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]