The school’s year 10 and 11 students listened intently as 45-year-old Adam Corbally shared his personal experience of making the wrong choices at a young age, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people and not being afraid to ask for help.

After leaving school with no qualifications, moving out of the family home at the age of 16 and surrounding himself with the wrong people, Adam Corbally found himself on a downward trajectory that resulted in a short spell in a youth offenders’ centre. This became the catalyst needed to bring about positive change, with Adam determined to turn his life around.

This wake-up call paved the way for a return to education which ultimately saw Adam work hard to earn a Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMap). Realising he again needed change, Adam went on to become an independent greengrocer – selling fruit and vegetables at his local market in Glossop, Derbyshire.  

With a growing appetite for business and entrepreneurship, and a desire to push himself further, Adam applied for a place on series eight of BBC reality show The Apprentice. A successful application led to an 11-week stint on the programme before he was fired for poor presentation skills in the penultimate challenge of the contest.

Leaving the show with rare praise from Lord Sugar, who requested that he ‘keep in touch’, Adam used his failure as an opportunity to better himself by practising his public speaking and presentation skills. This ultimately led to him becoming a member of the Professional Speaking Association and the creation of his own motivational speaking business in 2012.

Since then, Adam has delivered enterprise workshops and his keynote aspirational speech to a variety of different business and educational establishments across the UK, reaching over 500,000 people – many of them secondary school and college students.

Alongside the growth of his business, Adam has also managed to build an impressive property portfolio and enjoy a part-time acting and media career which has seen him appear in Hollyoaks, participate in energetic gameshow ‘Total Wipeout’ and become a contestant on quiz show, ‘Eggheads’.

Reflecting on Adam’s visit, and his eclectic career journey to date, Withernsea High School Careers Leader Viki Foster said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Adam Corbally back to the school. His keynote speech was fantastic and his message about the importance of school, the benefits of a positive mindset and surrounding yourself with the right people and influences really resonated with our students who remained engaged throughout. The impact of his message was evident by the number of students who stayed behind at the end of the session to ask questions, thank him for his advice or simply shake his hand.  

“Learning about the many different avenues of Adam’s life and career helped to highlight how a person’s career journey is rarely a straightforward path – a lesson which should bring reassurance to students who may still be considering their future options.

“As Adam said during his speech, he was not happy in his younger years because he made a series of bad decisions that impacted his future and overall happiness. However, he recognised that the best thing he did was to ask for help and seek positive influences. I think that’s a really important message for our students to take away, especially as they prepare for their GCSEs and have access to a wealth of support and encouragement both in and out of school.   

“Such encounters with guest speakers are a fundamental element of our careers programme which is tailored to meet the needs of individuals, ensuring that they are supported as they make important decisions about their futures.”

Adam added: “For me, literally every day is a school day and every audience is completely different. The students at Withernsea were amazing as always and it was a real honour to be given the opportunity to speak to them at an important time in their lives – at a time when there’s lots of change on the horizon and they’re working out who they are and what they want to be. They showed respect and listened intently. As a speaker, you can’t ask for more than that.

“Without wanting to sound too cheesy, when your words really land and you get feedback that says ‘I’ve listened to you, I’ve heard you and I’m going to take action’, it’s a really great feeling. You know you’ve really hit home when a teenager takes a couple of minutes out of their life to say ‘thank you’, shake your hand, ask questions and talk about their own life and experiences.  

“If I can help make a few kids be a bit happier in themselves, hopefully motivate them to get better grades and give them a better start than the one I had, then that’s why I do what I do and those interactions make it all worthwhile.” 

“Surround yourself with brilliant people and bring out the best in those around you as they bring out the best in you. This will enable you to create and take the opportunities that you deserve. My advice is to think about the four people who you spend the most time with because it’s likely you’ll become a reflection of them. Remember to ask for help and take action when needed.

“We are lucky to live in an age where there’s so much opportunity, information and support at our fingertips thanks to the internet. You can literally achieve anything with the right help, the right people and the right attitude.” 

ABOVE: Adam Corbally delivered an engaging and interactive talk that encouraged audience participation. Year 10 student Oakley O’Hara followed Adam’s advice to take opportunities when they present themselves by seizing the moment in order to win a prize of a film poster. 

ABOVE: Motivational speaker Adam Corbally with school Careers Leader, Viki Foster.