like the energy well once again I am
soul coal of truly versatile
entertainment incorporated and I’m here
today to talk with you all actually we
are going to talk together about this
keyword opportunity now you’ve heard
opportunity thrown around a lot already
but I’m here to talk about specifically
the dichotomy of receiving opportunity
as well as giving opportunity the yin
and yang if you will of how they work
together okay because my own personal
and professional life as it has been so
far has become devoted to trying to
provide as many opportunities as I can
for as many as I can in and around me
and in my world both like I said
personally and professionally
now our story begins in the late 80s and
into the 90s and I know for some of you
looking at me going his story begins in
the 80s and 90s yes it does at a place
nestled in the woods of Apopka Florida a
summer camp called wheat wah it’s fun to
say
everybody say with me once I’m ready we
wall well that was enough of you anyway
I started out as a camp kid like many
going to a summer camp having amazing
opportunities presented to me to learn
new things new activities meet new
people try new sports try all kinds of
things I had never done before and of
course forging lifelong friendships some
that still lasts to today and I
appreciate all those opportunities
looking back at him now as an adult but
after years and years of going to this
camp the one thing I always took away
from it when I would leave at the end of
those times each summer was how in the
world were these adults who work there
the staff of this particular summer camp
always so happy so beaming ly happy all
the time even when some of these kids
would act so bad not not me of course
but I took that with me after the point
where I reached it you know an age where
I wasn’t going to summer camp anymore of
my summers I had much greater things on
my mind ladies getting in trouble
therefore having to get jobs because I
was getting in trouble and my parents
would attest for that so would my sister
but I decided to go back to that
particular place because I wanted to see
if I could experience that same thing
why was it that they were so happy so I
went back and I taught several things
most regular camp activities things like
basketball archery canoeing but I became
specialized in two things and those two
things were high ropes course and
waterskiing now some of you who have
children especially young children would
say I’m not putting my child in a camp
where they’re gonna be strung up 40 or
50 feet in the air to try to complete an
obstacle course they have to climb a
wall just to get there and then they
have to throw themselves off of this
wall down a hundred maybe a hundred yard
zip line to get down no my twelve or
thirteen year old child I think not or I
don’t want them bobbing in the water
with two planks attached to their feet
only to be yanked by an outboard motor
and dragged around a lake well the
reason I’m telling you all this is
because I realized why those staff were
so happy because we were being given the
opportunity to teach these kids new
physical skills in these adventurous and
amazing activities but more than that we
were being given the opportunity to
teach them an increase in their inner
strength the ability to build courage to
develop their self-esteem because I
can’t express to you enough how much it
lingers with me to this day the look on
a young child’s face a 12 year old a 13
year old 14 year old when they finally
after days a week weeks of crying
telling you I can’t do this I’ll never
be able to do this that’s terrifying I
can’t and then they finally do and they
finally achieve it that radiant beam of
energy that comes out of them is
something that is so heartwarming that
you can’t help but to think wow this is
a job and that was the most amazing
thing to me so it was a double whammy
because I had the opportunity to teach
these kids amazing things the
opportunity to feel fulfillment from
seeing that beam out of them when they
finally accomplished something you’ve
been trying to help them with they were
so terrified of but at the same time
they were giving me the opportunity to
realize for the first time in my life
that you could view work not as another
four-letter word no no but as a
privilege a joy
they showed me that I could view work
not as tedious but as righteous and from
that point on my whole life ambitions
change my professional ambitions I said
I have to find a way for the rest of my
life to professionally do for others so
15 years old 16 years old both of those
summers I spent doing exactly that and
then after that at the age of 17 I was
all of a sudden uprooted out of Florida
and my entire life changed because our
family was uprooted to Paris France so
come with me if you will we’re gonna
travel around the world together just
for a minute or two we went all the way
from Florida to Paris France
Lila Patti we do ba rubella and we went
there for the advancement of my amazing
mother’s culinary career and there my
eyes were for the first time truly
opened to how vast the world was more
than just these United States of America
