Rico Sharp shares how missing his shot at law school led him to rebuild his life with a ten-point framework for total commitment. He stresses crystal-clear goals, purpose beyond any degree, and relentless passion, even sleeping with motivational content playing, to avoid mediocrity and maximize every resource available.
Chapters
If I can go back to that point, that's where I would go back and hit the reset button, because at that point I was on track to going to finishing school and then my dream of going to college to be an attorney. I really wanted to do something big and powerful with my life, but I got derailed. However, I got another chance. And I promised me, and I promised my wife and my children, and I promised those who care about me that every day my eyes open and my feet hit the ground, I'm going to give life all that I have to give. So that being said, I want to help you today to understand the true essence, the true definition of what it means to give life. All that you have to give. So I got 10 points that I'm going to give to you, and I'm already short on time, so I want to run through them. And if you can take notes as much as you possibly can, I believe we'll be able to make some big things happen in your life today. Number 1, when I say to you, give it all you got, I'm saying to you that this is an attitude, a mentality of unwavering commitment to your academic pursuit. Your dreams and your life's purpose. So the first point that I want to leave with you today is establish clarity and tenacity for your academic pursuit, dreams, and life purpose. Make sure that you fully have a precise understanding of exactly what you want to do with your life. As it was mentioned, I'm a mentor to people in the NBA, believe it or not, NFL. I got people that are in the NFL that I talk to or that played in the NFL and retired, and professional boxers and all kinds of people that I'm a life coach to or that I counsel. And so I say to people, make sure that you understand what you want to do with your life because time is short, time is limited. You don't have 5 years to go in circles or to be like a car that is spinning in the mud. The wheels are spinning but it's not going anywhere. Because you're in this place where you're not absolutely 100% sure of which direction you want to go in with your life. Can I share with you that only 62% of people who go to college and enroll in college actually graduate? And can I also share with you that it's around 60% of people who go to college and get a degree that is actually in their career field 5 years later? So in other words, everybody who goes to college doesn't graduate, and everyone who goes to college and graduates with a degree Some, some, some of them fall off from what they really want, uh, what they really went to school for and got a degree for. So I'm saying to you, make sure that your mind is clear and that your thoughts are solid on what it is that you want to do, because you can spend 4 years in college or longer, and then once you graduate with the degree, 5 years down the road, you're looking at yourself saying, what am I doing? And your, your employment Or your career could veer off to something totally unrelated to what you went to college for. Anybody know anybody that went through something like that before? So be precise on what you want to accomplish and be tenacious about it. Like, add all of the fortitude that you have into making your dreams a reality, into making your academic dream Your reality. And understand that along with your dream, like, you have a purpose for life. See, your purpose is always going to be bigger than your academic pursuit. How many of you know that? Because you can go to college to be a doctor or an attorney or an engineer or a psychiatrist or whatever you want to be, but then that doesn't really fully define all that you have and all that you are. That's right. So your purpose is always going to outweigh your particular field of education. So focus on that. What is my purpose? Your purpose can relate to your degree or your educational field, but it's always bigger than that. It's always more than that. I tell people that are mothers and fathers and people that are husbands and wives, you know, it's great that you're a mother, father, husband, or wife, and maybe you're the best husband, best father, best mother, mother, best wife in the world. But that's not all that your life is about. There's something bigger than that. There's a bigger picture. What more do you have to offer humanity? What more can you give to this world? And what more can you leave behind as a legacy for your name? Like, when you check out, when you finally leave this world, let's say 100 years from now, you want the world to remember you. You want the world to know that you live. You want the world to know that you matter, that you contributed to humanity. When a man lives to himself and lives in a narrow bubble, when he dies, no one remembers him. But when a man or a woman lives to affect change in this world and contribute to humanity and walk in the fullness of their purpose, when they leave here, everyone remembers them. That's right. Why do you remember this man called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Because he lived in his purpose. Did he have degrees? Yes. But you know more about his purpose than you do about his educational pursuit. So understand that your purpose is greater than your academic pursuit. But your academic pursuit is very, very important because it is steps in the right direction toward your purpose. Are you with me so far? Yes. Okay, let's go to the next one. Put your heart and soul into your commitment. What does that mean? That means be passionate about your academic goals. Be passionate about your dreams. Be passionate about your life purpose. What does it mean to be passionate? It means to give. It means to put all your heart into it, right? Like put everything, every fiber, every ounce of strength that you have. I'm passionate about what I'm doing. My— I set a goal for myself, a 5-year goal, and my 5-year goal is to be the world's number one motivational speaker. Now I know there's some people out there that's at the top right now, they haven't even heard of Rico Sharp, but they're going to hear of me 3 years down the road, 4 years down the road. I don't know when, I don't know how, but it's gonna happen in 5 years. Now what does that really mean exactly? That means that I am so passionate and so determined about where I want to go with my life that I am aiming for the top. That's what passion would do for you. Passion will make you aim for the top. I said yesterday, and some of you may have— may remember this, always aim for the top because it's the bottom that's overcrowded. That's right. Right? So when you're focusing on graduating, how many of you going to be graduating in the next 2 years? Raise your hand. How about the next 3 years? Raise your hand. Anybody going to be graduating within the next year? Oh, that's awesome. Let's put your hands together. All right, and so this is the point where your passion takes on an all-time high. The closer you get to graduating, the more your passion Ought to infuse you with this hunger and this thirst to do bigger and better things. Like, you, you don't just want to finish, you want to finish strong. You want to finish first. When you, when you walk down the aisle with your cap and gown on again to, to, to, to say farewell to everybody else and hello to your world, to your future, you want to make sure that your passion is so infused that you're on fire, that you, you can feel it like it's in everything that you do. Yes, sir. You think about it, you sleep on it, you dream about it. When you are talking to people, it comes out in your conversation. When you're sitting down and you're watching something on television, you can't really fully focus on what you're watching on television because you're engulfed with passion. Like, there's nothing that I want more than to change the world, and I'm so passionate about it that I do things that other people probably don't do. Like, one of the things that I do because of my passion— What's that? I listen to 4 hours of motivational speaking, 4 to 5 hours of motivational speaking almost every single day. Another one of the things I do because I'm passionate, and this may sound a little bit like over the top, but I put my Bluetooth in my ear and while I'm sleeping I'm listening to motivational speaking. Why? Because I'm so hungry for it. That I want it. It's in my blood. It's what flows through my veins. And a lot of people don't realize, but even when you sleep, your soul is awake. And things that are happening around you at nighttime oftentimes gets reported into your soul, to your subconscious mind. And when you wake up the next morning, that, that impartation or that infusion is there with you. And it takes time to learn how to tap into it, but it's there. So be passionate about everything that you want to do with your life. Don't be mediocre. Average is an enemy to you. Being ordinary and being common, that's an enemy to you. Being mediocre, that's an enemy to you. There are so many people out there in the world that's doing nothing with their life, but you, you're on the move. Just add all the passion you have to every step that you take. Put your heart and soul into your commitment. Are you with me so far? Yes. Okay, let's go to the next one. Maximize your moment. Seize every opportunity to take advantage of the resources made available on your campus and through other resources or other sources. Like when you're on campus and it's time to take your test or examination and there's information available for you, if you're struggling and you have difficult times like focusing and coping or learning or doing certain things that are important, like ask for help. Reach out. Like, don't, don't find yourself struggling and then dealing with pride or an ego issue and you know you need help.
