Bringing out the Best in you! ricosharp.org

So it's been a while since we've been in the house to do training, and I want to say, um, that we're moving forward in our professions, our jobs, what we do. There's going to be a lot of changes happening, but very good changes. And I know sometimes change is uncomfortable. People walk at it, but embrace it so we can get through it together. So yeah, that's what I want to say. Remember the change and everything. So today, as part of our training, we're going to do a policy retreat afterwards for the As part of our training, we have a motivational— and my phone keeps timing out— speaker with us. Give me one second, please. Okay, um, and I'd like to introduce to you Mr. Rico Sharp. He's a professional motivational speaker, life coach, Andre Entrepreneur, leadership training, and a personal discovery developer, counselor, and television personality. It is truly a privilege that he is blessing us with his presence here today and imparting some knowledge unto us. Okay, um, for over 33 years, Rico has shared his passion of mindset transformation Transformation, resiliency, occupational integrity, and interpersonal discovery. Rico is a beacon of energy and dynamo of inspiration whose very presence lights up a room and whose words have the power to transform transform lives. Rico is a powerful, positive, and professional. Motivational speaker who has dedicated his life to uplifting others, encouraging them to reach for the stars and to chase their dreams with unrelenting passion. His message is simple yet profound: believe in yourself, maximize your movement, embrace your challenges, and let life experiences guide your Rico's journey to becoming a sought-after motivational speaker is a testament to his own resilience and unwavering optimism. From humble beginnings, he faced numerous hurdles, but his steadfast determination and positive outlook turned each obstacle into a stepping stone towards success. His success today. Rico stands as a shining example of what it means to be harmless, the power of positivity, and use it to conquer life's greatest challenges. His electrifying speeches are packed with real-life stories, practical advice, and infectious enthusiasm. That leaves audiences feeling empowered and ready to take on the world. Rico is a highly sought-after speaker for challenges, corporate organizations, for colleges, corporate organizations, mega churches, government institutions, private sectors, and more. Rico is a mentor and a life coach to the NFL, NBA, and WBC athletes. Whether he's speaking to a room full of corporate executives, a group of aspiring entrepreneurs, professional athletes, or students ready to embark on their life's journey, Rico Sharp's message resonates with all. His ability to connect His passion for connecting with people from all walks of life, coupled with his genuine desire to see others succeed, make him a true force for good. With Rico's guidance, you'll find that the sky isn't the limit, it's just the beginning. So get ready to be inspired, to be empowered, to dream big, and to achieve more than you ever thought possible. With Rico Sharp leading the way. Rico Sharp.

All right, well, I really feel privileged and honored to be here with you today. I'm going to ask you, if you will, to put your hands together for our visionary and founder, Ms.

Flowers.

Can you do that for me, please? I'm also going to ask you, if you don't mind, to stand to your feet. There's something that I like to do at the beginning of all my meetings. If you don't mind, just stand to your feet for me, please. And if you will, just look at somebody either on your left or your right and say this, say this to them. Say, you have something special.

You have something special.

You have greatness on your life.

You have greatness on your life.

You are gifted. You are talented. You are powerful. And you can do all things. And nothing is impossible for you. Okay, now one more thing here. If you would just put your hand right here on your chest and repeat after me. Say, I am special. I have greatness on my life. There is nothing That I cannot accomplish. I am talented. I am gifted. I am creative. I am powerful. I am blessed. And all things are possible in my life. Give yourself a round of applause. Thank you. Thank you. You may be seated.

Thank you.

It's an honor for me to be here today, and I do want to take a moment and talk to you about something that is very, very important. And basically, it's— there's something that you have on the inside of you as a treasure, as a value, as a gift, as a talent that you want to begin not only to harness but to extrapolate. To bring from the inside of you. Working here for this wonderful organization gives you the opportunity to discover things about yourself that perhaps you didn't know prior, and that is to discover your uniqueness, to discover your passion, your purpose for life, your greatness, your fortitude, that which lives on the inside of you. You see, ladies and gentlemen, all of us have something that we can offer, something that we can contribute to humanity. None of us are alive just to exist from day to day. There's a bigger picture, and the grand scheme of your life, you have to discover what that is that I have to offer the world. You know, your life is like a fingerprint, or it's a snowflake. There is no two alike. There's no one else in this world like you. Doesn't matter if you're looking for another you in Asia, in Africa. It doesn't matter if you're looking for another you in Europe. There is no second person in this world quite like you. They may kind of resemble you. They may have certain familiarities. They may have certain things that make other people Think of you, but there is no one in this world like you. You are an original, and you have a level of authenticity, you have a level of brilliance, you have a level of intelligence, you have a level of giftedness, you have a level of uniqueness that sets you aside from everyone else in this world. And the reason you were born with this level of uniqueness and creativity and greatness on your life is so that you can utilize it to enhance the world we live in, to impact the lives of other people. And every so often we have to have meetings like this to remind us to begin to focus interpersonally so that we are constantly looking internally and working internally to bring externally what we possess internally. Let me say that again. We have to continue to focus internally and interpersonally so that we can constantly develop and stay on top of what we really have on the inside so that we can extrapolate that and release it on the outside. And so in this talk today, I'm going to be talking about bringing out the best in you. I'm going to be talking about giving it all you've got. I'm going to be talking about being able to become the better version of yourself, and not just the better version, because you can be better and not be your best. We want to focus on you being your best. Say this with me: I want to focus on being the best version of myself. And one of the things that I love about life is that it's never too late to start again. It's never too late to rebound. It's never too late to rise above adversity. It's never too late to rise against all odds. It's never too late to give life all you have to give. It's never too late to bring out the best in you. And so when you begin to focus on bringing out the best in you and giving it all you have to give, Don't look at the mistakes you've made in life. Don't look at the negative choices you've made in your life. Don't focus on your past. Your past is just what it says— past. It's gone. What we're going to do is utilize our past as a stepping stone to our future, right? We're going to utilize the things that has happened along the way in life as experiences to empower us to greatness. And everyone has a story, everyone has a journey, everyone has something that they've gone through in life. And the old saying is, if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.

