You have to believe to achieve

“Setbacks are common, but it's how you react that counts.”

War veteran Ben McBean was just 20 when he lost part of his arm and leg in a landmine blast while serving in Afghanistan. Told he might not survive the flight home, Ben spoke to AKQA about how an overwhelmingly positive attitude helped him overcome his predicament – and now, at 28, he is a successful public speaker, entrepreneur and long-distance runner. Ben credits a powerful belief in his ability to succeed with achieving the seemingly impossible: he ran his first London marathon with a prosthetic limb a year after his ordeal. “Believe in yourself and you already have a head start,” he told the audience.