Cable & Wireless Jamaica President and CEO Rodney Davis last Thursday delivered the second in his series of motivational talks to high school male students. Davis, in his address, talks of his tough life as a child and teenager and how he overcame his challenges, in order to demonstrate to the young men that regardless of their circumstances they can make choices to better themselves.

Last week’s talk was delivered at St George’s College. The first talk was delivered at Jamaica College on November 16. Following is Davis’ address to the St George’s students.

You know, I specifically asked for the privilege to speak to you guys today. I wanted to share something with you that might give you reason to pause as you go through your everyday life. To pause to make deliberate choices.

You probably look at me and think that as president of Cable & Wireless Jamaica I have a cushy job. Always had a privileged life. Can’t understand your circumstance.

I heard a quote the other day that I found really interesting. I can’t be specific, but it went something like this: “You see me and you know where I am, but you don’t know the road I travelled to get here.”

I want to share something with you – some insight about the road I travelled – I hate to be prescriptive about how you might shape your life, but I think if I share some of the things that shaped my life, I might give you pause for thought.

Born in Cockburn Pen – off Spanish Town Road – one of four boys. I lived in Jamaica with my grandmother until my father died when I was only three.

At that time, my family was living in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. One week later, my grandmother died. As a result, I had no choice but to join the rest of the family in Canada.

My mother was 19. She had four boys. She was in a foreign country with not very many black people. And we had nothing – well almost nothing.

I am sure many of you can relate to that part of my story. Let’s see if anything else resonates with you.

Where I am today is the result of choices I have made from I was a youngster. Some were deliberate and thought through, others I realised on reflection.

I want to spend a few minutes today to share some of the points in my life where choices could have taken my life a number of paths.

Age 11

The earliest I can remember when I had to make a choice was when I was only 11. My mother was barely making enough to feed and clothes herself let alone four boys. We had gone through years of not enough to eat and nothing in the way of nice clothes.

I made my first conscious choice.

I was only 11, but I had to do something. I heard about an opportunity to carry golf bags at the local golf course on weekends. It was hard work, but it was work. I chose to go to the golf course at 4:00 am every Saturday and Sunday to get a good spot in line to get a bag to carry, starting at 6:30 am when golfers first teed off.

At times, it seemed the golf bag was bigger than I was.

I made $5-$8 for five hours work. It was low pay even back then. But it was enough to put change in my pocket. One less pressure for my mother. When I was 14 and a bit older, I took a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant after school and on weekends. I worked a lot. By this time I was buying my own underwear and running shoes for school. One less pressure for my mother.

I also got into a few hustlings during that time for extra cash. Nothing too significant, but enough to say it might have been a problem if I continued.

Age 15

This leads me to my next memorable choice. I was 15 and about to be 16. I was surrounded by older people who did illegal things – drug dealers, pimps – yes pimps – thieves, etc and I knew them all for years. Just like in many communities in Jamaica today, I saw some young black men who had very visible signs of material wealth – the flashy car; the chic apartment and money to spend.

I was aware of what they did and I would say I knew them well from around the way. I never really got involved in any of the stuff really, but they all respected me for how I handled myself, and the opportunity to go that route was there if I wanted it.

In Canada, if you’re convicted of a crime after the age of 16, it stays on your permanent record and seriously affects your ability to progress in life.

I was becoming more and more aware of the social inconsistencies that were the realities of a poor black teenager in a predominantly white middle-class society.

A lot of my friends in similar circumstances chose the easy path. I had to make a choice. Which way would I make my mark. I was a smart guy. When I applied myself, I did pretty good in school. There was quick and good money to be made on the other side. But for how long?

If I got an education, what promise was there of a job. I never saw people who looked like me living large.

I don’t know why, but I decided to take a chance on education. No guarantees. My instinct told me if you go the other route, you need to be prepared to do whatever is necessary. As I thought about it, some of those things were in violation of my personal constitution. Who knew where it would lead me?

