then I might ask for a favor I have to
do if I do really well with these
stories the favor is going to be so fun
first story there was this homeless man
who had a t-shirt that said world’s
greatest runner that story behind the
t-shirt is both funny sweet and sad you
see he got that shirt because his wife
and son saw him working his butt off to
win his first marathon he was so excited
but he ranked last in the marathon see
they thought that he was going to do so
well cause he was working on so hard
they thought he was going to do well so
they got him in circles they knew his
dad was going to win so the son being
very very sweet and smart he said I know
a way to lift that spirits we’re going
to give him the shirt anyway and what
we’re going to say is dad to us
you’re our world so you are the world’s
greatest runner ah the sad part that
shirt just happened to be the last gift
that he got from his wife and son
because not too long after that they
both died in a tragic car accident their
deaths
led him on a journey of multiple suicide
attempts depression alcoholism drug
addiction and eventual homelessness see
he was in that part that same Park as a
park where he ran that marathon so while
he was there he likes to go there to sip
his water and jog just to have those
memories of his family again well that
date was a unique day coming out of
nowhere was this 20 year old
multi-millionaire who just likes to stay
in shape and in between meetings he
likes to do a little jog and he he ran
next to this homeless man with this
shirt on that says world’s greatest one
now this 20 some-odd old
multi-millionaire was pretty arrogant
and competitive he looked at this man
and says how dare you have on this shirt
the B know who I am I have multiple
national championships
state champions and I hold a college
record for long-distance running how
dare you have on the world’s greatest
runner t-shirt you know what you know
what sir I’ll race you for that shirt
and a homeless man said well if you win
you get my shirt but what do i get if if
I win its he young man knew he was a
there’s no way in the world I could lose
to this homeless guy come on now really
he’s old he’s homeless he’s all tattered
whatever you want in the world I got
money I can give you anything you want
in the world what do you want the
homeless man said well if possible maybe
I could stay in a you know a nice hotel
for the day and and maybe get some food
that doesn’t come out of a garbage is
that possible he says you know what I
own a penthouse that I don’t even sleep
in I’ll let you stay in there for a
whole day a whole year as a matter of
fact you’ve been staying there for the
rest of your life cuz he knows he’s not
going to lose it says you know what I
own all the restaurants and the entire
city block so you can eat wherever you
want five ever long you want and you
know I’ll give you a million dollars get
somebody record this so that way you can
see this is all that I’m saying this is
fact
proof now can we race and a homeless man
says yes but I just need I just need to
ask for one thing he’s like aw what you
wanted which one a head start of course
I’ll give you a head start says no no no
I don’t want a head start all I want you
to do is to let me decide the finish
line the young man says of course
alright cool yeah yeah we can do that
they said ready set go boom young man
speeds off he’s going just pushing it
the old man is trotting next to him as
for as long as he can and he just goes
off but the old man just drinks his
water
it keeps the steady pace all of a sudden
the young man looks back and notices
that the homeless man is still far
behind him so he runs a little further
ahead an hour passes by young man’s get
a little tired they looks back and you
can’t see the old man anymore so what
exhaust
and the Sun beating on me he runs back
to me he says hey um how much longer do
we have um until to the finish line and
the homeless man running and sipping his
water says I will let you know when the
finish line arrives the young man speeds
ahead again the sun’s beating him up
even more now he’s really tired and he’s
getting a little disillusioned then he
runs back to the homeless manage that
listen man how much how much further do
we have to go into until the to the to
the finish line and can I have some of
your water I mean I didn’t expect the
run this long today can I have some of
your water in the homeless man said I
actually just ran out of water but I’ll
let you know when the finish line is
done and then the young man he keeps
running and keeps running and then out
of nowhere he falls and the homeless man
takes five steps ahead of him and says
this is the finish line and he wins see
this story represents many places and
many many parts of your life that you’ve
been and you’ve been a victim of
allowing somebody else to dictate your
finish line because in our life we meet
so many times
well we’re caught up in this idea that
somebody can tell us the requirements
for greatness
someone can tell us or give us
permission to be great somebody can tell
us that we fit the description for
