Kath Koschel

Give Up or Get Going: Turning Adversity into Triumph.

At 23, Kath Koschel was on top of the world. She had achieved her dream of becoming a professional cricketer and, in her first game for New South Wales Breakers, scored 57 runs and was selected as the player of the match. Three games later, she broke her back and was told she’d never walk again. But she defied the prognosis and relearned to walk. Things were looking up. She had met the love of her life during her recovery but was soon faced with unimaginable heartbreak when he committed suicide. And just as she was starting to put her life back together, Koschel broke her back again and was for a second time told she’d never walk again — all within the span of five years.

Yet, somehow, Koschel has displayed elite levels of determination and resilience to overcome every obstacle in her path. She takes audiences on an emotional rollercoaster as she reflects on her own life story to share valuable lessons learned from life’s high points, as well as its extreme lows. Unafraid to be vulnerable with her audience, Koschel provides actionable strategies for facing fear, doubt, and sorrow head-on, and empowers audience members to reframe their mindsets to affect positive change in their own lives and the lives of others through perseverance, grit, and kindness while turning adversity into triumph.

Kindness is the Catalyst for Building High-Performance Teams.

As resilience expert and former standout cricketer Kath Koschel shares, a key component of her long and physically demanding recovery from two broken backs was the kindness of strangers. It’s what inspired her to found a nonprofit organization, Kindness Factory. To date, Kindness Factory has logged more than four million acts of kindness worldwide — from volunteering at a shelter to donating a kidney.

In this talk, Koschel channels the same energy that led to Kindness Factory becoming an unstoppable movement of people helping one another to illustrate the undeniable roles that kindness and gratitude play in connecting people in the workplace and orienting teams toward purpose and success. Sharing a one-of-a-kind framework for elevating collective creativity, innovation, and productivity beginning with kindness, she emphasizes how human connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued — and when they can give and receive without judgment. Once this connection is achieved, teams can begin to realize their full potential and beyond.

Lead by Example, Not by Opinion: Becoming the Best Version of Yourself.

Resilience expert Kath Koschel is a testament to what is possible with a positive mindset and dedication to serving others. From breaking her back twice to losing her partner — all within the span of five years — instead of being mad at the world, she chose to spread kindness throughout it and become the best version of herself. As founder of Kindness Factory, she has inspired more than four million acts of kindness across the globe and has powered an uplifting movement for people who want to be and do better.

In this talk, Koschel opens the audience’s eyes to all we can accomplish when we focus on the abilities that we are fortunate to have and that support our journeys to success in the workplace and in our personal lives. She outlines proven methods for setting and achieving ambitious goals and demonstrates the role kindness plays in becoming our best selves to elevate wellbeing and drive change in all aspects of life.