Olympic bobsledder for personal, professional development seminar

Devon Harris keeps on pushing

Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

Following the success of his semi-autobiographical motivational book; Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings, Devon Harris, the motivational speaker/author and Olympic athlete of the original Jamaica bobsled team, recently announced the launch of 'Keep On Pushing and Live Your Best Life' - a one-day interactive personal and professional development seminar for executives, entrepreneurs, small-business persons, professionals and those generally interested in personal growth and development.

The seminar is set for the Wyndham Kingston hotel on Saturday, March 17 and at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Rose Hall, St James, the following day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

In a press release, Harris states: "This seminar is a natural progression of my work as a motivational speaker and author, and I am especially excited to be kicking it off in my hometown of Kingston where I initially learnt many of the lessons about success which have served me well throughout my life." He strongly believes that everyone has the ability to push past what they thought was originally impossible to achieve even higher and higher levels of success. "My mission is to bring this message of how everyone can keep on pushing and working for their dreams every day of their professional as well as personal lives."

In an email interview with Flair, Harris answered the following questions.

BE: Describe your childhood years (5-15) growing up in Jamaica

DH: I lived with my grandmother in the small district of Haughton, St Elizabeth, from I was seven months until about five years old. Change is always difficult, but moving to Kingston was a real jolt to the system. I had a lot of freedom in the country and could roam from neighbour to neighbour. In Waterhouse, where I moved to, I was stuck in a yard surrounded by high zinc fences. I felt like I was in a prison. I also had to leave the familiarity of a loving, indulging grandmother to live with a strict overbearing father. He didn't spare the rod. We lived in a 'big yard' with cousins and uncles around my age, so as 'the outsider' I had to learn to fight or get beaten up. The one great thing about living in Kingston was the fact that I started school and loved it.

I am the eldest of 16 children. I lived with my father and step-mother with four siblings (three boys, one girl ... all my father's My father also had a son and a daughter who lived in the neighbourhood. I knew two brothers (my mother's children) who also lived in the neighbourhood and was aware that I had other siblings by her, but didn't meet them until much later. My parents both worked for Myers' Rum until they were both laid off. My father then found work with the then Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS) as a driver.

I attended Drews Avenue Primary School where I did well. My hard work was praised and rewarded and that encouraged me to work even harder. I loved to play and discovered sports ... football and athletics. Football was my favourite and I was pretty good at it. My friends used to call me 'Pele' after the Brazilian great. My house was just on the other side of the Sandy Gully, close enough to hear when the school bell rang, but as long as a football game was in progress I wasn't going home and many evenings would be playing ball and fretting about the whipping I was going to get when I got home. School was where I was happiest.

While I was at Drews Avenue I joined the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force. I was tiny and short and was one of two boys who were nicknamed 'Penny Cigar'. As I was a member of the Independent Unit I loved going to Up Park Camp on Tuesdays and Thursdays for training. I felt I was preparing for the army. I was inspired to become a soldier because of stories my grandmother used to tell me about the amazing feats soldiers could perform. I was about 12 when I discovered that you could join the army as an officer and that's when I decided that was what I was going to do.

High School

Next was Ardenne High School, in 1977. Sports continued a play an important part in my life. I wanted to try out for the school football team (Colts) but didn't have football boots. I used to play barefooted. You could run barefooted, so I started hanging around the track team the following year (second form) and at 15 years old in third form, I joined the team. That was pretty significant because that year ... 1979, ABC Wide World of Sports had a series called Road to Moscow In that series they highlighted the lives of athletes who were aspiring to compete in the 1980 Moscow Games. I discovered that Olympic athletes were ordinary persons with extraordinary dreams and that virtually anyone could achieve big dreams if they dared to and was willing to work hard enough to achieve them. It was then that my dream to compete in the Olympics as a middle distance-runner (800m and 1500m) was born.

High school was a haven for me and from third to sixth form, I was there six days a week ... doing something ... track, French Festival, school's challenge. It kept me away from many of the negative influences in Waterhouse and kept me focused. Although I wanted to compete in the Olympics, joining the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force) was foremost in my mind.

BE: How did your parents and the JDF prepare you for life?

DH: My father in his unique way stressed the importance of education. An education is an important tool to lift anyone from poverty. The motto at the JDF training depot in Newcastle states 'No task too difficult, No obstacle too great.' That is a great mindset with which to tackle life's challenges.

BE: What was the motivating factor to become a bobsledder and when did you realise that the Olympics was possible?

DH: The main motivation to become a bobsledder was to represent Jamaica in the Olympics. I had high hopes of competing in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles but came up woefully short. When the bobsled idea came up I was running five miles every morning before reporting for duty with the hopes that I would get fit enough for the 1988 Games in Seoul, Korea. Bobsledding proved to be the ticket to fulfil my Olympic dreams, so I latched onto it.

It might sound strange, but at no time did we doubt that we would make it to the Olympics. There were many times when I thought it was much more difficult than I thought it would ever be, but always saw us competing. It was very helpful that the qualification criteria were not as strict as they are today.

BE: What was preparing for the Olympics like and how has the movie Cool Runnings helped your career?

DH: Preparing for the Olympics was intense! We were learning a brand-new sport and had to do it in a very short time, and for the most part under the glare of the media. The days were long ... with two sliding sessions per day. Our days often started at 6 a.m. at the track for ice training. Breakfast was around 9 a.m. Then push training, a break and lunch ... running and weight training ... break and dinner before going back to the track for more ice training and finishing at 11 p.m. Throw in a media interview or photo shoot and you have a very taxing day. It was my army training ... going for long periods of intense physical effort with short breaks in-between, that helped me to get through it.

