From pack-a-day smoker to traversing Patagonia, the Sahara, and the Arctic, ultra-marathoner and inspirational adventurer Ray Zahab has taken the seemingly impossible and, time after time, shown us what determination, training, and a little luck can create. Ray visited the Speakers’ Spotlight Toronto office recently to fill us in on his latest adventure in the Canadian Arctic earlier this month.

In the video above, Ray reconstructs a harrowing and dangerous northern trip filled with unexpected and mind-bogglingly painful challenges — ones he weaves together into an inspiring story of what’s possible with the right mindset.