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A
Cowen Hamilton Secondary student takes over the floor to
the delight of his schoolmates and cyclist Michael Phillips
who gave a motivational speech during a stop on the Making
a Difference School Tour on Tuesday. Photo: Tony Howell
By
Cori Baynes
His life would have been meaningless if he had not set goals
for himself, cyclist and artist Michael Phillips told Cowen
Hamilton Secondary Students, as he urged them to map out
a plan for their future.
He said this while giving a motivational talk to the students
of Cowen Hamilton Secondary on Tuesday, during the Making
a Difference School Tour, part of the Guardian in Education
project.
Phillips, an accomplished artist and PRO of Beacon Insurance
Co Ltd, who also represented T&T at various cycling
events, including the Commonwealth Games and the CAC Games,
said in the pursuit of their goals, students should not
be bitter and instead should strive to be the type of person
people can be comfortable with.
“If
you have a goal, whatever it may be, the next step is planning.
And by just learning how to be pleasant, doors open,”
he said.
“There
is nothing more satisfying than being able to do something
that you love and be able to earn a living from it.”
He also encouraged the teenagers to ask questions and seek
advice about their particular goals to avoid repeating the
mistakes of other people.
“None
of the things that you want to achieve is possible without
asking questions,” he said.
“There
is no move I would ever make without asking somebody that
I thought would have gone through the whole experience before,
or would have made mistakes in the direction that I would
want to go.”
Noting that one of his biggest mistakes was allowing people
to get the better of him and change his “game plan,”
Phillips stressed the importance of being self-confident
and self-reliant.
Coming from a junior secondary school, Phillips added that
he had to overcome many stigmas associated with the institution.
He said his determination and focus eventually enabled him
to become a success.
“When
you have other people influencing you to change your game
plan, it’s not a recipe for success,” he said.
“The
ideal thing to do is to have respect for the people around
you. If you are doing well in a particular area, that does
not mean that you will take the opportunity to belittle
other people around you.”
Touching on student delinquency and peer pressure, Phillips
said many students who didn’t understand lessons taught
in the classroom often focused on looking cool instead of
concentrating on education.
He urged them to take pride in their overall appearance
and conduct so they would become progressive members of
society.
“Set
the goal of learning at least one thing. Learning does not
end when you finish school. Learning continues way beyond
that. When you stop learning is because you dead,”
he said.
“You
have the ability to set your goals, to ask the questions,
to be able to get the answers, to be able to achieve those
goals.
“One
of the things you have to develop is self-confidence. Having
the information, applying the information, more importantly,
is just the foundation rule in starting to become successful.”
Also among the celebrities touring the nation’s schools
are Olympic track and field medallist Ato Boldon, Miss Universe
1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam, West Indies cricket captain Brian
Lara and Olympic bronze medallist George Bovell III.
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