Amen.

And so I'm going to share a little bit about myself from a personal standpoint so that you can understand a little bit about my passion and my motive and, and my story And then we're going to take off running. Is that okay?

All right.

All right. So I was born to a young lady, and, and I call her lady out of respect. My mom, she was 14 years old when I was born. So I say lady out of respect, but she was really a child. And she had a son before I was born. And she did the best she could to raise me and 2 other boys. Because there's three of us. She did the best she could. There was three of us because one passed away a little over a year ago. She did the best she could to raise us, to empower us, to give us the best that she could. One of the things that she did that I'm always grateful and forever thankful is that she raised us in the church. She gave us some kind of spiritual foundation to stand on. But my father, on the other hand. was a drug dealer who was on the other side of town raising a family somewhere else, and I loved him very much. Before he passed away, we had an awesome relationship. And when, when I began to grow up, I realized that there were some things in my life that was lacking, and it wasn't toys and gifts under the tree, it wasn't birthday presents and things like that, but it was a sense of belonging. It was a sense of family. It was a sense of community. And my mom, because she was young and really wasn't able to take care of me, she, she handed me off to someone that could financially afford to take care of me. And this lady, she raised me for several years, and then she got sick and had to go in the hospital for an extended stay. And eventually she had to hand me back to my mom. And my mom did the best she could, and You know, you get 11, 12— for those of you who raise kids, you get 11, 12, 13 years of age, you think you know it all. You think you're grown. You're ready to go out and see the world in a sense. And that's how I was thinking at that young age. And to add to that, I was in high school, and at the age of 13, there were some young boys in my classroom, and they had plenty of friends. They had money, nice clothing, nice jewelry. And all the girls wanted to be with them, and all the guys wanted to be like them. And here I am, this young boy having some crisis going on in my personal life and feeling like I'm not really accepted. And my mom said to me at the age of 13, you got to go live with your dad because I can't do anything with you. And I'm like, I can't go live with this dude. This dude is going to beat me to death. I'm afraid of him. I don't feel any love coming from him. He's got another family somewhere else, and I'm not receiving received by them. And so I said, you know, this— these cool guys in my school, I think this is going to be my new family. And so with the immature, undeveloped mind, I decided to run away from home. I ran out of school that day, the first day my dad took me to school. I didn't want to go back home with him, so I ran off and I started living on the streets, trying to follow behind these guys in my school. I then realized that the reason these guys were flashy flashy and had money. I didn't realize that the reason they had jewelry, I didn't realize the reason that they had cars in the parking lot at the age of 14 and 15. I didn't realize they were drug dealers, but they were, and I would soon find out. And so I ran off to their side of town, a town that I was not familiar with, an environment that I was not familiar with, a lifestyle that I was not acquainted with. And the very first day, immediately, I found myself homeless. Sleeping under an oak tree, eating out of a trash can. In my, in my mind, I thought that they were going to take care of me, that they were going to support me. I thought that their parents would let me come live with them because I was accustomed to living in different people's homes. I was accustomed to sleeping in the homes of church members from the age of 6 until the age of 12. I was accustomed to living with different family members. I probably lived with about 7 different family members from time to time. And so I thought, well, anybody would allow me to come live at their house, but nobody really wanted me around. So I just kept moving around and moving around. And when I got out on the street, these guys, they didn't know me like that. They were not going to allow me to live in their house. Their parents were not going to have that. So I became homeless and living under that oak tree for a while, not having a second change of clothing, not having any toothpaste or toothbrush. to brush my teeth, no hygienics, no support, not an extra layer of clothing for the winter, and I'm just standing and trying to survive as much as I could. Sometimes I had to jump up and run for my life. And one day, about 2 AM in the morning, falling asleep under this oak tree, this drug dealer stopped by and said to me, Rico, why are you always out here under this tree every night?

Why?

And I said to him, because I don't have nowhere to live. And he said to me, come get in the car. And he took me to his house, which was a rooming house that he lived in along with other drug dealers. And when I got to that rooming house at the age of 13, they treated me like a little brother. They bought me food, they bought me clothing, they put a few dollars in my pocket. But how many of you know that that doesn't last very long? So after about a week, they said to me, if you're going to survive out here in these streets, You have to become a hustler. You have to learn how to make money. I didn't realize exactly what I was getting ready to get myself into, but they handed me a bag of drugs, a bag of crack cocaine, and I went out on the corner at the age of 13 and I started selling drugs. And then they handed me a bottle of alcohol and I started drinking. Then they handed me a joint and I started smoking marijuana. Then they handed me powder cocaine and I started snorting powder cocaine at the age of 13. And it wouldn't be long after I got arrested by the police department in Sanford, Florida for being an underage minor drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, selling drugs, and being involved in other criminal activity such as violence.

Hmm.

