Devon Harris - Motivational Speakers - Olympic Athlete, International Motivational Speake ...

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Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings – Coaching for Personal and Professional Success

In this program, Devon Harris skillfully weaves the inspirational story of the Jamaican bobsled team with the entertaining portrayal of the Disney blockbuster Cool Runnings. He highlights some of the powerful life lessons he and his teammates learned along the way – lessons the audience can immediately apply to both their personal and professional lives. Ultimately, audiences will learn how to persist in the face of insurmountable odds, conquer fear through courage and how to define success on their own terms. Read less

Keep On Pushing

In this keynote, Devon effectively shows how the process of pushing a bobsled is analogous to the success journey of life and how going through the process, growth and embracing change is critical to transforming oneself as well as the people and the organizations around them. Devon illustrates his presentation with his improbable story of a road that took him from the ghettos of Jamaica to Sandhurst, the Olympics and to the hit Disney film Cool Runnings. Entertaining and highly motivational, he inspires the audience to ‘keep on pushing’ – his distinctive phrase when asked how he gets that bobsled down that run. Read less

Keep On Pushing : Developing A Resilient Mindset

In this highly engaging and high-impact program, Devon teaches the audience how to develop a resilient mindset and improve performance in a fast-paced world, swirling in a sea of uncertainty. The presentation provides a POWER BOOST for the audience as Devon shares lessons learned during his personal journey, going from ghetto struggle to graduating from the most prestigious military training school in the world. He also shares the tools that he has seen at work with athletes in the Olympics — the same ones he used with his soldiers as an army captain to help them become mentally tough so that they no longer felt deflated or even defeated but instead confident and determined. Read less

Out of many; One: An Olympic Athlete’s View of Diversity in the Workplace

A fresh look at how diversity in the workplace is not just a legal mandate or corporate ethic – it is fundamentally practical and brings the best teams to the international playing field. Devon brings a creative and inspiring look at how at work, what really matters is performance, attitude and teamwork. With humour and understanding that comes from living what he believes, Devon delivers a compelling inspirational message to groups of all sizes about how to be more bottom-line successful by embracing and applying the innate strengths of a diversity philosophy. Read less

The Power and Magic of Teamwork

This inspiring message sees Devon drawing on his personal experiences as the Captain of the Jamaican Bobsled Team and a former Sandhurst-trained Captain in the Jamaica Defence Force to show how working collaboratively facilitates success personally and professionally as well as collectively as a group. The key ingredients from Devon’s perspective are: defining and owning a clear vision, empowering leadership, a process of self-evaluation and persistence. Using humour, engaging stories and powerful insights, Devon easily translates the challenges and triumphs of being in the military and competing in the Olympics into easily applicable lessons and insights that will inspire your team to perform at peak levels. Read less

Devon Harris

Olympic Athlete, International Motivational Speaker and Founder of the Keep On Pushing Foundation

Devon Harris captained the Jamaican bobsled Olympic team in 1988 in Calgary, Canada, and is a three-time Olympic champion.

Born on Christmas Day in 1964, Devon was raised in the ghetto of Olympic Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica. From a young age, he already held the belief that a positive attitude would carry him farther than a sense of injustice and a heart filled with anger.

He was a graduate from the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and received a Queen’s Commission in December 1985. Before retiring from the military in 1992, Devon served as a Captain in the officer corps of the Jamaican Defense Force, a position he held until his retirement.

Encouraged by his commanding officer, Devon tried out for and became a member of the first Jamaican bobsled team in 1988. This would go on to inspire the Disney blockbuster movie, Cool Runnings. He later became the captain of the 1992 and 1998 teams.

During the 2018 Olympic Games in Korea, the three-time Olympian was inducted as an Olympian For Life by the World Olympian Association for his significant contribution to society.

In 2006, he founded the Keep On Pushing Foundation, which supports and enhances the education of children from disadvantaged communities by providing them with practical solutions to the challenges they face in getting an education. Through this foundation, Devon also works as an athlete ambassador with Right to Play, using sport and play in refugee camps worldwide to enhance child development and build community capacity.

In addition, as an ex-serviceman, he understands the commitment, sense of duty and sacrifices made by those who volunteer to serve. As a result of this understanding, Devon has devoted time to visit the troops serving in the Persian Gulf and around the country.

Alongside his work as a speaker and ambassador, he is also an author and has written books highlighting the obstacles in his life. This includes a motivational children’s book, Yes, I Can! – as well as a semi-autobiographical motivational book, Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons From Cool Runnings.

From his upbringing in Jamaica to the Royal Military Academy in England as well as the Olympic Games, Devon knows firsthand the power of persistence and the challenges that people face in order to live their best life. As an international motivational speaker, he taps into the same energy and determination that allowed him to compete with the very best to motivate audiences to dream big and take their “game” to the next level. He has spoken at numerous corporate events with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organizations, governments, schools and universities.

As a speaker, Devon truly speaks from the heart and offers a masterful blend of entertainment and meaningful content that is both fun and motivational. Ultimately, his audiences leave more focused on their own goals and dreams, clinging to a renewed sense that they can attain higher levels of personal achievement.

Testimonial

When looking for a motivational speaker for our first virtual company meeting I have to say I was feeling slightly nervous about how a motivational speaker would work virtually – would we get the same presence, excitement and inspiration that we get from speakers when we meet in person? With Devon Harris I have to say the answer is YES! Devon is a fantastic speaker – his talk was motivating, engaging and humorous and most of all it was memorable. His story is truly inspirational and the life lessons pulled through from his experience have stayed with us beyond the presentation. In fact he is often quoted by employees in other meetings since we heard him speak in January! The feedback from those that heard his presentation was amazing and I would absolutely recommend him to speak at any company engagement.

Pharma Company