance was Anthony Bennett – one of the UK’s leading motivational speakers.

As a youngster, a trip away left him fighting for his life and needing to re-learn basic functions such as breathing, walking and talking (and swimming). Upon making a full recovery, Anthony played a key role in winning a £7.5m charity partnership for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

He now works, through his company Anthony Inspires, to spread his positive outlook on life.

‘Inspiring and motivating’

He remarked: “The one thing I wanted everyone to take away from the conference was saying the word ‘yes’ more.

“That three-letter word can absolutely change your life. It changed mine – my biggest fear was speaking, it’s now my biggest passion.”

“It was really nice to see the impact my speech had. I had the opportunity to share my story and that opens the doorway for people to share their story. That really inspires and motivates me at the same time.”

Reflecting on his first appearance at the Swim England Teaching and Education Conference, Anthony added: “It was a pleasure being there.

“I’ve been to a couple of smaller Swim England conferences and events before but having more than 350 people there to liaise with was incredible.

“A few people spoke to me after my speech and say they really enjoyed it. It really was a fantastic day – thank you for having me Swim England!”

• Read more great stories from the Swim England Teaching and Education Conference here.