This is your Time.

Rico Sharp is a force of energy and a dynamo of inspiration whose very presence lights up a room and whose words have the power to 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 chase their dreams with unrelenting passion. His message is simple yet profound: believe in yourself, maximize your moment, embrace challenges, and let life's experiences guide your path forward.

Ladies and gentlemen, Rico Sharp!

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. As mentioned, I'm Rico Sharp. Thank you, Amy, for having me. It's an honor to be here with you all. I've looked forward to this day for a few weeks now, and I'm excited about being here. How many of you are doing great today? You guys are doing great? All right, good, good. Anybody doing better than great? Yeah, you? And what's that? I got a lot of work done today. Got a lot of work done today. All right, can we celebrate with them for the success? Amen. Amen. We call that productivity. We call that progress. And eventually productivity and progress leads to success. So I'm going to share with you today a message that I think is going to really help you out quite a bit in your journey for success. There's, there's a lot that I can share about me, but I don't want to make this about me. I want to make this about you. But I will share just a brief portion. I, I've been through a very, very difficult time in life, uh, from a child up. And, um, I'm blessed to be alive today, and I'm blessed to have a life that I can be proud of, because that's not really something that I thought would ever happen. I, I should have died. Multiple times, a long time ago, because of the way that I lived my life as a teenager. But I discovered that there's a purpose for my life, and I want you to do the same thing. I want you to discover that there is a purpose for your life. I've been down dark roads— jail, prisons, drugs, alcohol, violence, near drug I've been in and out of those multiple times, nearly lost my life through street violence. I'm not supposed to be alive. I'm not supposed to be in society. But I made a decision about 34 years ago to turn my life around and to have a life that is meaningful and worth living. But not only did I make a decision to turn my life around, I also made a decision to help other people to turn their life around too. And that's what living a purpose, a purpose-filled life is all about. It's about helping others to discover their passion and their dreams. And so what I'm here to do today is to encourage, to motivate, and empower you to give life all you have to give. So I'm going to ask you, if you can, take notes, whether you do it on your phone or you have a tablet or something, and just kind of write some things down. I've been a motivational speaker for over 3 decades. I speak for the federal government, I do leadership training for the federal government, I speak for schools, colleges, businesses, I speak for churches, I speak for state government, city government, county government. I travel internationally speaking for a lot of time, for a long years, many years. I also have been privileged and blessed to be a life coach to athletes in the NBA, athletes in the NFL, and, uh, WBO boxers. I've been around for a while, and one of the things that I've found is that success is available and accessible for anyone. It's not going to just fall in your lap, but if you want it, you work hard for it, You can have it, you can do it. I'm an entrepreneur. As Amy mentioned, I've also hosted my own worldwide television show which is broadcast on 3 different channels. I, as an entrepreneur, I'm a property investor apart from my speaking industry or my speaking business. In the speaking industry, I also mentor, counsel, and do a whole lot of other things.

What's your name?

To help people to live their best life, and so being here today means a lot to me. I trust that you're going to get something out of it, and I believe that your life is going to be so much better than it has been up to this point. Are y'all ready to get started? Okay, great, great. I want to talk to you today on this subject called "This is your time." Can you say that with me? This is my time. This is my time. And I want you to mean that when you say that. I want you to think about what life is supposed to be about for you. I want you to think about your dreams. I want you to think about your goals, your ambitions, your aspirations. I want you to think about what matters to you. What would you like to accomplish before your time expires? What do you want to see happen in your life before you leave this world? And then I want you to begin to wrap your mind around that and actually see yourself living that. See yourself enjoying that success. See yourself in the reality of what that dream, that ambition, and that aspiration consists of. And then I want you to just simply tell yourself, this is my time. This is my time. Like, this is my time to make it happen. This is my time to go after what I've dreamed of for years. This is my time to go after what I believe I'm entitled to. This is my time to go after my wildest imagination. You have to start considering that every single day you are living in that moment. We're living in that time where you get to take advantage of every day you wake up to make it the life you really want to live. This is that time for you to start doing that. Don't think about doing it 5 years from now or doing it 20 years from now. Think about taking advantage of the time that you have today. Begin right now telling yourself that this is the time.