It would take longer – going to school, studying and becoming qualified – but I wanted to remain the honourable person my mother had raised me to be.

Age 17

So it’s decided, I’m going to do this school thing. Get an education. See where it goes. I was 17. I was now a cook in a kitchen (left dishwashing) and a turntable selector on weekends spinning music at clubs and parties (I couldn’t leave bad boy life altogether). My grades are okay. I date the ladies. I do alright. Phone rings. It’s my ex-girlfriend. We broke up six months ago. Haven’t spoken in three months. What does she want?

She’s pregnant. She can’t tell her mother. She has moved out of her house and she is all alone.

Another choice.

The child she was carrying is mine.

I could walk away or argue it’s not mine. It is. I know it.

I chose to move out of my mother’s house the next week and move in with her until the baby was born. I had to help her pay the bills and be mentally ready for the task at hand. I worked more hours, but I stayed in school.

Asha Destiny was born December 14, 1984. Almost one month after my 18th birthday.

I moved back to my mother’s a couple months later, but continued to give half my pay cheque to my daughter’s mother (by choice). It was tough, but she was so beautiful.

At 19

Fast forward two years. I was 19. I made it into university and barely was able to pay tuition, but through work and deejaying, I made it work. January 17, 1987, my daughter’s mother sent me a letter saying she no longer wished to be a mother. It was getting in the way of her life. She made a choice. She planned to give Asha up for adoption. She needed me to sign the papers. That’s why she sent the letter. I had a choice to make.

The easy choice was to sign the papers.

Who would have blamed me?

I was 19 and a man; in my second year of university and I only had a part-time job.

How could I raise a two-year-old girl?

Once again I had to go and face my mother. It was bad enough I was 19 and had an unplanned child, but now I needed to bring her home?

I made two choices. I was going to pick up my daughter and take legal custody of her. I did. And I was going to take full financial responsibility for her. No one was going to share my burden.

I increased my work hours to make more money.

But that was the least of it.

It was two hours to the baby sitter;

half day at university;

two hours to get home;

and then I had to go to work.

After a few months, my mom felt sorry for me and decided to help by dropping her off and picking her up. I guess she was surprised that I did this and still stayed in school and still kept up my grades. It was working. I was a single father making it work.

It was too good to be true. In my final year at university, my mother and I fell out. I had to leave. She said I could leave my daughter until I finished school. I had a choice to make. This was an important year. I wasn’t having it.

I moved out with my daughter and while still attending university, got a full-time job so I could properly support us both. I went to school full-time and I worked full-time.

I graduated in 1989.

Following graduation, the company I was working with offered me a job as their financial controller, which would have given me a very nice salary and a respectable job. But I wanted to be a chartered accountant.

This was the highest professional accounting designation and it was within my grasp, but it meant two more years of study at a much lower salary level during the internship.

A difficult choice, because it meant less money for me and less money for the things my daughter needed. I have never regretted the choice.

Entrepreneurship and Social Conscience

So that’s it, right. I have chosen to become a chartered accountant. I’m on my way. What else is there to worry about? Work hard, study for my exams and enjoy the good life of a professional accountant. Life is never so simple.

I thought it was. Did I mention I was slick back then? Weekly hair cuts, sharp clothes, proper. But there was a problem. It need not be my problem, but it was a problem nonetheless: There was one barber shop serving thousands of West Indian residents in Mississauga where I lived. Each weekend we would herd like sardines into the shop and wait our turn to get a cut.

I was there every Saturday at 2:00 pm. Problem was, I would rarely leave before 6:00 pm. The service was simply terrible and the proprietor would sit in the back and count money.

After a few months, I mentioned it to him that there were things he could do to improve the experience for us the customers. I offered to help. He laughed. I was in my final year of study before I had to write the final.

