Kennedy Ifeh

Transcript

what would you bet your life on what are you so passionate about that you could bet your life on I used to think I could bet my life on my career one day I showed up to work and my boss invited me to the conference room I got into the room and there was a guy from HR said to the left with a document in front of him my boss suddenly chair directly facing the HR guy they invited me to sit in the chair the head of the table when I pray to the Lord to prepare a table for me in the presence of my

enemies I don't actually table in the conference room so there i sat drenched in the silence of suspense in out of the intensity of his emotions my boss broke the news we will not be needing your position at the team anymore management has decided to let you go for a second I thought he meant to say go on an all-expenses-paid trip but then reality sinking I had been fired I switch gifts to the HR guy and asked why he responded your performance is good we are doing this because of budget cuts my boss excused himself from the room he later came back with my bag

he politely tossed the bag on the floor and with a mischievous smile on his face he said bye now buddy you would have thought he could have at least used my name I had only been on the job for months I had no idea where my next paycheck would come from we maxed out on our credit cards we were one month behind all our bills my wife was back in school full-time for a career change we have four children our youngest daughter Audrey was only five months old and was in and out of the hospital these thoughts of losing coverage for her prescription medications scared

me to death after reading my severance package the HR guy has coded me out of the conference room they walked down the hallway into the open office was a walk of shame I couldn't help but notice how everyone in the office seemed to focus on your laptops it was clear they all knew I had been fired even before I was invited into that conference room I walked over to the boss who was by this time see that in the conference room in the open office we shook hands I said my last goodbyes and thanked him for everything the HR guys could let me out of

the office and shut the door behind me it felt like I had been shot out of a career that took me 15 years to build on my way home I cried like I had never cried before a couple of months later that position was reauthorized so they like I knew the real reason why I was fired barely one month after I got hired that same boss had invited me to the very same conference room he said I need you to be less introverted we don't really like anyone who is not a cultural fit I remember getting home that day and writing hundreds of jokes and

Smalltalk that could help me integrate myself all the small talk I tried was returned with a blank stare every joke I tried came back with awkward silence and every group I joined in on the conversation meant everyone had to go silent it was the worst period of my life one day I I went into the office and I told my boss how can I be present how can I be in a team and he just tried to encourage me and said just keep trying one day I came back into the office and I just felt tired and I needed to move on I was at

the end of the road barely one month after that episode it was clear that I had to leave and then there was no way out so the worst period of my life from my days in elementary school I've always felt threatened by on reading rules I remember coming home one day from school and crying to my father I had failed a math test because I could not apply cross multiplication formula to prove to my teacher how I came by the correct answer what my father told me that day remains one of the most important lesson I've learned in life he said do what everyone else

does but if you have a really good reason to vary then have the courage to stand out and ban the consequences which brings me to the crux of the issue each one of us have got a unique pattern proposed in life it's like no one else's if social norms are the rules of Martin Sciences or natural laws limits me limits you why should we conform to them I ask the question again what what would you bet your life on for me since I got fired I've had to give up on my career in search of what set my soul on fire the courage to market

my own business has been a blessing but much more than that it has given me the freedom to search for my purpose in life I am NOT where I want to be but I'm right where I'm supposed to be right here on this stage I can bet my life on this stage to those in leadership positions here in the sound of my voice join me to propose a new universal blueprint of ethical leadership a blueprint which seeks to emphasize the means more than the ends the journey more than the destination and values modern materials to those who feel constrained by norms join me to propose

a new approach to life through print a blueprint which seeks to remind us that no matter how the world treats us they cannot rob us of the important weapon that was on our inside the gift of freedom thank you

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.