It’s only three days until I go to the SoCal Startup Grind Conference located in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve been trying to stay focused on how I could present myself and my brand to make it easy for people to understand.
For instance, I’ve been playing around with ideas of how my I want to present my table, and what I’m going to say when people approach my table. In the past, I noticed I was able to get people’s attention when I told them: “My name is Darryl Richie. I’m an Inspirational Speaker and two-time cancer survivor.”
On Sept. 23rd, I went to the barbershop to get a haircut before I go to the SoCal Conference. My barber asked me if I had any plans this weekend, and I said no, but told him I was invited to a conference by Startup Grind in LA next Tuesday.
I told him that I am an Inspirational Speaker and two-time cancer. I also said I had knee cancer when I was 14 years old, and had to get a knee replacement. The cancer came back when I was 17 years old in the same right knee and had to get my right leg amputated.
I told him I was a teenager when I had cancer, and talking about my experiences and realities with the disease is my niche because not many people talk about young people who had cancer.
I expressed when I had my Skype interview with Startup Grind, the interviewer couldn’t believe everything I’ve been through at such a young age. After I told him a little bit of my life story, he congratulated me on being a cancer survivor because unfortunately his Mother lost her battle with cancer.
He explained to me that he saw everything his Mother had to go through, and how difficult it was for her dealing with chemotherapy and radiation.
He asked me how did I deal with losing my leg. I told him it was hard because I had my right leg my whole life, then when I turned 17 years old it was just gone. I also told him that I come from a sports background, and was always active. I explained I was forced to realize that I couldn’t do the things I used to do.
He said there was an obvious physical change since I lost my leg, but he asked how did I deal with the psychological aspect of it. I told him it was really difficult in the beginning, and it still is difficult to this day. I said I try my best to stay positive because I can’t get my real leg back, so I choose to deal with it the best way I could.
I explained that I’m a hip amputee, which means my whole right leg is gone. I also told him being a hip amputee is 100 times harder than any other leg amputation.
He said I deal with it pretty well because if I would’ve never told him anything about my leg, he wouldn’t have known that I walk with a prosthetic leg.
I also said going to this conference could be my big break because there are going to be hundreds of people there I could network with. He told me that people may want to help and might donate a check to me for $10,000. I laughed and said yea that would be nice.
When he got done cutting my hair, he told me good luck next Tuesday when I go to the conference.
I feel positive vibes about the SoCal Conference and feel I will make some great connections with people interested in my vison. Once again, I appreciate and thankful for Startup Grind for selecting me over the thousands of other candidates who applied for the same position.
Thank you Startup Grind,
Darryl C. Richie - “Nothing is More Powerful Than a Made up Mind”
* Lookout for my next Blog post about when I explain my experience at the Startup Grind SoCal Conference.