When Mitchell College hosted motivational speaker Al Duncan, the speaker shared his own life struggles and what he calls his "Duncan Nuggets" as part of his focus on at-risk youth.
“Knowledge is power if you use it,” he said.
The event was led by Alexis Jones, a former Survivor contestant and founder of I Am That Girl, and sponsored through the National Society of Leadership and Success. This organization, with a mission of supporting the leaders of tomorrow, was producing Duncan's appearance for broadcast to over 240 other college campuses.
Duncan began his speech by highlighting influential people, such as Rosa Parks and Abraham Lincoln, and stating that we all have access to the same knowledge. Duncan said he grew up in Philadelphia in a neighborhood with crack houses and was born to teenage parents.
“Does your beginning determine your ending?" he asked. "You do."
At age 15 Duncan discovered his father was addicted to crack cocaine. Nine years later, Duncan ended up playing his prized possession, a saxophone in Pittsburg, Pa. Then he received a call from his mother saying that his 12-year-old brother Nate wasn’t home until 4:00 a.m. Duncan said he wasn’t sure what was next for himself, so he sold his saxophone to afford to go home to help his brother.
“The right thing to do is not the easy thing to do. I could have talked to him on the phone, it would have been the easy thing to do,” he said.
Instead, Duncan returned home to try to get his little brother out of the streets, all while witnessing shotguns in his face. Duncan said Nate came home one day and said, "I didn’t ask to be here anyway."
“All successful people have days not wanting to be bothered. It should never stop you from rising and thriving,” he said.
Duncan packed up Nate and himself and set off to Atlanta, Ga. where found a job at Olive Garden. With no previous experience, Duncan said he started off cleaning the bathrooms, as a busboy, and washing dishes until three years later, when he became an executive chef.
“Today my brother is 27 in Philly, married, and works at a hospital,” Duncan said. “I’ve owned three businesses. No one predicted success. The only thing that changed is I took my knowledge and applied it. Leadership is about what you do on the spot, not in the spotlight.”
Duncan added that today, his father is also clean.
One of the Duncan Nuggets highlights failure. “Failure is only permanent if you quit,” he said.
Duncan stressed the difference between motivation and determination, adding that some days it’s normal not to feel motivated, but it’s determination that can provide the drive.
Director of the Career Center and advisor to the campus chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success at Mitchell College Catherine Erik-Soussi said the speakers usually chosen are action based. She said Duncan spoke to the kids as if in a private conversation.
In reference to the upcoming anniversary of the death of Matthew Chew, Duncan talked about value.
“If you don’t teach people to value themselves, then it’s impossible to value anyone else,” he said. “When you’re taught to respect yourself, you don’t need anyone’s blessing.”
“He gives us permission to have moments of self-doubt, struggles," said Jones. "Also distinguishing the difference between motivation and determination, it will see me through those times as a leader. Permission to be human,” she said.
Mitchell College Alumna Ashley Priskie said she returned to campus because the speakers chosen are always motivational.
“It’s important for me to keep growing as a person,” she said.
Duncan said when you do something for the service of someone else without intention, is the path to greatness.
“I would feel unsatisfied knowing I have the opportunity to impact others and I did nothing about it,” he said. “I refuse to let anybody see me quit.”
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