And one thing led to another. From the age of 13 to the age of 19, I was arrested 19 different times. I was sent to prison 3 different times. And every time I would go in and get incarcerated, I would say to myself, I gotta change, I gotta change, I gotta change. I don't want to die in the street. I saw many people die in the streets. I saw many of my friends lose their life. I saw many people get life in prison.

Yes.

And but it wasn't until the 19th time, ladies and gentlemen, It wasn't until the 3rd time in prison, but the 19th time being arrested, that I finally began to take my life serious. And I discovered while in jail that there was an opportunity for me to enroll in this vocational course called Interpersonal Life Skills. And I took advantage of that. And I said to myself, I'm going to change the way I think. Because I realized that it is my mentality that creates my reality. Say this with me, my mentality—

My mentality—

Creates my reality.

Creates my reality.

And so at that juncture, I began to focus interpersonally on what I could do to change my life. And so there was this older Caucasian gentleman which was more like a mentor to mine who had done 30 years in prison and was never going home. Over the years, he had accumulated his own personal library. And so I began to talk to him, and I made a deal. I made an agreement with him, and the agreement was that I would take the money that my family would send to me to buy things like socks and underwear and toothpaste and deodorant, because there are certain things the prison just don't provide for you. And I began to Take my commissary money that was used for things like Doritos, and I used to like Jolly Ranchers, a little candy, and, you know, a nice pack of cookies, and that kind of comforted me a little bit in my journey. But when I found out that Billy would make a deal with me and sell me his library because Billy wanted coffee and Billy wanted cigarettes, I took my commissary money and gave it to Billy. and I bought Billy books from him. And so I bought an encyclopedia, I bought an almanac, I bought a dictionary, I bought Bibles, I bought commentaries, I bought self-help books, I bought books on renewing my mind and changing my thinking, I bought books on establishing a foundation for faith. And for 9, 10, sometimes 12 hours a day, I would sit on my bunk and begin to feed my mind. And renew my thinking. And eventually I became a self-educated young man in prison. And when I was released November 30th, 1995, I walked out of that prison, I got down on the pavement, and I kissed the pavement, and I made a promise to myself that I would never ever come back to prison again. as an inmate. Ladies and gentlemen, November 30th, 2025 will be 35 years that I've been released from prison. 34, 35 years, somewhere in there. And so I have gone back to prison since my release, not as an inmate.

Right.

As an educator, as an empowerer, as a motivational speaker, as someone who would help the other inmates to understand that there is such a thing called transformation. And so I learned through this journey how to focus in personally. To give you a quick analogy, there is such a thing that we know as a metamorphosis, right?

Mm-hmm.

And we get this example from a caterpillar That eventually gets tired of crawling through life. It begins to focus interpersonally and realize that I have another creation on the inside of me, that I'm not limited, I'm not stuck. I don't have to die the way I was born. I don't have to die under certain circumstances. I don't have to eat the dust for the rest of my life. Like, I can change. There's something greater on the inside of me. And through that thinking, through that comprehension, through that understanding, through that emotional intelligence, through that intellect, that cocoon begins to build— or that butterfly, that caterpillar begins to build the cocoon, which eventually becomes its place of rehabilitation, transformation. And when this caterpillar builds this cocoon around itself, understand that there is a process going on on the inside of it. And that process is giving birth to its greater existence. And the whole reason of us having meetings here at RAIL is to help you to give birth to your greater existence, right? We want you to be able to bring out the best within you. We want you to go from being that caterpillar, if you will, to becoming that butterfly that can take off with a fresh set of wings. And when I was in prison, that cocoon, that prison became my cocoon. And when I came forth, I came out colorful with a new life, with a new attitude, with a fresh outlook on life, with new perspectives, with new values, with new morals. And then I began to realize that my change and my transformation isn't just for me. Like, I'm going to enjoy the benefit of not being addicted to cocaine. I'm going to enjoy the benefit of not going back to prison. I'm going to enjoy the benefit of living a new life and having new opportunities and meet new people. But I'm here in this world to affect positivity in someone else's life. So can you look at someone as we take our journey and tell them, you have a story? Can you look at someone else and tell them, you have a story? And your story needs to be told. Because your story helps other people. All right, now that's my story. So I— when I was meeting with Ms. Flowers last week, I noticed this, this, this saying on her, her dresser— on her desk, rather. And, and it says that most people miss opportunities because opportunities kind of like come dressed in overalls and it looks like work. And ever since that, my mind has just been going and going and going and going and going. And I resonate with that because I realize in my training around the world, I realize in my teaching— I teach workshops for the federal government. I did 3 federal government workshops last month in August, August 12th through the 15th. I teach for leadership. I do leadership teachings in colleges and universities. In fact, I'm going to be taking off tomorrow, going down to Miami to to speak twice at a college, at 2 different colleges in Miami tomorrow. I speak in jails and prisons. I speak for business, as it was said in my bio. And one of the things that I have found as a common cause amongst all these different platforms is that people don't often take advantage of opportunities because in their minds, opportunities don't show up the way they look for them or the way they expect for them. And I want to tell you a little short story. Years ago, I used to be in the car business. I managed a car dealership down in, um, Longwood, Florida, not too far from here. And I met a gentleman who worked at a, uh, Rolls-Royce dealership out in Tennessee. And one day, all the salesmen, they were inside of the dealership just kind of sitting down talking and just kind of, you know, not really doing anything, just enjoying the air conditioning, enjoying their comfort, enjoying their big paychecks, and stereotyping who they felt like could afford to buy a Rolls-Royce. Because you understand that these cars start at $250,000 and up. And so one day, an old gentleman pulled up in an old Cadillac— black guy with overalls on and cowboy boots, no shirt on. And a big old straw hat on his head. And he started walking around the car lot, and everybody inside, they're looking at him walk around the car lot, and nobody wanted to go out and say hi to this guy because in their mind they see a guy with overalls on, and their thinking is there's nothing to this guy. Maybe he's lost, maybe he's dreaming. Why would he be on a Rolls-Royce dealership driving an old beat-up Cadillac looking like he just came off of a farm? And then of course he can't afford a Rolls-Royce, you know. So after they sat there and talked, trying to push each other up to go out there and waste what they thought waste their time, nobody wanted to do it. But after a few minutes, one guy said, you know what?