That's right.

Is my time. This is my time to be successful. This is my time to realize my dream. This is my time to go where I want to go with my life. So that being said, the word time has a couple of interesting definitions that I wanted to share with you. Number one, the word time is the measured period of which— the measured period of during which a plan, an action, or a process exists. Secondly, the word time is the moment when a meaningful opportunity is presented in one's life. So I want to suggest to you, take advantage of the time that you have. To grow in your craft and build the skills you need to do what you want to do with your talent. It is very important that you not lose focus of the time that you have by being distracted by things that are just going to Eat away or corrode the time that you have. Time is your most precious commodity, so do not waste it or spend it, but rather invest it wisely. Do not waste your time, do not spend your time, but invest it wisely. Time is like money, right? We all like to spend money, but is it better to invest it or to spend it? And it certainly is not smart to waste it, right? It's better to invest your time instead of wasting your time, and it's better to invest your time instead of just Spending your time. What do I mean when I say spending your time? Well, spending your time relative to what you do here is just coming in here with a nonchalant attitude, saying, oh, I really don't want to be here today. I had to fight to get up to come to school, and I really don't want to be here today, but I got to go through this. I'm just going to go through it. Can't wait until it's time for me to go home. So you're here, but the best of you, you left at home.

Mm-hmm.

You're here, your body is Yes. But your mind, your energy, your focus is not really fully committed and engaged on the level of your peak performance. And so when that happens, you're not investing time because you're not going to retain and you're not going to give your all or your best. You're just going to go through the motions. You're just going to go through the day. And when you're just going through the day, you're not really taking advantage of the time that you have to really lend your best to your craft and to this school. It's important that you learn the difference between spending your time versus investing your time. What does it mean to invest your time when you come here? Well, you come here with the mindset that today I'm going to learn something that That I did not know yesterday. Today I'm going to totally focus on everything that my instructor shares with me today. Today I'm going to open my mind and allow for my mind to become a sponge so that I can absorb the information, because information is power and it helps me to become better at what I do and to secure the future. future that I want to realize my dream in. So when I come in, I'm not coming in as if I don't want to be here. I'm, I'm knocking the door down. I want to be here, whether it's 7 hours, 8 hours, 9 hours, 10 hours a day. I want to be here because when I invest time into my craft and I'm excited about it, I'm going to do good with this craft. I'm going to be good at it. And anything that I'm good at is going to one day become good to me. It's going to reward me. So do focus on investing your time versus just spending your time just trying to get through the day and going through the emotions, because the best of you is really— is available Right here, right now. The best that you have to offer is available right here, right now. Are y'all with me so far?

Yes.

Time is the only resource you can't get back. So if today was your last day, would you be proud of how you used your time? Like, if you knew that today you had to check out of this life, could you honestly say to yourself, I did good with my time, I did very well with my time? See, a lot of times I go into jails and prisons and I talk to male and female inmates and juveniles, detention centers, and I talk to young kids and I share with them how to take advantage of the time they have behind bars. Nobody wants to hear that. Sometimes I go out on the street corners and I talk to people on the street corner about how to take advantage of their time to get off the street, to turn their life around. When I go into corporate America and I talk to business professionals and executives, I Try to help them to understand how to take advantage of their time. See, I can talk to you about time because I realized that time wasn't all that important to me. As I shared with you a little small segment of my story, I wasn't really focused on time. And because I wasn't focused on maximizing my time and building a future and building a career and living long and Having a family, having kids, and having grandkids. Time always almost got away from me on a permanent basis. But now I've learned that time is not promised to anyone. Like you're here today, you're going tomorrow. And so I really need you to just begin to focus on making your life matter, making your life count, making an impact with your life. What do you have to contribute? To humanity? What are your gifts, your talents, your skills? What have you been given that when you leave this world, people can look at you and say they made a difference and an impact with their life, with their talent, and with their skill? And so you have to really focus on using your time wisely, not just when you're in school But more particularly, when you step outside to go back home, what are you doing when you're at home with your time? Who are you allowing to come into your circle, to come into your space, to share your time with you? What type of activities are you engaged in with your time? Because you're given time, and you must be a good steward. Steward of your time. And if you are a good steward of your time, success will come to you sooner than it would if you were not a good steward of your time. Does that make sense to you?

