The Advantages of Being Disadvantaged

a six

can become a nine dependent on how you

look at it

a6 can become a nine depending

on how you look at it now imagine a year

about summer

in 1815 one of the biggest

volcanic eruptions ever recorded

happened in southeast asia

the results were catastrophic

global temperatures lowered even the

thames river

froze over crops failed

and starvation set setting you can

imagine the scenes

there was rioting instead that farmers

had to even eat their own horses just to

survive

a six can become a nine depending how

you look at

now from this negative situation a young

inventor could carve andre

rushed on the ashes and decided to

invent a new mobile contraption

as a response to the shortages of forces

this had two wheels and even though it

didn’t go as quick sources could

it was much quicker than walking looks

familiar

that’s right that was the first bicycle

ever invented now although carl’s

adventure has been iterated many times

it can be argued that if that volcanic

eruption never occurred

his invention may never happen plato

once said necessity

is the mother of invention you can

realize

a revolutionary invention can be birthed

in times of turmoil

and its advantages growing up less

privileged

in council estates in southeast london

you have to attack and overcome many

challenges such as

poverty violence lack of opportunities

and lack of role models

however i’ve realized that these

challenges i’ve actually been the

catalyst

to my mutant x genes providing me with

unique experiences

and character disciplines which have

become my powers

i’ve transferred these skills and have

allowed me to maneuver through the

corporate and entrepreneurial world

i didn’t realize at the time but as i

said a six

can become a nine depending how you look

at

now using my story i’m going to

help demonstrate how difficult

situations

can actually help to develop important

skills and traits

which can actually provide you

advantages

the first advantage of being

disadvantaged

is developing the power of gratitude

when i was two years old my parents

moved from nigeria to come to london for

a better life

when they arrived they took whatever

jobs they can get my dad went to

mcdonald’s and my mother went to clean

up

i remember my parents having to always

work multiple jobs

just to sustain the house you may have

seen better off than our family back

home

but we lived in poor accommodation

and council states growing up i didn’t

have my own bed let alone my own room

i shared a single room with two of my

siblings and a single bed

with my little brother growing up in

these conditions it meant i was forced

to develop and live in a perpetual state

of gratitude when you come from nothing

you’re forced to cherish

everything when you’re used to scarcity

rather than abundance

you have to find a way to see

opportunities when others may only see

challenges

and that is the fundamental reason and

fundamental skill a lot of young people

growing up coming as men have to develop

the ability to

cherish what you have and appreciate

what you have but no is not enough you

have two

options one succumb

and accept your reality or two decide to

change the situation and find a way

i chose the latter and that’s what’s

made with a difference

growing up bias was normalized three

kids

in my school were stabbed and murdered

it was like it was used to school kids

just losing their life at a young age

and it still upsets me that to this day

that i had to get used to

young people not really seeing their

18th birthday in year 12

i remember going to memorial for my

friend who just lost his life

and there we came to celebrate his life

and there a motivational speaker

talked about the importance of

mentorship and taking action on your

dreams

after his talk i was so moved that i ran

after him

and i said please could you be my mentor

he said yes and for his advice and

wisdom i was able to channel my passions

i’d be able to develop my own youth

empowerment platform

which shares positive stories around

purposes of young people

and also work with large brands to help

them connect

and engage with diverse gendered

audiences

a negative experience a positive outcome

that came from the next experience

the second advantage of being

disadvantaged is developing the power

of hard work and self-reliance

growing up not getting what you wanted

but having a strong desire to change

your situation

you learn from a young age if you want

something you have to get yourself

in school a massive importance was

placed on your reputation

you had to have the freshest trainers

the latest phone

and the freshest haircuts i didn’t have

those luxuries

i didn’t have the night trainers i

didn’t have the blackberry or iphone

and i definitely didn’t have the haircut

my dad used to cut my hair

so i was fed up and guess what i decided

to do

age 14 i started to sell snacks in

school so i can create an income

just so i can find a way to get a

haircut from professional barber

but by doing this it taught me skills

about business

and also taught me about the importance

of creating value

i got so good that my school tries to

shut down my operation

so what did i do i got the exact same

bag

from the pupils of my class i also

brought a very good relationship

with a teacher in the school so when i

was being told there was going to be

searches

i would quickly swap banks like people

putting my planner in his back

and when they searched me they’d open my

bag and be gobsmacked

that there’s nothing was in there i’ll

get away

without realizing i was practicing risk