What?

I'd rather be out there talking to him than being here talking to y'all negative-minded people stereotyping and making racial comments. So he went out and went and met with this gentleman out on the lot. The gentleman on the lot, ladies and gentlemen, was the brother of boxing promoter Don King. Don King sent this gentleman His brother to the lot to pick out 2 Rolls-Royces. Not one, but 2.

Hmm.

Don King didn't have the time to go car shopping, so he let his brother do the car shopping for him throughout the years. And when this young man finally went out there and started talking with Don King's brother, he discovered that Don King would soon be arriving about an hour later to pay for 2 Rolls-Royces. And this gentleman sold Don King 2 Rolls-Royces, but it didn't stop there. Every couple of years, Don King would upgrade those Rolls-Royces for other Rolls-Royces, and this guy would be the salesman that eventually would become Don King salesman and sell Don King 2 Rolls-Royces every couple of years. for several decades. Ladies and gentlemen, be careful when someone walks up with overalls on.

That's right.

Be careful when an opportunity is presented before you and it doesn't come dressed in high-heeled shoes or a $5,000 suit. Be careful when an opportunity shows up and it doesn't look like the description that you have in your mind. Because opportunity, when they're really big opportunity, they're not going to show up to someone who is sleeping on their dream and sleeping on their purpose. So there's 3 things that I want to give you. If you got pen and paper, write this down. There's 3 things that I want to tell you that you want to always keep open. Number 1, always keep your heart open. Always keep your heart open. Why should you always keep your heart open? Because passion, purpose—it flows out from your heart. Power flows out from your heart. Love flows out from your heart. Grace flows out from your heart. And when you're in Not just in life, but when you're working in a corporation that deals with people on a daily basis, especially for what you do here at Rio, you want to always keep your heart open. Don't just see your employment as a job and an opportunity to get a paycheck, but see it as an opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life. See it as an opportunity to be a world changer. See it as an opportunity to be a world changer. See it as an opportunity to impact someone that is waiting for your touch, your originality, your authenticity, your uniqueness, your greatness, your talent, and your skill. Because there are people in life, they've been streamlined to come to you. And there's something about you that— something about what you have to offer them that is tailor-made to fit whatever their problem is. what their issue may be. So always keep your heart open. Number 2, always keep your mind open. Always have an open mind. Do not allow for your personal struggles and your personal challenges to close your mind to life's opportunity and to life's purpose. Always have the type of mindset and the mentality that I am living in this world To contribute to humanity. I want to leave my footprint, my handprint, my signature in this world. Like you want people to know that you were born with a purpose. Say this with me: I was born with a purpose. I was born with a purpose. And when you have an open mind, you're able to stay on top of that purpose by which you were born. As I said earlier, none of us are born by accident. You're not here by mistake. My mom did not plan to get pregnant with me at the age of 13 and give birth to me at the age of 14. But yet I realized that it was all planned, all part of a bigger plan. And I realized that it was meant for me to be born. You're here by divine design. And then when you have an open mind, you're able to pre-calculate certain decisions in your life. You're able to plan, you're able to dream, you're able to envision, and you're able to see past where you presently stand in life. And then thirdly, always keep your eyes open. You want to always have your eyes open so that you can see opportunities and maximize opportunities and seize the moment and be able to do the right thing at the right time to create more of an impact in this world. See, I'm talking to you today about what you can do for others and how you can change the world and how you can take REO to a whole nother level in this level of effectiveness, right? I'm talking to you about how you can work your position and change The landscape of what you do and enhance and advance the lives of humanity. I do believe that this day is a day that was foreordained or predetermined and predestined. Just like I believe that every day you wake up in the morning, it is a day that was foreordained, predetermined, and predestined. And you didn't just wake up in the morning, you didn't just wake up just because you want to be here. You woke up in the morning, or this morning, because there is a time clock affixed to your life. And that time clock, ladies and gentlemen, has given you just the amount of time that you need, or just the amount of time that it takes to be able to do what you need to do in this world. You are not here to idly sit by. You are not here in this world just to get a paycheck. You are not in this world just to pay your bills. You are not in this world just to be a good mom. You are not in this world just to be a good dad, or just to be a good employee, just to be a good husband, good wife, good boyfriend, good girlfriend, good fiancé. All of those things are wonderful, but the core existence of your purpose exceeds that. There's so much more to you. Put your hand right here and repeat after me: I have greatness in my life.

Amen.

You have greatness in your life. And the gift of life gives you a restart button. It doesn't matter if you were like Rico and you were in and out of jail and in and out of prison from the age of 13 to 19. There is an opportunity for you to start all over again. And then there's an opportunity for you to continue to bring forth your gifts and your creativity from the inside. The Book of Life says a good man or a good woman, out of the good treasures of their heart, bring forth good things. Can you look at somebody sitting at the table and tell them you have goodness inside of you? You have goodness inside.