Yes.

Okay, cool. So I need you to have an urgency about the value of your time. I need you to really begin to value the time that you have. I've seen people leave here as little kids, as babies. I know the value of time. I've lost 15 family members in the period of 3 years, including my father and my brother. And I know that it's difficult When you're dealing with the loss of people you care about. However, if you learn to take advantage of the time you have with people who you care about, then time doesn't really become a matter of quantity, it becomes a matter of quality. And when you come in here every Every morning, Monday through Friday, and you focus on what you're here to accomplish, then your time becomes more and more pleasant and more and more productive. Don't rush through the day. If you rush through the day, you're missing something. You're leaving something behind. You're not going to get what you can get. And you will know later on in life that you missed something. Because when it's time to produce on a level of your peak performance, that peak performance won't be there. So really begin to narrow down how you're going to have a mindset and what kind of mindset you're going to have relative to your time. Value your time. Who do you share your time with? I need you to have an urgency about who you share your time with. There are certain people that I just won't spend my time with or share my time with. There are certain people that I will not allow in my space because some people are very negative and they are not productive. And they don't want to see you prosper and succeed. And every time they come around, they bring a certain level of energy with them that exasperates you and causes for you to feel discouraged or depressed, stressed out, frustrated, and all of the above. And so you have to monitor who you let in your circle. You have to monitor. Sometimes it may be family members. Sometimes they could be friends. Sometimes they could be people that you grew up with, that you've known all your life. See, when you're focused on success, then your time has to matter. When you're focused on building a career, your time has to matter to you, and who you share your time with has to matter to you.

That's right.

And then thirdly, what do you do with your time? When you're at school, obviously you're focused on schoolwork. But when you're at home, when you walk away from school, what are you doing with your time? I think it's important, ladies and gentlemen, to monitor where you spend Or where you dedicate your time. Me personally, I can't hang out in certain places because certain places are not conducive to where I'm going with my life. I can't do clubs and bars. I can't do those places that are not supportive of my goals, my dreams, and my aspirations. I can't hang out on street corners. I can't just go out and hang out all night with my friends at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning drinking and then expect to get up the next morning and come to school. I can't do that. I have to be more mature. I have to be more focused, more driven. I have to be more conscious of what my goals are, where I'm going with my life. I don't want to put myself in harm's way. I don't want to become A circumstance, or I don't want unnecessary circumstances to show up in my life that could have been avoided, but it happened because I put myself in an environment that I should not have been in. What are you doing with your time when you're living your life from day to day? I want to talk about dreams for a moment. Dreams have deadlines. Many people wait for the perfect time, but that time never comes. There would never ever be the perfect time for your dream to manifest. You have to create the perfect time. You have to Give yourself the opportunity. You have to do something that you maybe, maybe you've never done before, some of the things that needs to be done in order for you to have the life and the opportunities that you really want before your time expires. Like when I first started speaking, I knew that nobody would give me an opportunity to speak. So I gave myself an opportunity to speak. When I, when I began speaking on television, I had to generate the courage, the opportunity, and the tenacity to really give myself the opportunity. I had to fight for me. You have to fight for you. You have to fight for what you know you can do and what you know you deserve in life. Opportunities are not presented. Somebody once said, be ready when opportunity knocks on the door. That's really not how that works. You have to create opportunities. Michael Jordan didn't wait for an opportunity, he created one. His college coach didn't even believe in him, that he was even NBA type A player. He discouraged him from trying to go into the pros, but he believed that he deserved that opportunity. So he played hard, he worked hard, he gave himself a fighting chance. And while everyone else was asleep, he went in the gym and he worked out. And when everyone else was hanging out and partying, he was in the gym working out.

Practicing.