Cool Runnings immortalised our team. Many of my audience members and those who have hired me to speak at their events have seen and been inspired by the movie. My speaking ability has allowed my career to grow, but the movie has certainly kept the story alive.

BE: How difficult/easy is the job of a motivational speaker and is that your full-time occupation now?

DH: In addition to the two books I have written, yes, motivational speaking, is my main vocation.

I think I have a natural gift for speaking so I have always found it comfortable to speak in front of an audience. Having said that, it requires effort. I have never received any formal training, but I am always studying others ... politicians, business people ... whether they are giving a speech or just doing an interview. I take mental notes of how they express themselves.

Of course, my story doesn't change, so the challenge is in delivering a speech that is relevant to the audience. I don't believe in simply delivering a canned speech so I work hard at customising my speeches ... drawing analogies from my experiences and applying them to the challenges my audience might be facing.

BE: Your CV is rather vague on the work of your foundation. share some specifics about some of those who have benefited from it.

DH: My foundation work is centred mainly at the Drews Avenue Primary School, which is where I went to school. The long-term vision is to support and enhance the education of children in disadvantaged communities across the entire island and the rest of the Caribbean, but, for now, charity starts at home. Since 2006, we have supported a breakfast programme at Drews Avenue. This has resulted in improved attendance, punctuality, behaviour as well as test scores. We feed about 100 students a day. The teachers determine the neediest students and include them in the programme. We also support a school supplies initiative. Schools which have benefited include Drews Avenue Primary, Balcombe Drive Junior High, Balmagie Primary, St Patrick's Primary, Maverley Junior High, Pembrook Hall Primary, Seaview Gardens Primary, Seaward Junior High and Tarrant Primary.

BE: What do you find that people need most by way of motivation; what are they asking of you, what are you hoping to get from the upcoming motivational seminar here and what do you hope to leave with the attendees?

DH: The last few years have been tough on everyone. Everyone has felt some sort of anxiety and trepidation over the economic crisis ... this 'New Normal' we've been experiencing. People are looking for ways to deal with the change and the uncertainty. They are looking for reassurance and tools that will help them push past these challenges.

Part of my long-term goal is to help change the national consciousness of Jamaica. I think as a nation we can be exponentially more successful in all areas of our national life, but especially in areas that impact people's daily lives. This seminar is a first step in that process. My aim is to remind people that they have within them the power to chart their own destiny, irrespective of the circumstances they might find themselves in. My job is to get enough people to see themselves in that light and when that happens, I believe we will begin to see a shift in how we think nationally as well. Jamaicans are a resilient people, we know how to Keep On Pushing ... how to persevere. My goal at the seminar is to give them tools that will allow them not just to struggle but to thrive by reaching into that innate drive that we all have ... to reach increasing levels of success.

BE: Name something that stands out in your years at Macy's

DH: This was the first time I was managing a group of men outside of the army. Not only was the team at Macy's a group of civilians, they were unionised; as aa result, I had to adjust my management style. I had to quickly learn to be a little more delicate with guys who had no problem with quitting or punching out at the end of their shift although the work wasn't finished, and, of course, I had to learn to be diplomatic yet firm with the shop stewards and other union representatives.

BE: What is your favourite thing to cook?

DH: In the summer I love to fire up the barbecue grill and jerk chicken. Otherwise, I do a wicked broiled salmon.

BE: If you could relive a 24-month period of your life, which year would it be and why?

DH: 1996-1998

In 1996, I was still working in retail and was finally making a decent income but wanted to compete in the Nagano Olympic Games. Ideally, I wanted to save enough money to take care of my family obligations and secure sponsorships before quitting my job, but it didn't happen. That November, I went to Calgary to start training. By the summer of 1997, I still had not secured a sponsorship and was now in a small town called Evanston, Wyoming. There I coached myself, trained eight hours a day and delivered pizza at night.

It was very difficult and frustrating but I kept on pushing - working towards the Olympics while thinking about becoming a motivational speaker after the Olympics. I finally secured sponsorship in January 1998, competed in the Olympics the following month and launched my speaking career; first giving free speeches at rotary clubs and schools to the point where I am now speaking to fortune 500 companies all over the word.

Why would I relive that period despite the difficulty and frustration? Because I think I had to go through that to get to this life I am now living and I learnt some very valuable lessons that will inform my life forever.

1. There is never a perfect time to pursue your dreams. You have to launch and go after your dreams. I am glad I did in November 1996. Financially, it wasn't a great time, but had I stayed around waiting for the sponsorship to come, I would still be waiting and spend the rest of my life wondering what might have happened had I tried.

2. No matter how difficult it gets, don't give up on your dreams. Try different strategies and keep changing your approach until you hit the bull's eye.

BE: Would you recommend a career in the army to young people today, why?

DH: I definitely would. A career in the army develops self-discipline and improves self-confidence, which are all important tools for success. Additionally, there is no other career/institution that I can think of that forces you to grow up as quickly and develop leadership skills so early in your life. The intangible skills that you pick up while in the army are unparalleled. I clearly remember how disconnected I felt from many of my peers when I first came back from Sandhurst because I had grown so much in such a relatively short space of time.

BE: What about your family life; are you married and do you have children?

DH: Yes, I will be married to Nicole for nine years in July. She is Grenadian. We have three girls (Yanitza - 15, Summer - five and Cameron - two years old). I also have two sons: Devon - 22 (the only Jamaican born) and Brandon - 15.

Harris is in demand as a speaker to businesses, foundations, government organisations, schools and universities on themes of personal development, persistence and teamwork.

Among his accomplishments are author/publisher, foundation chair, philanthropist, marketing expert, talent for radio and television commercials, financial services sales representative , retail manager, line cook and army officer.

For more information, please visit http://www.devonharris.com or contact:speaker@devonharris.com.barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com