assessment scenario planning

and stakeholder management key and

important skills that i use today

in my job and my businesses the third

advantage of being disadvantaged is

developing the power of imagination

after i left secondary school i was

fortunate enough to get into a selective

grammar school westminster

my school had mirrored the curriculum of

a private school nearby

and also they took a old government

building

and reformed it to make it our school

building as a result my experience was

very

different from my secondary school first

order location

i have to travel from my council state

in south london to westminster every

single day

and i was a was a massive distance but

it meant i got used to seeing the big

ben

and london eye every day by having

school by mirroring the curriculum of a

second of a

private school it meant that i had to

come to school

six days a week that’s right saturday

morning i was in a suit and tie

on my way to a spinning start like a

very eager salesman

we even had assemblies in westminster

abbey the same place rose or wedding

now our daughter levels was a very

difficult experience for me

being exposed to an environment that i

wasn’t really used to

that you saw on tv meant i was

able to change what i thought was

possible for me

living on that council estate on the

outskirts of a more affluent area

meant that ex experience was really

surreal you see wishing for a new future

and wishing for a new better future is

one thing but being able to physically

see in front of you is completely

different

there was days i would walk down this

exact same road

walking past massive houses with two

cars in the front way

and massive gardens and i would then

imagine myself one day coming out those

houses

and getting the post the front porch

and then after that walk i would go back

to my reality

two seconds to a two minute walk away

back to my counselor’s day

it felt a completely different world

having these experiences

i might have been physically stuck on my

estate but mentally i

set myself free

and that’s one of the fundamental things

that young people grow up in the

community

have to develop my family have moved out

of council estate i

live in a house now with a garden it’s

not a mansion

it was everything i wanted growing up

when you come from a less privileged

community you have to

have the power of imagination because

you have to

see yourself where you are now and see

how you can get to where you want to be

you have to almost remove the concept of

limitations from your mind

if your mind can imagine it your hands

can create

the fourth advantage of being

disadvantaged

is developing the power of courage after

leaving sixth form i was lucky enough to

get into a degree apprenticeship scheme

working at foxy 100 company when i first

started i knew i had a goal

and my goal was to one day hopefully

meet the ceo

i didn’t know how but i knew that i had

someone like that in my network

someone has a as a role model i’ll be

able to

develop my career so a few months in one

day i got an email

and it was called breakfast for the ceo

law of attraction i knew it was my

opportunity

it was a chance for new employees to

listen to the ceo talk about his plans

for the company

and also ask questions when i got to the

today event

and people were asking questions i

started that myself

why would i say the wrong thing what if

he says no

what if i get myself fired

and then when i start having those

doubts i ask myself

two questions sam

you have been in life threatening

situations before is your life at risk

right now

no in five years time will you regret

the fact that you didn’t take action on

this opportunity

yes so after that i took a massive deep

breath

i put my hand up and i said hi my name

is samuel crystal

i’m 18 years old i’m a degree

pennsylvania’s company

i would love to learn from you please

would you be my mentor

he said yes and i’m happy

to say that the past three years i’ve

been mentored by john fallon the ceo of

pearson

and it’s been a surreal experience being

able to

manage your fear having the power of

colleges is very important

an important life skill to have

because the fourth

always more scarier than act itself

the fifth and final advantage of being

disadvantaged is the power of resilience

resilience is the power of a champion

the ability to go after

challenge of the challenge without

giving up yourself

telling yourself it’s not over until you

win

you see when i was 17 my life changed

forever i had to turn from a boy into a

man so i could nurture another boy into

a man

i was nowhere ready for that level of

responsibility having a child at age 17

is probably one of the greatest

challenges

also one of the greatest blessings i

have to develop resilience

every single day for the past three

years because every single day i failed

but every single day i learned

every single day i got knocked down but

i had to look back up because

i made a promise to my son that i would

keep moving forward

because it’s not about how many people

want to see you felt

what matters is how many people need you

to win

you may have had a tough upbringing you

may have been

born less privileged you might be going

through tough experiences right now

but i urge you to keep believing and to

keep moving forward

and to see how your unique story can

make you revolutionary

because when you shift the lens when you

shift your perspective and you start to

see the advantages

of being disadvantaged your six can

become a nine

and you can realize how close you are

[Applause]