Now bring it out. Bring it out. John, goodness inside of you. Now bring that out.

So think about this right here. You know, I was thinking about the name of your organization, Rising Against All Odds, and I started thinking, okay, I can see that very clearly. Like Ray Charles can see that, right? Stevie Wonder can see that. Because Rising Against All Odds has nothing to do with your physical vision.

Right.

It has all to do with your spiritual vision. This is where we get the word resilient. Resilient means to overcome adversity. It means to rise against all odds and understand there will be odds. You know that by living. There's this thing we call Murphy's Law. Murphy's Law suggests that anything can happen will happen. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. You ever been driving home in your automobile trying to get there by a certain time or trying to get to work by a certain time or trying You ever been in a car trying to get to a doctor's appointment by a certain time and then you ended up with a flat tire in transition? And then you go to the trunk and you either don't have a spare or your spare is flat also?

Mm-hmm.

I remember one time I was in the car with my uncle and we were coming back from this town called Zellwood and we got a flat tire. And when he went to the trunk, he had 2 spare tires. And he got the first one out, put it on the car because it had some air in it, but there was like 5 of us in the car. And the car, when he put the tire on, it just went off the tire because of the weight. It just went off the tire, went all the way down. And then we tucked that one off and got the second spare tire out the trunk. And when he put that one on the car and all of us jumped in, that one went all the way down too. And we were stuck like Chuck with 4 flat tires in the 6th. We couldn't move. What does that mean? Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. But what does it require when things go wrong? It requires resilience. It requires you to grab resiliency by the horns and say, I'm going to use you to my advantage to overcome my adversity. Will there be problems in your personal life that if you allow it, it interferes with your professional life? Absolutely. Would there be moments in your life that make you feel like quitting? That make you feel like this is not worth it? Absolutely. Would there be times in your life where you feel like, man, I can't take it anymore? Oh God, why is this happening to me? And God is like, and your, your, your, your heart is like, why not? Who else should it happen to? Would you rather give me an email list of people you prefer? Listen, when things go wrong in your life, don't go with them. When things fall apart in your life, don't fall apart with it. When people you love die and go to the grave, don't go to the grave with them. When people walk away from you, don't you walk away from you. Determine through resilience that I'm going to rise above all adversity and I'm going to rise against all odds. See, when you tell people about your problems, 50% of the people you tell don't care, and the other 50% is glad it's not them. But when you have challenges in your life, you buckle down and you tell yourself, I'm going to give it all I have to give. I'm going to give life all I have to give. I'm going to give my career all I have to give. I'm going to give this organization all I have to give. I'm going to give my purpose all I have to give. So rising above adversity and giving life all you have to give is an attitude. So if you can write this down, there is an attitude called resilience. Resilience is an attitude. It's mental toughness. Timex in 1951 coined this expression about their watch. After taking their watch through rigorous testing, beating it with the hammer, rolling over it with the car, they were able to pick up this damaged watch off the ground, and this watch, in spite of the abuse, it still worked. It still ticked. And they coined this expression Called Take Your Licking and Keep on...

Ticking.

Ticking. And that's how you have to be in life. When life deals to you a low blow, you need resilience, you need mental toughness. You have to be able to take your licks and keep on ticking. What if I would have said to myself in my heart that I will never have a good life Because of being an ex-convict, what if I would have said, "Who would ever want to hear me talk? Who would ever believe in me? Who would ever trust me? Who would ever give me a job? Who would ever give me an give me employment because of my past?" See, ladies and gentlemen, I had to overcome that. Right. I had to rise above that. Right. And so when you develop an attitude that you're going to give it all you got, you're going to come into a state of mind. Where you're unwavering with your commitment concerning your career, your promotion, and your dreams. How many of you have dreams in life?

Mm-hmm.

Great. A dream is something that you want to accomplish in life before your time expires, right? Okay, let's go on. Put your heart and soul into your commitment. Be passionate and hungry about your career, your goals, and your dreams. When I say that you put your heart and soul into your commitment relative to your employment here at this great organization, I'm saying to you, be passionate about what you do. Be passionate about it. I mean, you're dealing with people. You're, you're here to help people who, who who life has beat down and brutalized. And when people come to you, they're coming, some of them, on fumes. Some of them, they're on their last leg. Some of them, if they were a cat, they come to you on their 9th life. And what has to happen is that you have to release from your heart the passion, the care, the love, the concern, the patience.

That's right.

To deal with people, to help people rise against all odds. But in order for you to effectively do that, you have to be passionate about your assignment. You have to be passionate about your purpose. When people are not passionate on their jobs, they do barely enough to get by, and their employer pays them barely enough to keep them from quitting.

That's right.

When people are not passionate about their job, they come late and they leave early. When people are not passionate about their job, they make up excuses as to why they can't show up to work, and they would swap the lesser for the greater. In other words, they will come up with a reason, a justified excuse in their mind, to do something less important for that day than to do something more important in that day. When people are not passionate about their place of employment, they don't give it their all. They hold back. They, they operate in a mediocre disposition. Can I say to you that being average is your enemy?

Amen.

Can I say to you that being common and being ordinary is your enemy? Can I say to you that being casual is your enemy? holding back when you have so much more to offer?

Yeah.