new people’s new foods new music new
cultures everything that I hadn’t seen
and it was a revelation I went to the
international school of Paris for my
senior year of high school who can say
that
but one of the greatest things I learned
was about the United Nations and the
great work they do the opportunities
that they provide through their various
programs for people who are in such dire
need of so many things and there was an
organization at this school called mu N
which stands for Model United Nations
maybe some of you have heard of it there
are chapters of Model United Nations in
schools all over the US the difference
is in these chapters and I’ve seen this
firsthand from the high school I went to
in Florida students in Model United
Nations are severely ridiculed and in
this current climate of bullying being
so pervasive amongst kids mu n attendees
here in the United States and those
chapters and those schools are looked at
as nerds and dorks
geeks no I’m telling you these are the
young American students who have a more
global mind already but I had to go
halfway around the world to realize that
to gain my own global perspective well I
can tell you firsthand being a member of
that mu n chapter provided me the
opportunity to not only speak and
address the General Assembly at the
Hague yes in the Netherlands which led
to a position with UNESCO better known
as the United Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural Organization as
a messenger of peace for their Peace
Initiative through 1999 to 2000 it also
provided me Paris I should say providing
me my first DJ gig well I got a taste
for that been entertaining my whole life
but I had no idea that I could do it
internationally without even feeling
challenged at it so I wasn’t leaving
Europe the family left after that year
went back to the US leaving me behind I
decided to then attend Florida State
University in London I did 3/4 of my
associates degree in London through
Florida State there I realized that
now I’m gonna have to gain the knowledge
I need because I’ve realized now I have
to work for the world somehow I don’t
want to just now work to do for others I
want to work for the world somehow
because that’s the way to provide the
most opportunity for the biggest
platform so what am I going to do I’m
gonna go to college
internationally to start with then head
back home to the US I want to do
whatever it takes to study whatever it
takes to become an ambassador because
then I could really provide
opportunities to the world so having
finished three quarters of my associates
degree and having also got my first big
gig on stage singing again following my
entertainment dreams I came back
finished up my associates degree at
Florida State in Tallahassee went from
there to American University where I got
a double major bachelor’s in
international affairs and my focuses
were international peace and conflict
resolution and international development
specifically third world development
while at the same time co-hosting a
radio show with my roommate which led to
an album that we released which led to
my first solo venture into music so I’m
doing it the plan is all coming together
I’m studying exactly what I need to
become an ambassador to provide
opportunities for people in the world
Wow still pursuing my entertainment
dreams on the side well now I’ve
realized the plan is morphing how about
if I could take my entertainment dreams
take them full stream and if I could
gain just enough notoriety in an
entertainment industry I could parlay
that into a goodwill ambassador position
with the UN I could be the next Bono all
right or Angelina Jolie or any of these
people who have gained enough fame in
the entertainment world to use that to
then work for the United Nations travel
around the world speak on things that
they want to see change in to provide
opportunities for others I said okay how
can I do that so in August of 2004
packed up my whole life in my car drove
across the country I arrived in Los
Angeles not known a single person not
have
any paying job nowhere to live and like
I said everything I have is in this
little four-door sedan so I’m working
multiple part-time jobs in LA while
performing wherever I can any 15-20
minutes I can get on stage anywhere I
can DJ anywhere I can get on stage and
do my own music and I get one part-time
job where I’m all of a sudden surrounded
by celebrities big names A listers I’m
calling home
Alton guests who I met last night guess
who I met I’m figuring the fame part is
well on its way to work and out
oh yeah I forgot to mention that that
job was mostly parking their cars and
carrying their bags inside the hotel or
up to their room so that’s generally pan
out but what did is in early 2005 I get
my first offer from my first radio spot
and that radio spot it blew my mind
it’s where the name Sol Cole came from
they said you got to come up with a
clever moniker something people are
gonna remember it’s gonna pop on the air
and that’s where Sol Cole came from now
this radio spot was every week on
Tuesdays I thought wow a weekly spot
that they’re offering me right off the
