Building a Life You
Building a Life You
Building a Life You
Don't Need to Escape From
Don't Need to Escape From
Don't Need to Escape From
A transformational keynote on how building everything can still cost you everything - and how to reclaim your identity, alignment, and freedom.
A transformational keynote on how building everything can still cost you everything - and how to reclaim your identity, alignment, and freedom.
A transformational keynote on how building everything can still cost you everything - and how to reclaim your identity, alignment, and freedom.
The Message Isn’t Hype. It’s Lived.
Derek Peterson delivers a raw, real, and deeply human story of ambition, collapse, reinvention, and engineered freedom.
His message is not just about perfect performance, it’s about the cost of success, the discipline to evolve, and the courage to rebuild life on your own terms.
From building multi-million dollar companies that consumed his soul… to losing everything that mattered… to becoming a six-time Ironman, founding the Adapt ecosystem, and living fully nomadic - Derek speaks to what happens when a high achiever chooses alignment over approval.
This is a story of transformation your audience will feel.
Derek Peterson delivers a raw, real, and deeply human story of ambition, collapse, reinvention, and engineered freedom.
His message is not just about perfect performance, it’s about the cost of success, the discipline to evolve, and the courage to rebuild life on your own terms.
From building multi-million dollar companies that consumed his soul… to losing everything that mattered… to becoming a six-time Ironman, founding the Adapt ecosystem, and living fully nomadic - Derek speaks to what happens when a high achiever chooses alignment over approval.
This is a story of transformation your audience will feel.
Derek Peterson delivers a raw, real, and deeply human story of ambition, collapse, reinvention, and engineered freedom.
His message is not just about perfect performance, it’s about the cost of success, the discipline to evolve, and the courage to rebuild life on your own terms.
From building multi-million dollar companies that consumed his soul… to losing everything that mattered… to becoming a six-time Ironman, founding the Adapt ecosystem, and living fully nomadic - Derek speaks to what happens when a high achiever chooses alignment over approval.
This is a story of transformation your audience will feel.
Ideal for:
Leadership Conferences
Corporate Retreats
Entrepreneur Events
Real Estate Summits
High-Performance Teams
From Success to Breakdown
And the Rebuild That Followed
Derek’s speaking platform is built around a true-life arc that resonates deeply with high performers who feel trapped by the very success they created.
He doesn’t speak as someone who "figured it out from day one." He speaks as someone who built it wrong first … and chose to rebuild it right.
Derek’s speaking platform is built around a true-life arc that resonates deeply with high performers who feel trapped by the very success they created.
He doesn’t speak as someone who "figured it out from day one." He speaks as someone who built it wrong first … and chose to rebuild it right.
Derek’s speaking platform is built around a true-life arc that resonates deeply with high performers who feel trapped by the very success they created.
He doesn’t speak as someone who "figured it out from day one." He speaks as someone who built it wrong first … and chose to rebuild it right.
His story includes:
Scaling businesses that made him financially successful but personally bankrupt
Losing presence as a father and ultimately experiencing divorce
Hitting emotional and identity rock bottom
Facing an autoimmune health crisis that stripped him of strength and mobility
Choosing transformation over survival
Building a life centered around Health, Wealth, and Self
Creating businesses that serve life instead of consuming it
His story includes:
Scaling businesses that made him financially successful but personally bankrupt
Losing presence as a father and ultimately experiencing divorce
Hitting emotional and identity rock bottom
Facing an autoimmune health crisis that stripped him of strength and mobility
Choosing transformation over survival
Building a life centered around Health, Wealth, and Self
Creating businesses that serve life instead of consuming it
His story includes:
Scaling businesses that made him financially successful but personally bankrupt
Losing presence as a father and ultimately experiencing divorce
Hitting emotional and identity rock bottom
Facing an autoimmune health crisis that stripped him of strength and mobility
Choosing transformation over survival
Building a life centered around Health, Wealth, and Self
Creating businesses that serve life instead of consuming it
His journey teaches a universal truth:
You don’t need more success. You need a new relationship with it.
His journey teaches a universal truth:
You don’t need more success. You need a new relationship with it.
His journey teaches a universal truth:
You don’t need more success. You need a new relationship with it.
BUILDING A LIFE YOU DON’T NEED TO ESCAPE FROM
People Are Escaping The Rat Race
BUILDING A LIFE YOU DON’T NEED TO ESCAPE FROM
People Are Escaping The Rat Race
Building A Life You Don't Need to Escape From
Derek’s keynote weaves storytelling and practical wisdom into a three-part transformational framework:
The Cost of Unconscious Success
What happens when ambition is disconnected from identity, health, and presence.The Identity Shift
How discipline, self-awareness, and intentional choice create true evolution.Engineering Freedom
How to realign life, leadership, and business around Health, Wealth & Self.
Derek’s keynote weaves storytelling and practical wisdom into a three-part transformational framework:
The Cost of Unconscious Success
What happens when ambition is disconnected from identity, health, and presence.The Identity Shift
How discipline, self-awareness, and intentional choice create true evolution.Engineering Freedom
How to realign life, leadership, and business around Health, Wealth & Self.