Before games, practicing. After games, practicing. So it's no great mystery how he became the greatest basketball player in the world. You have to create opportunities. You have to make your dream your reality. by being a good steward of your time. You also have to do the same with your resources and your educational opportunities. Like, what resources have been made available to you? There are opportunities that you do have in terms of resources to stabilize yourself and your pursuit.

Mm-hmm.

There are things you can do now that would make a big difference in your life 2, 3, 4, 5 years from now if you only take advantage of the resources that's been made available. Many people have failed their dream because they didn't properly manage their time. I've met a lot of people in life, and many people Have a very sad story, not because of circumstances, but because of failing to manage their time that they should have managed and had every opportunity to manage over and over and over and over again. Don't be one of those people. Don't allow statistics to write your story. Do not allow for this economy to write your story. Do not allow for your mistakes or your past to write your story. But if you properly manage your time, regardless of how long it takes, you will write your own story. I call this maximize your moment. What is one thing you can do today to get the most out of your time here At Dave School? What is something that you know that if you started doing it, it would really serve you in a greater capacity during your time here at Dave School? Is it coming in earlier? Is it staying later? Is it learning more? What is that one thing? See, if you're, if you're hungry About success and you really want to do this and make this moment count, this time count, this opportunity count, then you're always able to find something more that you can contribute to your time here in school. Is it possible that you can be in school, in class, every single day? Is it possible? It is possible. And is it that one thing that you can do that would totally change the next few years of your life and your future for as long as you live? Can you show up with an eager and hungry to learn attitude? Can you come in here as if there is, there's a million dollars sitting in your Your chair that has your name on it? Can you— and you're so excited to get here that you couldn't wait, that you jump up early in the morning and came early just to get here because you felt like that this, this school was rewarding you like no other place could? Could you come in here with an attitude that I want to maximize my day? I want to maximize my time. Is it possible that you can have that type of attitude every single day you walk through the doors, and that when you leave here, you leave here ready to implement everything that you learned and become the best that you can possibly be? Is it possible that you can do all of your necessary classwork and homework and not fall behind because you got distracted with your time and started deviating from the goals and the assignment that you know is important to you?

See, it's easy.

To lose focus of your time. All you got to do is just let the wrong people come around you. It's easy to lose focus of your time. All you got to do is just lose perspective of your priorities. All you got to do is just start giving in to the pressure of your life and giving in to the way things are going right now. It's easy to lose focus of your time When you have adversity in your life. But when you want something so bad that no matter what happens and who happens, I am not going to lose focus of what my goals and my ambitions are. If you can stay on course and stay focused, your time will reward you like nothing else can. Number five. This is very important. You need mental toughness for your life. You have to have a strong willpower. You have to be relentless. You have to be tenacious. You have to have determination. As a life coach, I get an opportunity to talk with a lot of people, people all around the country. And one of the things that I have found that is a common issue for many people is that many people just does not produce the level of resilience that they need to fight through their adversity. We, we like to feel sorry for ourselves. We give in to sympathy, self-pity. When things don't go our way and things fall apart, we fall apart. When people quit on us, sometimes we quit on ourselves. When people walk away from us, sometimes We walk away on what we shouldn't be focused on. And oftentimes when people die in our lives, we go to the grave with them. It takes mental toughness and soundness to rise up day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and stay focused on where you're going with your life. And you can do it. Say this with me: I can do it. Let me hear you a little louder. Say, "I can do it." Success doesn't come from talent alone, but from commitment, sacrifice, and perseverance. I could never be where I am if I didn't keep fighting and trying and believing and doing everything that I could do to turn my life around. Nobody believed in me. Nobody gave me a chance. As a teenager, I was homeless in the street, 13 years old, on drugs, addicted to cocaine, and nobody would help me. Nobody would feed me. Nobody would take me in for a very long time. But one day I decided that if life is going to happen for me, Then I've got to make it happen for myself. And I produced the mental capacity that— I produced the mental toughness to fight past everything that I knew as life as a young boy. And here I am today, 30-plus years later, still fighting. Have it been hard?

Yes.

It has been hard. I'm going to talk about that in just a moment. Can I tell you that life is never fair and quitting is never an option? I hear people saying all the time, life is not fair, life is not fair. I agree, it's not fair. But life was not designed to be fair. Who told you that life is going to be fair?