bat this weekly spot was half an hour at
3:30 a.m. on Tuesdays you know I was
listening to the radio at 3:30 a.m. on a
Tuesday
like Keith Sweat the R&B legend says
nobody nobody baby
yeah no zero creative control you will
read these ads you will play these songs
well I kept grinding at it but a 3:30
a.m. spot is not paying any bills
obviously got to get another job and I
said I’m starting to lose sight of my my
ambitions to provide opportunities plus
I really miss working with young people
along comes an organization called
after-school all-stars Los Angeles one
of the greatest after-school programs I
would say arguably in the country began
in Los Angeles now is all over the
country nationwide and if you saw the
NBA all-star game this year they were
whoo LeBron James team was playing for
and I got a job running one of the
school
locations now I’m digesting the OP the
idea of being able to provide
opportunities once again full steam
ahead and I’ll always credit them as
giving me my first management position
ever because I for the first time had
the ability to interview hire and fire
whoever I wanted so I put together a
great team and we taught arts education
we had homework help everyday sports all
kinds of things opportunities for these
kids that they had never seen before
because the vast majority of all the
school sites we provided were all either
inner-city schools or schools that had
less fortunate students bussed in to
those locations so all the trips we took
them on all the experiences that we
showed them and all the activities we
had for them every day most of them had
never done so once again dichotomy of
receiving opportunities and giving I was
able to give my staff the opportunity to
have but not only a job but to give them
the opportunity to present new
opportunities to these young people and
for them to feel that same joy that I
felt way back as a camp counselor when
they saw their students that they work
with every day achieve something new
accomplish something new wonderful
organizations I always credit them then
as unfortunately state funding ran out
for that I was approached at the same
time by another organization called
Covenant House California Covenant House
California is a shelter in Hollywood a
few blocks off some of the main famous
streets Sunset Boulevard Hollywood
Boulevard it’s a shelter for homeless 18
to 21 year olds most of them freshly
kicked out of the foster system with
nothing but a small check from the state
or they’re just runaways who have
nowhere to go I was tasked to come in
and completely design a music program a
comprehensive educational music program
that was funded by none other than Nikki
Sixx who many know as the famous bass
player and founding member of Motley
Crue and he gave us a ton of money and
so they say we’ve seen all this work
you’re doing with young people over here
please come work for us you can use all
this money at your dispense once again I
had the opportunity to interview to hire
into fire whoever I wanted
teach classes all the time every night
there was different lessons we put
together studio on site in the facility
and it was wonderful year-and-a-half I
spent running it a year just to design
it and then shortly after that my
entertainment ambitions became even
bigger I had to leave them put somebody
else in charge step away to really
pursue what I come out there for and
then snowball effect entertainment
opportunities are blowing up all the
time I’m out performing and hosting and
DJing five six nights a week collecting
individual payments from all these
places and finally I said no I got to
stop doing this I need to just form my
own company so I did truly versatile
entertainment Incorporated is born in
July of 2012 I still run it and operate
it now and I have the most crack team of
young up-and-coming entertainers I
provide them the opportunity to go out
and entertain light up rooms all over
Los Angeles in Orange County on a weekly
and nightly basis and we have a record
production division now a video
production division as well as our live
entertainment services division I see
that my time is running short so to sum
up if you are in a management or a boss
type position make sure you provide your
employees with as many opportunities as
possible because when you give them the
opportunities they need to blossom they
will be happier employees and happier
employees are better employees overall
including giving them the opportunity to
fail that’s key you must give people the
opportunity to fail or they’ll never
grow okay that being said I do need to
step away I don’t want to take away from
anybody else’s time I must say TEDx
Riverton this has been an absolute
blessing thank you for the honor and the
privilege to speak to you here today
thanks to Mandy Murray for putting
together such an incredible event and
once again please give as many
opportunities as you can and you will
receive them the dichotomy is real the
yin and yang of giving and receiving
opportunities is a wonderful flow in
this world and you can be a key part of
it if you invest yourself in that
practice
thank you sir
[Applause] [Music]