Audience takeaways:
A redefinition of what "success" actually means
A blueprint for intentional living
The courage to confront misalignment
Tools to create momentum beyond the room
Speaking Topics &
Talk Options
01
The Cost of Success
How achieving everything can still cost you everything.
The Cost of Success
How achieving everything can still cost you everything.
The Cost of Success
How achieving everything can still cost you everything.
02
Build the Business That Builds Your Life
Redefining entrepreneurship through alignment and intentional design.
Build the Business That Builds Your Life
Redefining entrepreneurship through alignment and intentional design.
Build the Business That Builds Your Life
Redefining entrepreneurship through alignment and intentional design.
03
Freedom Is Not A Dream. It’s A System.
From chaos to clarity through engineered life architecture.
Freedom Is Not A Dream. It’s A System.
From chaos to clarity through engineered life architecture.
Freedom Is Not A Dream. It’s A System.
From chaos to clarity through engineered life architecture.
04
High Performance Without Self-Destruction
Lessons from Ironman endurance and leadership reinvention.
High Performance Without Self-Destruction
Lessons from Ironman endurance and leadership reinvention.
High Performance Without Self-Destruction
Lessons from Ironman endurance and leadership reinvention.
05
The Identity Reset
How to rebuild yourself after success breaks you.
The Identity Reset
How to rebuild yourself after success breaks you.
The Identity Reset
How to rebuild yourself after success breaks you.
Why This Message Matters Now
Your audience doesn’t need louder motivation. They need truth.
Derek’s story speaks directly to leaders who look successful on the outside but feel unfulfilled, exhausted, or disconnected on the inside.
He doesn’t preach from theory. He speaks from scars, systems, and lived execution.
Speaking Experience
While Derek is expanding his presence on the speaking circuit, his impact already reflects:
Private leadership sessions
Entrepreneur masterminds
Strategic business events
High-performance community gatherings
His stage presence combines humility, authority, and real-world credibility… perfect for audiences seeking authenticity over performance theatre.
While Derek is expanding his presence on the speaking circuit, his impact already reflects:
Private leadership sessions
Entrepreneur masterminds
Strategic business events
High-performance community gatherings
His stage presence combines humility, authority, and real-world credibility… perfect for audiences seeking authenticity over performance theatre.
Here’s what people worldwide are saying about us
Mike Downey
Crafted a site that truly tells my story and elevated my brand's future.
Logan Bowers
Felt like a $50M brand—Adapt cared, created, and nailed every detail.
Jimmy McGrath
Captured my vision perfectly—even as a branding and site first-timer.
Stewart Heath
Adapt overdelivered—sharp site and better understanding than we had.
Joe Schmizzi
They nailed design, video, and funnels—perfect for long-term success.
Mike Foley
They managed everything so well I finally felt confident in marketing.
Joe Schmizzi
They nailed design, video, and funnels—perfect for long-term success.
Mike Downey
Crafted a site that truly tells my story and elevated my brand's future.
Logan Bowers
Felt like a $50M brand—Adapt cared, created, and nailed every detail.
Jimmy McGrath
Captured my vision perfectly—even as a branding and site first-timer.
View All Testimonials
Mike Downey
Crafted a site that truly tells my story and elevated my brand's future.
Logan Bowers
Felt like a $50M brand—Adapt cared, created, and nailed every detail.
Jimmy McGrath
Captured my vision perfectly—even as a branding and site first-timer.
Stewart Heath
Adapt overdelivered—sharp site and better understanding than we had.
Joe Schmizzi
They nailed design, video, and funnels—perfect for long-term success.
Mike Foley
They managed everything so well I finally felt confident in marketing.
Meet Derek
Derek Peterson is an entrepreneur, investor, and global nomad dedicated to proving that life can be intentionally designed, not defaulted.
Founder of Adapt Agency and Adapt You, Derek has shaped brands responsible for over $35 billion in campaign-driven assets under management while raising more than $100 million across his own real estate ventures.
A six-time Ironman triathlete and creator of the Rich & Homeless movement, Derek now lives the message he shares on stage: that your business should build your life… not consume it.
His journey from burnout and breakdown to freedom and alignment delivers a story that resonates with high performers seeking more than surface-level success.
Derek Peterson is an entrepreneur, investor, and global nomad dedicated to proving that life can be intentionally designed, not defaulted.
Founder of Adapt Agency and Adapt You, Derek has shaped brands responsible for over $35 billion in campaign-driven assets under management while raising more than $100 million across his own real estate ventures.
A six-time Ironman triathlete and creator of the Rich & Homeless movement, Derek now lives the message he shares on stage: that your business should build your life… not consume it.
His journey from burnout and breakdown to freedom and alignment delivers a story that resonates with high performers seeking more than surface-level success.
Derek entered the corporate world through high-performance environments at ADP, Covidien, and Allergan, where he developed a deep understanding of operational systems, scalable infrastructure, leadership psychology, and growth execution.
Yet even as career success mounted, the realization grew louder: Achievement without autonomy creates a ceiling.
That internal shift laid the groundwork for entrepreneurship — not as rebellion, but as strategy.