God.

If life was fair, then all of us could take $20 and go to a 7-Eleven and buy a lottery ticket and win $350 million. How many of you would like that? Exactly.

One.

That's not going to happen. If life was fair, none of us would have to deal with cancer in our body. If life was fair, nobody would go through a divorce. If life was fair, no one would have to say goodbye to their loved one. Life is not supposed to be fair. Life is a fight, and you have to fight through the unfairness in life and stay focused on what you really want to do with your life, because time is short, ladies and gentlemen. You need mental toughness, so much so that nothing in this life can shake you from what you're wanting to accomplish. Stay focused. Set your priorities in place with clear goals. In creative fields, flexible schedules can lead to procrastination. Therefore, set clear deadlines. To avoid last-minute stress. When you, when you have too much flexibility, it works against you than to work for you, and you start to lose focus because you start putting off things for tomorrow that really needs to be done today. And then you start procrastinating about whether it's really important enough to get it done at all. And in the midst of Losing focus of your time, you lose focus of your progress. And in the midst of losing focus of your progress, you lose focus on you, your dreams, and your ambitions. It's necessary to stay focused because moments matter. It matters when you're sitting at that desk working on that computer And you know there are certain things that needs to get done by a certain time, but for some reason you're not really giving it your all, and therefore you start falling behind because you take time loosely and you don't consider it to be serious enough for you to give it your all at that particular moment. Identify essential versus non-essential work, such as content creation versus endless revision. Like, when you're managing your time, part of managing your time is staying focused on your priorities, right? Part of managing your time is making sure that you're putting first things first and that you're not just all over the Because if you're all over the place, you're not really accomplishing anything. As speakers, we have to focus on our niche and what we're good at talking about and not just be all over the place. Because there's an old saying that says, I'm a jack of all trades but a master of none. That's not a good statement. I mean, it's good to know certain things, but it's better to be an expert at one thing versus just be good at many things. And as it relates to what you're doing here at Dave, you want to make sure that you know what you're good at and where your strengths are, and that you can focus on what you're good at and continue to Build on that platform because eventually that's where opportunities are going to open for you. So again, identify essentials versus nonessential work and don't get caught up going in circles chasing your tail like cats do because you'll never get anything done that way. Rico, I got 3 more and then I'll get out of your way. Define your time. Not every opportunity aligns with your goals. Learn to identify what your goals are and what lines up and supports your goals, and then decline Subtle time distractions, because they will always be there. Time distractions are so subtle that when they show up, oftentimes you don't recognize it was a distraction until 15, 20, or 30 minutes later, an hour later, a day later, a week later, a marriage later. Sometimes you don't recognize that certain things, when they show up, They're there as a distraction, and so it's important that you learn to identify these subtle time distractions so that you don't become a victim of the time distractions or a procrastinator, if you will. Manage your time by setting time boundaries. Set boundaries between school, work, family. Set time between friends and recreation. Do not cross up your priorities, right? Keep things in its proper perspective. Don't let your friends talk you into going and hanging out and celebrating your birthday or their birthday when you should be in school. Don't you stay in the bed just because you're tired or your back is hurting when you know you need to be in school. Don't yield to the temptation to take it easy when you're focused on building a life for yourself. Take it easy when you get to where you want to go. Take it easy when your dream has become your reality. Take it easy when you're able to have the amount of money in the bank and the success in your life that you woke up every morning to achieve and accomplish. That's when you take it easy. We call that vacations, retirement. But until then, work like it's your last day. That's right. Focus like this is your last day and take advantage of the time because you never know when it will be your last day. Recognize peak productivity hours and schedule, schedule your tasks accordingly, right? Recognize Like for me, I do really well early in the morning in terms of my focus. By the time 12 o'clock comes, my mind is like over here, over here, over here, over here. I've been on the phone, I've been engaged, I'm working, I'm doing all these things. And so I'm dispersing my time and my energy in multiple arenas. So if there's something that What I really need to focus on, I get up early in the morning to focus on those things because I know that that is the time for my peak performance. By the time the day ends, I'm totally exhausted, right? And I'm ready to call it a day. You have to identify, if you haven't already, what time of day are you at your best? What time of day is your peak performance? And then make that the time that you really go all in, because that's when you're going to be more productive. Number 8, you have greatness on your life. Say this with me: I have greatness on my life. Come on, you don't sound like you mean that. You don't sound like you have greatness on your life. Come on, put some put some voice behind it. Say I have greatness on my life. Okay, so let me ask you this question: Do you believe that? How many of you believe that you have greatness on your life? Greatness isn't built in a day; it's built in the small but diligent things you do every day. Develop routine habits or routines, habits, and disciplines that keeps your mind positive and your life productive. And believe in you and your ability to do great things. With your time and life in this world. So when I say to you that you have greatness on your life or greatness in your life, I'm saying to you that all things are possible for you, that there is nothing you can't do. You can do anything, everything, and all things when you set your heart to it.

