TERRENCE OGDEN
Founder & Keynote Speaker • Official Project Grit
Austin, Texas, United States •
$1,501 - $5,000
About
• He's lived it, not studied it. Heroin addiction, jail, homelessness to 24 years sober and founder of a national movement, Official Project Grit. No rehearsed talking points, real consequences turned into action. • Proof, not just a story. 1,046 miles solo, self-supported across Texas in 40 days. Creator and 7x leader of the Immortal 32 Ruck (75-mile ruck). Led the 80th D-Day Anniversary ruck in Normandy. The credibility is in the mileage. •. A standard, not motivation. Most speakers leave a room feeling good for a day. Terrence leaves them with a standard they can't unhear- clarity, ownership, and a higher expectation of themselves. •. Range across serious audiences. Corporate leadership teams, veteran organizations, recovery programs, and faith communities all book him back. •. Built for the room that needs truth. No surface level content- discipline, faith, failure, and what it actually takes to change.
Speaking Topics
Signature Programs (4)
Terrence Ogden was addicted to heroin, in and out of jail, and homeless. Today he's 24 years sober, and in 2025 he rucked 1,046 miles solo and self-supported across Texas in 40 days. In this talk, Terrence walks the audience through what actually changes a life: not motivation, not a single turning point, but the accumulation of small, hard choices made over and over when quitting was the easier option. Built For More works for any room because the core question is universal: what are you capable of once you stop negotiating with comfort? Audiences leave with a concrete standard for how they show up, not just a good feeling.
Key Takeaways
- What it actually takes to rebuild a life from rock bottom
- Why refusing to quit is a skill you build, not a trait you're born with
- How one person's discomfort can become permission for others to change
Audience
Corporate teams, veterans, recovery communities, faith groups, and general audiences
Format
Duration
45 - 60 minutes
Delivery
Most leadership talks sell inspiration. This one sells a standard. Terrence breaks down what "doing the hard thing" looks like in practice, in decisions, in accountability, in how a leader treats the people counting on them, using his own extremes (a 75-mile nonstop ruck, a 1,046-mile solo crossing of Texas) as proof of concept, not as the point. The point is that the same discipline that gets a person through mile 60 is the discipline that gets a team through a hard quarter. Built for corporate teams and executives who don't need more hype. They need a bar to hold themselves and their people to.
Key Takeaways
- What "doing the hard thing" actually looks like in daily decisions, not just crisis moments
- Why standards build trust faster than motivation does
- A framework for holding yourself and your team to a higher bar
Audience
Target Audience: Corporate leadership teams, executives, and managers
Format
Duration
45–60 minutes
Delivery
What does shared hardship actually build? Terrence has led ultra-endurance team rucks, including 7 completions of the Immortal 32 Ruck, a 75-mile nonstop ruck, and the 80th D-Day Anniversary 80K in Normandy, where the mission only works if nobody quits on anybody else. This talk uses those experiences to show teams, veteran groups, and men's groups what real brotherhood and trust look like when they're forged under weight, not just claimed in a mission statement. Audiences walk away understanding the difference between a team that says "no one left behind" and one that's actually tested it.
Key Takeaways
- What shared hardship builds in a team that comfort never can
- How carrying weight together creates real trust, not just camaraderie
- Why "no one left behind" has to be a practice, not a slogan
Audience
Corporate teams, veteran organizations, men's groups
Format
Duration
45–60 minutes
Delivery
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