everything that we want to be in life
and we believe them they dictate our
finish line for us they tell you that
you’re not pretty enough that you’re not
tall enough that you’re not light enough
that you’re not dark enough you’re not
smart enough you don’t meet the
requirements so then you feel defeated
because you let somebody else dictate
your finish line but I’ve come here to
tell you a secret that you are the sole
owner of your finish line there’s not
anybody in the world that’s qualified
enough to tell you when you win because
the moment you give that power up to
somebody else what you’ve effectively
done is let yourself know that you will
never reach greatness you’re sitting in
this room right now because you own the
keys to drive yourself to whatever you
need to go in this world but the moment
you give it away to somebody else in
hopes that they will love you better
they will treat you better they will
treat your future better you fail
yourself
second story this is actually a poem
Augmented version of a poem that my
mentor Donal Cleveland from a Florida
African Association told me and it goes
like this that was easy
three young men there were ten years old
and they were walking to their reunion
spot and as I walk into the reunion spot
they saw this old man building a bridge
over where the shortcut used to be but a
shortcut people stopped taking the
shortcut because I had all these needles
these broken bottles these glass shards
it was it was just hazardous so they
didn’t take the shortcut anymore they
took the long way around and one of the
young men he was he was really rude he
saw the old man building this bridge and
he stopped everybody’s to a look at it
stupid old man building this bridge hey
hey hey stupid old man hey wait you
building that bridge man what are you
doing are you gonna talk to me
hey you know you did a good job of
building the bridge but you don’t build
so much of it your old self can’t even
walk back there Hey look how further you
got to go you need to put me on his
finish before you die also you gonna
ignore me well help you down old man
let’s go and one one of his fins just
follow it right behind me dick say
anything and one friend wanted to say
something but he stopped and just kept
going ten years passed they’re having
another reunion and now they’re 20 years
old and they go to that same spot and
they see this the same old man and a
ruler one stops everybody’s a stop stop
stop
is that the same old man from 10 years
ago I did a good job on that bridge but
he still got fire go but man he did a
lot Hey hello man what’s up bro are you
are you still going Normie man I’m just
trying to be nice to you man look you
did a good job look at this bridge man
and you did a good job
Bravo but I didn’t let you know man look
how much further you got to go it would
be dead by the time you even get over
there and then if you do finish it
you’ll be able to make it for all the
way back oh so you ignore me whatever
stupid old man y’all let’s go and one of
his friends he just fallen behind didn’t
say anything in the wind I wanted to say
something the first time around he
stopped he said
excuse me sir is ignore him he’s just
been like that since he was a kid but I
do want to ask not not to give him any
credit I just want to know why while you
building this bridge by me we don’t mind
taking a long way around and we know how
hazard hazardous that that that shortcut
is and we would rather take it but we
already just decided the long way as
much better than dealing with all that
stuff over there so why are you building
that bridge and the old man looked up at
him he said you see I’m not building
this bridge for me I know I’m too old to
be able to make it all the way back
finish it and walk across it myself so
it ain’t about me see I’m building this
bridge for the doles who are going to
come after me because I wanted them one
day to not have to deal with all the
struggle all the evil all the hazardous
things that exist in the world I want
them to know that somebody sacrificed
themselves so that way they wouldn’t
have to take the long way around their
entire lives and he picked up a brick
and he tried to put cement on that brick
to continue to building that bridge and
then that old man died right there and
that young man who spoke to him he
stopped what he was doing he picked up
that brick and got that cement and
started building that bridge himself so
in that story I need you all to do me a
favor and answer this for yourselves
what of the three are you are you the
type of person that spends their days
making fun of the people who are bridge
builders people who are trying to make
the world better are you those people
who are just making fun of them or are
you those people who are silent when
somebody else makes fun of the people
who are trying to make the world better
get that person who just goes along with
the flow and you just keep moseying
along
or are you that last person are you that
bridge builder are you right now ready
to dedicate yourself to making sure that
the broad is better than it is right now