That's right.

and your mind to do it. The people that you admire in this world, maybe your role models, the people that you admire in the industry that you're in school for that has already made certain accomplishments in their life, you can do that too. There is nothing different between you and them. It's just that if they had to pay a certain price, you have to pay that price too. If they had to go the distance, you have to go the distance. If they had to get up early and stay up late and make sacrifices, then you have to do it too. Because greatness is not accomplished by just feeling it or wanting it or thinking it. It's accomplished day by day, project by project, choice by choice. There are things you just have to do. That's right. In order to maximize your greatness and to see the reality of it. Number 9, define your potential. Discover and deploy your gifts, your talents, your creativity and uniqueness. Put it to work, like bring it out of you. Don't hold back waiting until you are like employed by an employer that is going to pay you 6 figures, 7 figures a year. Bring the best out of you right here, right now. Don't save the best that you have for later. It's time to deploy it now. Once you develop your skills, you deploy your skills. But in order for you to develop them, you got to first discovered it? Do you know what you have to offer? And if you do, what are you doing to engage your talent? Are you just giving this company or this school what they ask for, or do you have more to offer than what they're asking you for? Are you just giving what's required of you, or can you actually extrapolate more from inside of you to really show your level of creativity? Like, if you have more to give, give it, because it's to your advantage that you do. If you have more to offer, offer it, because it's to your advantage that you do. And this is a good point that I want to share with Do not compete or contend with others and their project or prospect. Don't think about, focus on, or worry about what someone else is doing. Stay in your lane. Stay focused on what your assignments are. Stay focused on your education. Stay focused on graduating. And stay focused on where you're going with your life. And let other people would do that for their life. Be your authentic self and live in your own truth. Do not change who you are just to try to please others and fit into their profile. Do not lower your standards. Do not disown who you are Just to be liked and accepted by others. There's this word called originality. Be yourself. Your uniqueness and your creativity is going to open doors for you, and your gift and your talent, when you use them, they are going to create opportunities for uniquely you.

Uniquely you.

So it's you and something about you that when you give it all you have to give, it opens a door that could not be opened any other way. Live in your truth. And this is the last one. Time in life is a gift. We call it the present because that's what it is truly. It's a present from our Creator. Every day is a gift, and it's in your power to redeem the time by making choices that aligns with your dreams, your purpose, and your goals in Live every day like it's your last by making memories, doing what you enjoy with the people you love. See, when I started losing all of these family members one after the other, I started realizing I need to focus on the ones that are left, not the ones that are gone. and start building precious memories with those who are still here. And sometimes you go through devastation in life, and sometimes devastations in life can kind of leave you feeling like you have nothing left to enjoy. But that's not true. If you can't enjoy others, then enjoy you. And live your life. Live your life the best you know how, making memories that will last you a lifetime. And take advantage of the time you have to make life meaningful, because you only get one chance to live. So I propose this question to you: what would be your legacy when you leave here? And what will history record relative to your contribution to humanity and your management of time? I brought this hourglass with me because I wanted to really just point out a couple things about it. The moment this hourglass starts dropping the sand It will not stop until the last grain is gone. This is the top, the clock that ticks and tocks, you know, tick-tock on our life. This is how life is. Every moment counts. Every moment matters. When you think about your life, there are some things that you can do to make your life sweeter, to make your life better, to make your life more meaningful. But whatever those things are, you only have a certain amount of time to do it. Why waste your time doing things that does not contribute contribute to what you want to do with your life? Why waste your time going through motions that does not contribute to your success? And not only that, but look at these little grains of sand that as they fall It represents people leaving this world and going on into eternity. Up here is where we're born, it's where we live, it's where we marry, it's where we build businesses, it's where we become parents. Up here is where we travel the world, we take vacations, we build friendships, we build relationships. But down here is when time is over.