That's an enemy of yours. That's a detriment to your potential. That doesn't release greatness in your life, that decapitates the greatness in your life. What you want to do, ladies and gentlemen, is every day you rise in the morning, determine that today I'm going to give it all I have to give. And when I show up to work, all of me shows up. When I show up to work, the best of me shows up. When I show up to work, I'm putting behind the stress of yesterday, yesterday, yesterday, yesterday. I'm putting behind every yesterday, and I'm coming in to give my best. Do that means that sometimes I have to suppress Would I feel inside? Yes, for the good of helping others. You know what I found out in life, ladies and gentlemen? I found out that when you help others with all your heart, there is someone designed, someone set aside, someone appointed to help you with all their heart. Because life is about give and take, right? Sowing and reaping, right? Scattering and then gathering. And so when we come to work passionate with our heart and our soul engaged, we're going to change lives. And isn't that what it's all about? Changing lives. Say this with me: my job, my assignment, and my purpose in life is to change lives. My job, my assignment, and my purpose in life is to change lives. To change lives. For the better.

For the better.

Great! Y'all are a great audience. Let's move a little further. Maximize your moment. Seize every opportunity to take advantage of the resources made available on your job and through other sources. It is very important that you're at your best mentally and intellectually. It is very important that you're focused when you come in to work. Why? Because opportunities are always being presented, and like I said earlier, you want to keep your eyes open, your heart open, your mind open so that you can seize, embrace, and take advantage of these opportunities. When you come in, you never know what level of promotion has shown up before you that day with a set of overalls on. You never know that through your dedication and your hard work how you're going to be promoted. You never know what level of enhancement to your career is going to be afforded you through Your passion, your dedication, and your hard work. So in order to fully set the standard to be promoted within life, in order to fully set the precedent to be promoted in this organization, you have to do what? Seize the moment to maximize every opportunity. Sometimes when I go into store and I have a difficult time finding something and I ask one of the employees for help, I'm always paying attention to how they respond. There was a time that I was a customer relations manager, and in customer relations as a manager, I taught my employees how to have 5-star customer service. You want to represent the company in a way where the CEO or the president can come to you and say, I'm glad you're employed with us because you are a blessing to this organization. So when I go into department stores and I ask for some help or some direction, there's, there's one or two people that you're going to come in contact with. One, someone who points in the direction and say, it's over there around the corner on aisle 5, down on the bottom shelf. Which, if you're like me, and I'm just going to be honest with you, I don't really like looking for a whole lot of stuff. You know, I want to know exactly where it is because I could spend 15 minutes looking for something that's just right there in front of me. So then, number 2, every now and then you'll come across an employee that says, just follow me, and they will walk you right over to where that item is. And oftentimes hand it to you. Now, when I meet someone like that, I want to go in my pocket and pull out $10 and give them a tip because I feel like that they maximize the moment to show me that I'm important enough to them that I can stop for a moment and give them the help that they need. See, moments are always created for you to show what you're really made of. Moments are always created for you to identify with the opportunity and then maximize the opportunity. But if you are sleeping on the job— and when I say sleeping, I'm not talking about taking a nap, I'm talking about having your eyes closed, your mind closed, your heart closed. If you're sleeping on the job, when opportunity shows up, you're going to miss that opportunity because you are not fully engaged in that moment. Say this with me: I want always maximize the moment. A few days ago last week, when I showed up to rail and I came around to the back of the building, this young lady she saw me. And she stopped for a moment to engage me. She said, "How can I help you?" And she and I and I proceeded to tell her who I am, and she wanted to know more about what she could do to help me. And I saw that, and I'm like, "Now I like that," because when you meet somebody for the first time, you never know who you're meeting.

Mm-hmm.

You never know who you're running into. In fact, can I say to you that some of the most prestigious opportunities you get in life, it's not going to be dressed up with a 3-piece suit. It's going to come to you with overalls, and it's going to look like work, and it's going to look like something that you don't have the convenience to engage. But that's the moment. That's, that's what you call a defining moment that's going to really prove what you're made of and if you in fact you're ready for your next level. See, I'm always looking for opportunities. I was in Chick-fil-A a couple of months ago ordering Some chicken. I put a little emphasis on that because you know how much we love chicken. And this lady was standing next to me, and I was— a couple of weeks before had stopped by this college, and I went to go speak with the dean, but the dean was busy. So I waited about 30 minutes, the dean didn't come out. I waited another 30 minutes, the dean didn't come out. So after an hour The receptionist said to me, um, can you just leave a card and we'll have the dean contact you.

Wow.