for people that you may never ever see
which one are you because you have a
choice you see many of us came into this
one we didn’t have everything we needed
and what we started building it for
somebody
who may never even know that you did it
for him but you know at the end of the
day that you had to do it because maybe
nobody else was going to maybe you are
bridge builder and you have to make that
choice because if you don’t maybe
there’s a future a future son or
daughter of yours or granddaughter or
grandson there won’t be able to benefit
from that bridge that was built so my
last story it’s a very unique story I
have a nephew named KJ he calls himself
little X one day we were in my garage we
were looking forward to and I had the
flashlight and I was looking for the
tool and he being the brilliant young
man that he is he calls me Bobby he said
Bobby I got this and he hit the garage
door opener and it came up and all the
sunlight flew into the garage he said
look so you don’t need that flashlight
there’s so much sunlight you can see
everything in here so I just stepped
back and I was just so proud of him for
being so brilliant then all of a sudden
I noticed that he couldn’t find the tool
and then I took the flashlight I turned
it on and I pointed it under the car and
I found the tool and I said to him no
matter how bright the sunlight the
flashlight still has a purpose you guys
are do me a favor right now on everybody
to take out their phones it’s okay you
won’t get in trouble well you may get in
trouble but it’s not my fault now you
guys are going to do something the favor
that I asked you guys to do now this is
going to be pretty awesome I’m going to
ask you guys on the count of three to
take a selfie now mother Deniz kind of
hit me – the game of selfie she let me
know that when I say you’re going to
take one she up thinks one means the
right one no you’re just going to take
one and she also let me know that all
selfies have to be done with the duck
lips so if you have to do a duck look
just understand somebody’s going to be
looking at you when you do your duck
lips just let you know all right so on
the count of three you’re going to take
this selfie now be ready now you want to
take one
so without something amazing just
happened you may not have caught on to
it something really brilliant just
happened some of you took that picture
and the first thing you did once that
picture was taken no matter what I was
going to say you look down at that photo
and looked at yourself I’m not evidently
I’m right you just looked at yourself
you know something amazing when you look
at that selfie there are other people in
the background there are other things
there chairs there’s other things in the
background but none of that mattered
only thing that mattered was you and how
you look how you perceived yourself
wasn’t my smile all right but I have
something in my teeth
wasn’t eyebrows together what but that’s
all that mattered where am I going I
want you to understand it in your life
many times we’re so we’re so caught on
somebody else’s shine what somebody else
can do what resources they have how they
were born whatever they have we use that
to tell ourselves that that’s why we
can’t be great that’s why we can’t get
to where we want to go because this
person here has it already never
realizing that in that same photo that
you just took there people behind you
that may be millionaires may be
straight-a students may be people that
can give you jobs maybe I can take away
jobs but none of that matter only thing
that matters what you had what you look
like
in that moment so I need you to do me
another favor when you look at that
photo I want you to say to yourself that
that is the power that I have to be able
to remind myself that it doesn’t matter
what anybody else has doesn’t matter how
special they are it doesn’t get the fact
that I too am special no one on this
earth is qualified again to tell you how
awesome you are and you do need somebody
to tell you how awesome you are I’ll do
it you’re awesome but you have to
believe it
because that is the power that you own
the moment that you give that power to
somebody else I hope that day they’ll
tell you you’re beautiful
they’ll tell you that you’re special
every day you hope that one person’s
going to do it all Google people are
going to do it the moment that they stop
doing it guess what happens now it’s the
null invoice feeling that you have but
if you hold on to that power and
recognize the power of you every self
you’re going to take it’s going to
change because they’re never going to
matter about the person in the
background or what’s going on in the
background it just going to matter how
special you are how special you looked
how amazing your smile is because at the
end of the day you own your future
you own your destiny and you own how
great you’re going to be if you need
somebody again to tell you if you meet
the requirements it’s ok I’ll tell you
you do once again my name is Devin T
Robinson x also known as Egypt it’s been
my pleasure thank you [Applause]