That's right.

And what if these little grains of sand represented every human being in this world that have left and departed this world, never to return again? So here you are, you're somewhere in this— up top here. You're somewhere up here. How do you know when you're You don't know when your time is going to come for you to transition from here to here. You don't. Nobody does. So what's important is to make sure that before you leave from here and go to here, that you have given life all you've had to give. What's important is to make sure That before you leave here and go to here, that you have exhausted your talent, your gifts, your relationships, your strengths, your dreams, your ambitions, and your time. See, I know one day I'm going to transition from here to here, but I want to make sure That before that time comes, that I've given life everything I was born with and everything I accumulated along the way, so that when I do go to another world, I will go fulfilled, I will go satisfied, and I will go having maximized everything that that my life was designed to have or be. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to come. My name is Rico Sharp. I appreciate this opportunity. I just want to take a couple minutes for Q&A at the end. If you have any questions for me, then this would be an opportunity. If you got anything out of what I said and you want to just share on that, then this would be an opportunity to do so. Don't everybody speak at the same time. Anybody got any questions? Yes.

What would you say is one of the most rewarding Rewarding experiences that you've had where you've just, you know, you've really like you didn't think you were gonna get and you got it. How, you know, can you describe that?

Yes, thank you, very good question. So for me, I dropped out of school in the 9th grade and, and became a homeless boy and got addicted to drugs and got in street violence and all that kind of stuff. that led me down some dark roads. When I was incarcerated back in the early '90s and late '80s, when I was incarcerated, I had a chance to go back to school while incarcerated and to further my education. I was— before I dropped out of school, I was a straight-A student. And I really was beating myself up through my teenage years for dropping out of school because I had, I had big dreams. I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a boxer. I had big dreams. But when I was able to get my, my education while incarcerated, that was like a second chance in life. That's where my life began to mean something to me. That's where I decided that I can still live a good life before my time expired. And not only did I get my education, but for the most part, I became motivated to become self-educated. So I took the opportunity to buy books from a guy that I had met in prison, and I turned my prison dormitory room into a college campus. and dedicated 12, 13 hours a day reading almanacs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, concordances, Bibles, everything I could get my hand on, just so that I could renew my mind so that I could become a new person. That was a second chance at life to me, and I think that's my most meaningful opportunity to do something with my life, because that has led me to where I am today.

Very good.

Anyone else? Yes, sir. What was more of a moment that you could think of that was, I could be spending my time more— Can you repeat that again? What was a moment in your life that was your moment of saying, I could have been spending my time more— I heard the first part, but I could have been spending my time doing what?

More useful.