It was May 24, 1990, I was on a bus on my way home from work like I did every day. I looked up and there was a sign, store for rent. I got off the bus. I called my buddy. We spoke. We were both broke. We opened Nappy’s Hair Shoppe on July 27, 1990.

My exams were September 4t. Four days, four hours per day. I was supposed to be studying.

You have to understand, it was never my intention to open a barber shop. I had no previous interest nor had I given it any thought. I was simply irritated with the service we were receiving and it was on my mind. But something happened that day on the bus. I made a choice. I was going to make a difference for customers like me.

Today, Nappy’s Hair Shoppe is the largest chain of Black-owned barber shops in Canada. And we still offer great service.

Working in the community for the past 17 years at the ground level has made me a better man. I stay firmly in touch with my customers and I see first hand the good, the bad, and the ugly within our community as only a barber shop could give me insight.

Another key choice in my life.

And there were so many more. The choice to come back to Jamaica was a big one. I had been away for more than 30 years. Was this still my home? Would my wife and kids fit in? Would I fit in? Will I make a difference?

What I have tried to tell you this morning is that at every juncture in your life you will have choices to make that will impact your future. Some you will be aware of and you will be aware of the potential impact the choice might make to your life. In others you won’t even be aware you are making a choice. But you are. Choose wisely.

Also, I hope that you can see that even if you consider yourself one of the less fortunate, disadvantaged, there’s no reason you can’t make the right choices.

So what choices have you made in the last week?

What choices have you made today? Maybe you chose to listen to this speech. Maybe you didn’t. It could be as simple as choosing to do your homework assignment. Or choosing not to be influenced to do something you know your parents would not approve of or that you know could get you into trouble with the law. It could be about choosing to behave like a gentleman to the young women you encounter as opposed to letting peer pressure cause you to “dis” them.

I am still a work in progress, but at this stage I hope you can take some advice from an old man.

Simple – Choose to use your lives wisely, and try and make choices in your personal and professional lives that are carefully thought out.

Do not be too readily caught in the material trap of this society to get rich quick at all costs – you may not live long enough to enjoy it.

When you make choices, try to think about the other people who might be affected by the outcome. Your parents, your friends, your siblings. People you don’t even know. In some cases, the victims.

Do not be afraid to make some mistakes when you are young.

Do not be afraid to try and fail early in your life. We often stumble towards the things we will end up doing best. The price of failure when you are young is much lower than when you are older.

It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.

And choose also to do something you love. If you want to be an actor, teacher or nurse, marketer, journalist, policeman – if that is what your heart tells you to do. Do not go to medical school just because it will get you to a higher level in society, or you’ll make more money for a while, and then go on and do the things that you really wanted to do in the first place.

But remember, even if you love it, it’s not always going to be easy. The noted philosopher, basketball player and sports commentator Julius Erving – Dr J – once said, “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do on the days when you don’t feel like doing them.”

I suspect, as I hinted at the beginning, that you might look at me or – anyone else who has a successful career – and you think you see someone who has always succeeded.

I wish that were true.

What you don’t see are the anxieties that people in my position experienced when we were your age.

You don’t see the anxieties we face throughout our careers or at the times when – even in our own minds – we seemed to be on the edge of some new failure.

You wouldn’t have seen me at those times when I never knew where the rent was coming from in the middle of winter and facing the prospect of my daughter and I being evicted onto the cold streets of Toronto.

You don’t see the road I have travelled

I ask you to choose wisely in the days ahead, trust your heart, be aware of all around you, it is the simple things that make the difference.

Before I close, I want to say a word or two to you about exams. Now, I know a lot of you probably don’t take exams seriously and you may think that it’s not a good or a fair way to assess your ability. But the stark reality is that until they find something new, exams are the standard by which you will be judged.

Exams are the key to your future, so I implore you to do your schoolwork, concentrate in class, do your homework assignments, study hard and prepare yourself as best as you can for any and all exams.

Regardless of how you feel about exams, the results you get in them will, to a great extent, determine your future.