So fast forward now a month or so, I'm in Chick-fil-A ordering some chicken, standing there in line, and this lady standing next to me. And I'm very observant. I, I'm always aware of my environment. I learned that from my street life. And I just happened to look around, and I'm looking at everyone, I have this habit when I see someone with a shirt on, they have a tag or a patch or a badge or any kind of inscription on their shirt. I like to read because I'm a reader. I like to— I'm nosy. I want to see what's going on. I want to see what people are doing, right? And lo and behold, the lady standing next to me was the dean for the college that I was trying to get an appointment with. And when I talked to her, because it said on her shirt her position was. And I said, are you the dean of this particular college? She said, yeah. I said, well, I'm Rico Sharp. She said, oh my God. She said, I got your card. I've been meaning to give you a call. And from that conversation, I not only spoke twice at their college, but I've also spoken 5 times in the organization of that particular college. When I talked to her, I didn't say to her, oh, I waited half an hour and you didn't show— you didn't come out and show me any interest. Or I waited a whole hour and you didn't come out and show me any interest. I was grateful that I was able to seize and maximize that moment. In fact, ladies and gentlemen, the colleges that I'm going to go speak to in Pembroke Pines and South Miami tomorrow is part of this same organization. Can you look at the person sitting next to you and tell them, you have to maximize your moment? You have to maximize your moment. Seize every opportunity to take advantage of the resources. This company provides information for you. A lot of information is given to you in a physical form, and some information is online. And in your spare time, not just at work, but in your spare time, I would advise you to get that information out, to learn, to practice, to study, to engage, to To equip yourself, equip your mind at all times. Okay, next one: mind your business and business your mind. I call this expression "mind your business and business your mind" because there are so many people when I do leadership training, when I go to these corporate events, when I go and speak for the government, there's so many people trying to do what those say it is. Keep up with the Joneses, right? People want to know, how much are you making? How much are you getting paid? How long have you been here? What's your position? How much do you— how well do you know the boss? How much was your bonus? And all of these things are irrelevant to the person asking the question, even though they may deem it necessary. What I suggest to you is to don't compete and compare yourself with other people. Don't go through life trying to keep up with someone who who may have something more than you, but focus rather on how you can better educate yourself and empower yourself. When I say to you, business your mind, get all the information you can get to intellectually prepare yourself for a promotion. Get all the information you can get to academically, if you will, Prepare yourself for a promotion. Get all the knowledge, the wisdom, the understanding. Prepare yourself educationally. I love to read. I'm gonna read. I'm reading something every day because I realize that the more I business my mind, the more business doors are going to open for me. See, opportunities are going to come to you, ladies and gentlemen, but what are you going to do But an opportunity knocks on your door with a pair of oil-stained overalls on. What are you going to do? See, I found that most people in life want an opportunity and is not even prepared for that opportunity. I found that most people in life, they sit back waiting for someone to sympathize with them and empathize with them and not even equipped and prepared for the opportunity. When the opportunity comes, you must be prepared. You can't get behind the cockpit of an airplane and fly a plane unless you are equipped and prepared. So you can't say, oh, I want to be a pilot, I want to fly, this is my dream. No, you got to learn how to fly these aircraft. So mind your business and business your mind. Stay focused on your assignment and continue to feed your mind with information that makes you more valuable to this organization. Does that make sense to you?

Absolutely.

I might need to get a time check because I do not have a watch on. So please let me know. It is my understanding. It's 9:32. 9:32. Great. And what time do we need to end this particular session?

Um, you can go as long as you need to. Um, we might need— if there's a breaking point, we might take a break and get some drinks.

Okay, so let's take a break at 9:45. If it's 9:32 now, so that gives me about 13 minutes.

Okay.

And if you can give me a time check, I would appreciate that. Yes. Number 5, continue to prioritize your perspective. First things always first, without compromise or deviation from your priorities. Always come to work mindful and focused on what it is that you do at Rio. I know it's difficult sometimes to differentiate between your personal life and your professional life. And oftentimes, I'm— when I come in and I do leadership training, I'm also a counselor, I'm also a motivator, I'm also a life coach. So I have clients around the country that I meet with on a regular basis, and I'm oftentimes asking the question that gives me the information They let me know where their challenges are, what their struggles are. And when I talk to my clients, I'm always trying to enlighten my clients about how to maintain the proper perspective. Listen, things are going to happen in life, but stay focused.

Yeah.

There's going to be temptation to deviate, but stay focused. There's going to be Moments in your life where you feel like you're losing control, but even during those moments, you have to stay focused. When I was a little boy, some of you may maybe recall what I'm about to say. When I was a little boy, they, uh, my parents had this— my mom rather had this little well in the yard, and it was one of those pump and prime wells. And you had to pour water down into the well and pump it and prime it in order for water to come out of the well, right? The well had to be regurgitated. And every so often you pour water in it and then the well starts spitting out— it regurgitates. And that's a sign to continue pumping and priming and put a little bit more water in it. And then after a while of pumping and priming— It stops. Now you got a flow that's constantly flowing out and you get all the water that you want. And I gave you that because sometimes that's how it is with your perspective when you're going through your own personal problems and you're dealing with your day-to-day challenges. And maybe there's some turmoil in your marriage or in your relationship. Maybe your children are not doing so good at school. Maybe you got some things that's going on in your body with your health. Maybe your mind is going through different warfare. Maybe you got some personal financial issues. Maybe someone in your family that you love has passed away, and life is trying to karate chop you or put you in the full nelson or hit you with a low blow and hit you with an uppercut. And you're going through all these changes, and you're being stretched, and you're being stressed, and you're being perplexed, and you feel depleted and exhausted and drained and dispirited and discouraged. And when you're going through these moments like this, You got to do like that old well. You got to put something in you and start pumping and priming. Put some advice in you, put some encouragement in you, and pump and prime so that you can get your perspective and your focus back. Sometimes you have to put some comfort in you. Do something you enjoy. Find someone to talk to. Confide in somebody. Find a comforter, somebody that you can trust, that loves you genuinely, and get all— sometimes you have to listen to motivational Sometimes you have to just take some time and pray and talk to your Creator. Sometimes you have to just walk off for a moment and talk to yourself. But whatever you have to do to get your perspective back, do that. You want to streamline your perspective because your perspective is important to your assignment. Every day you walk into work, you need to be focused. You need to know why you're here, what your assignment is today, what is required of you, and not lose sight of that. Not That's right. allow for your personal life to overpower your professional life and cause for you to start lagging at work because you have issues at home. Is that difficult? Yes. Is that challenging? Yes. But can I do it? Yes. You see, ladies and gentlemen, some things in life aren't going to be easy. Some things in life are going to be difficult. Some things in life are going to be hard. But if it's hard, do it hard. If it's difficult, then do it difficult. If it puts a strain on you, then work through the strain. If it causes for you to have to go the extra mile, go the extra mile. If you got to do it crying, do it crying. If you got to get up and go to the bathroom and wash your face with cold water and dry your eyes, then go do that. Because at the end of the day, you maintain your perspective, you keep your focus, and then you come back in to work the next day and you feel great that you were able to To say, I did it, I made it, I got through that. It was hard, but I did it hard. It was difficult, but I did it difficultly. It put a strain on me, but I worked through the strain. It was tough, but I did it through the toughness. You see, ladies and gentlemen, tough times don't last always, but tough people do.