More useful, okay. So, when I was incarcerated the last time— and ladies and gentlemen, I am not proud of this, but I'm not ashamed of it anymore— I've been incarcerated 19 different times. And on that 19th time, I became a father before going in. I had a son born. I actually had a child before that too, a daughter. But right around that time, I started having children born. But when my son was born, that's when I realized I got to do something more useful with my time and give my children an opportunity to have a father and give myself an opportunity to be a dad. And so that's when I really began to focus on what I could do for others versus what I wanted for me. And my kids have given me a reason to stay focused, to manage my time, to be present and accountable, and to always be there for them. So that's, that's my answer. Very good question, thank you for that. Anyone else? Yes. So when you think about your dreams and like what success looks like, oftentimes that can feel like this almost intangible thing that looks really hard to get to. Do you have any strategies for breaking down these complex ideas into tasks and ways of getting there? Yeah, so what I do is I try to focus on what I prioritize. What's more advantageous for me? What's more productive? What's more profitable? Does it line up with my immediate goals, my short-term goals? And once I determine what that is, then I begin to engage most of my time, my energy, and my focus on that particular The reason that is so important is because if you're not sure or certain of exactly what your next move is to be, where you're going in the next couple of steps in your life, then there's going to be a whole lot of things that can come into the picture that can have you just going in circles and not really being productive. It's good to sit down and process in your heart and mind what your immediate intentions and your goals, your immediate goals are, and just dedicate at least 90%, if not 80%. I mean, at least 80%, if not— if you can do more, give 90% toward whatever that is, whatever that looks like for you. It varies from person to person, but whatever it looks like for you, put it right there in front of you. You know, like the meat on your plate, put it right there as the meat on your plate and do not go after other things that will distract you from what you really want to accomplish. And just stay focused on that until you are satisfied, until you got the results that you want. Then focus on other things that you can start bringing into pictures and then grafting into your schedule. That's how I do my life. That's how I live. I hope that answers your question. Yeah, that's great. Okay, good. Anyone else?

Yes. Um, I'm wondering at what point in your life did you realize that you were finding peace in your heart?

When I started helping other people. Um, when I came out of prison— you guys don't mind if I talk about my, my life?

Right? Yeah.

I mean, I'm— my life is an open book. When I came out of prison and I started spending or dedicating my time to helping other people, that's when I realized that my purpose is being fulfilled. To see other people get free from drugs and alcohol, that was the— that was like the first assignment that I took on. I went to the streets that I came from, that I used to live in and do all my dirty work. And I went to all these guys and ladies on the street that were addicted to drugs, that were drug dealers, gangbangers, and I said, hey guys, there's a better way. Come this way. Follow me and let me help you. I started a homeless center for homeless people. And I started getting homeless people off the street. And I And then I built a relationship with the Seminole County judicial system so that when they had people coming out of prison that they didn't want to be released right back into society, they would release them into my facility, and it was my job to prepare them for society, for their reentry back into society. And I helped people to get their jobs, get jobs in their life, get their marriages restored, get their families back. Build up their dignity, their self-esteem, their morals, and overcome homelessness and overcome lawlessness and all the other things that comes with living out on the street. I also started a church in my house that grew to 3,000 members, and I started seeing how my life was making an impact on other people's life, and people would drive for hours to come hear me speak. And so when I started seeing the impact that I was making in life, that really opened up my heart for me to realize that I have something to contribute to humanity. And that's, that's from that day, which was in 1995, to this day, I'm still doing the same. I've not deviated. Very good question. Anyone else? Great, great. Well, listen, I appreciate you guys. I'm on YouTube under @RicoSharpMotivations. If you guys can pull out your phone for me, please, and subscribe to my channel, I would appreciate it. I got hundreds of videos that you can watch on YouTube. I'm on all social media. I also have a website out there, which is RicoSharp.org. But as far as my YouTube channel, it's @RicoSharpMotivations. And you'll see NFL athletes talking about me. You'll see people from the NBA talking about me and the impact that I've made in their life. You'll see me speaking in all kinds of places. Only place that I'm not able to record where when I speak is when I go into jails and prisons for the federal government, places like that because of high security. But other than that, there's a lot of videos for you to enjoy. Again, my website is RicoSharp.org. Thank you so much for having me here. I don't know what happened. I came in here today and I just— and when I got ready to speak, my mouth just got salty. It's like that water is like my best friend right now. I'm like, I'm kind of, you know, feeling a certain way about it because it kind of held me back some. But you see, I stayed close to this table where this bottle of water is versus being out here, which is where I'm usually at, in people's face. But anyway, I had a great time. I hope you guys had a great time. Thank you. Amy for for giving me this opportunity. Can you put your hands together for Amy? She's a wonderful person. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. One more hand for Rico Sharp for coming up today.

Thank you very much.

Now, as promised, we do have that drawing. So let me go up here. I believe a lovely volunteer.