Yes.

And when the going gets tough, tough people keeps going. Be willing to do today things that others won't do so that you can have tomorrow things that others won't have. Be willing to give to life the passion you aspire so that life can give to you the dream you desire. Understand that sometimes when you have challenges and road bumps in the road, speed bumps, pits, sometimes you're gonna have traps that have been set for you in life. Understand that I am stronger than my adversity, and I gotta maintain this perspective. The Book of Life says you can do all things and nothing is impossible for you. This is an attitude, ladies and gentlemen. This is how I live my life from day to day. There is nothing that I can't accomplish. That's right. Will it take some time? Yes. Will it take some grind? Yes. But I can get it done. Say this with me: There is nothing that I can't accomplish. The next one: Surround yourself with the right people. It is important to always have good people in your life. There is— the good book says that as iron sharpens iron, so that sharpens the countenance of the spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, I always have some people around me that are good people, people that I'm not intimidated by, even though they have more than I do, even though their accomplishments are greater than mine. You want people around you that can show you the way, teach you the way, and look at you in your eyes And out of genuine care, tell you what's right and what's wrong, what's left and what's right. Because there are moments where we want to pacify ourselves. There's moments where we want to take a break and call a timeout on our dreams and a timeout in our— on our pursuit of greatness. There are moments when we feel like we just want somebody to come and sit on the side of the bed next to us and then just sympathize with us and feel sorry for us and tell us how, how we have a right to want to cry and we have a right to want to give up and we have a right to want to quit on our dreams and our life. And ladies and gentlemen, you don't need people around you like that. You don't want sympathizers. You want energizers. You want equalizers. You want people who can look at you and say, I know it's tough, but you have what it takes.

That's right.

You want people that can look at you and say, I know you feel like a victim, but you gotta shake it off. You want people around you that can see the greatness in you. You want coaches, you want mentors, you want people that can look at your weakness and look at your insufficiency and say, we can work through this, we can work on that, we can improve that. You need people around you that's going to help hold you accountable. You don't want so-called friends that always agree with you even when you yourself know you're wrong, or you yourself know you can do better. That somebody could be your mother, your father, your grandparents, a sibling, a friend, uh, an employer. Those people who can help you through life can be somebody that you never had a previous or prior relationship with. Amen. But they have been positioned in the right place at the right time to help you so that you will always be surrounded with the right people in your life. Are you with me? Yes. Have confidence in you. Believe in your ability to make your dream your reality. You have what it takes and you are enough. Don't allow for other people's opinion of you to minimize your confidence in yourself. If people can't see your greatness and see your uniqueness and see the level of your productivity and your intelligence, that means they're blind, not you. When people think small of you and tend to want to reduce you down to your lowest common denominator, do not borrow their mathematical They don't know how to count. Know who you are and live by the standards of your dreams and the principle of your vision. Understand that you can do what it is that you want to do in this life. See, that was the moment when I, when I first made up my mind that I'm going to start speaking. I battled with the confidence of being on stage. But I soon worked through that through certain personal practices that I had. Now I'm speaking to thousands of people at the— in an auditorium at a time, and I have no inferiority complex about speaking to large crowds. And it doesn't matter if I was speaking before the President of the United States. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, uh, when I spoke at this leadership conference for the federal government, some of the people I spoke to, I I actually work in the Oval Office of the President of the United States. And you know what that does for me? That energizes me because I have something to offer that comes from within. And I'll give you this one and then we'll stop and take a break. I like the Farm State commercial. I forget the actor who plays in that commercial, but he says something that I like. I can say a thing or two because I know a thing or two. When you've been around the mountain a few times, you learn something and transition. Quitting is not an option. Say this with me: quitting is not an option. So when I say to you quitting is not an option, I'm not just talking about quitting your job or your assignment or giving up on your career. career. I'm talking about quitting on you, ladies and gentlemen.

Right.

There are going to be times in your life where people will quit you. There are going to be times where people will walk off from you. There will be times where people will give up on you. We call that divorce, don't we? We call that breakup, right? Separation. We call that the termination of relationships, friendships, fellowships, Courtships, people will exit your life. But when people walk off from you, do not walk off from you. When others give up on you, you don't have the luxury to give up on you. You must position yourself to be married to you for the rest of your life. And that means you don't get to give up on your dreams. You don't get to give up on your visions. You don't get to give up on your goals. You don't get to give up on your passion. You don't get to give up on your aspirations. You don't get to give up on you. You are a friend to you for life.

Yes.

So never give up on you. Always be your best friend. Always forgive you when you do something that disappoint you or set you back. Always believe in you and always have your best interest at heart.