071: Diversity Speaker Tayo Rockson from TEDx and MAPCON

By Scott Mulvaney | 05/01/2017

071 Diversity Speaker Tayo Rockson TEDx MAPCON

Diversity Speaker and Social Justice Co-Host:

Tayo Rockson and I catch up on his mission to improve the cross-cultural relations in the business world. We catch up on his diversity talks, his recent TEDx public speaking achievement and reconnect since our meeting at the Mid-Atlantic Podcast Conference in 2016. Tayo is a podcaster, keynote speaker, and diversity entrepreneur ready to rock the mics with us!

On This Episode You Will Hear:

[spp-timestamp time=”04:00″] Tay hits us with his backstory with our mutual friend Joe Pardo and being a keynote speaker at MAPCON 2016.
[spp-timestamp time=”04:40″] Connecting across cultures is important to Tayo.
[spp-timestamp time=”05:20″] Developing social skills, networking, Diplo-brats.
[spp-timestamp time=”06:55″] Tayo gets out of college and has 85+ rejections, he’s a foreigner in our country, so he really needed to find a job to sponsor his Work VISA.
[spp-timestamp time=”7:55″] His missing energy and the story of his car accident, swerving out of control in the rain and hitting multiple cars and guardrails. His thoughts of “I haven’t done anything I wanted to do and I’m about to die.
[spp-timestamp time=”08:30″] Tayo starts his blog to share his diversity stories and his messaging to develop his own brand.
[spp-timestamp time=”09:30″] He’s been broke, everyone has to put in the work. If we aren’t stepping out of our comfort zones, we aren’t living our life.
[spp-timestamp time=”12:43″] What led Tayo to speak at his recent TEDx event.
[spp-timestamp time=”13:20″] He decided to become an influencer and to help others connect across cultures. His focus on Diversity Inclusion and now his podcast starts to rise.
[spp-timestamp time=”16:00″] One thing he’s always learned is to “Be Grateful for the Now.”
[spp-timestamp time=”17:30″] MAPCON, the Mid-Atlantic Podcast Conference with Joe Pardo.
[spp-timestamp time=”18:30″] It’s like the monkey bars, having one hand forward and one hand holding you back. It’s about the two hands being free, about being in that moment. Experience for Tayo is the best teacher.
[spp-timestamp time=”19:20″] Live Life to the Fullest from Ernest Hemmingway which helped inspire the creation of LIVETHEFUEL. LIVETHEFUEL stands for Live The Fired Up Epic Life.

Live Life To The Fullest – Ernest Hemmingway

[spp-timestamp time=”20:15″] College does not teach you to be an entrepreneur.
[spp-timestamp time=”22:30″] Scott applied to over 200 jobs while living in Colorado after the firefighting years.
[spp-timestamp time=”23:25″] If you live a life so cautiously, that you don’t fail, then you’ve not lived a life worth living.
[spp-timestamp time=”25:55″] Apply for that job, date that person, buy that plane ticket, move to that city, do all the things that scare you because they’re worth it.

Apply for that job, date that person, buy that plane ticket, move to that city, do all the things that scare you because they’re worth it! – Unknown

[spp-timestamp time=”27:45″] His first TEDx talk was on “How to be an Inclusive Leader”. His first few years of his life, Tayo lived in a military dictatorship in Nigeria. He saw exactly what it was like to have your civil liberties taken away from you.
[spp-timestamp time=”28:10″] His second TEDx talk was on “The Art of Diplomacy”. Don’t be reactive, become proactive. Seek mastery.
[spp-timestamp time=”29:40″] Tayo calls out Scott on him not having applied to speak at the local TEDx Lehigh River here in Pennsylvania.
[spp-timestamp time=”32:10″] THRIVE: Make Money Matter event and Jack Canfield having spoken at this event in 2016.
[spp-timestamp time=”36:40″] Tayo started doing things that scared him the most, like agreeing to perform the keynote speaking at MAPCON.
[spp-timestamp time=”40:15″] Sometimes it takes a little jealousy, confusion, or intrigue to inspire people to think outside the box.
[spp-timestamp time=”42:00″] Tayo gets so nervous right before the stage.
[spp-timestamp time=”43:40″] If you say something with enough conviction, people believe it.
[spp-timestamp time=”46:00″] Shoutout to our evangelist supporters, like LIVETHEFUEL’s Brian Strauser.
[spp-timestamp time=”49:46″] Tayo has a rule he likes to live by: Put a smile on five people’s faces a day.
[spp-timestamp time=”53:30″] Open a door for someone, this doesn’t have to be rocket science to make people smile.
[spp-timestamp time=”54:19″] Chivalry is dead… It’s only dead if we allow it to be dead. Treat human beings like human beings.
[spp-timestamp time=”55:25″] What Tayo is up to next here in 2017.
[spp-timestamp time=”55:50″] When it’s all said and done, a marriage between Oprah Winfrey and Nelson Mandela. They are Tayo’s suto parents in his mind.
[spp-timestamp time=”56:00″] Tayo’s Diversity Mission Statement: “Use Your Difference to Make a Difference!”

“Use Your Difference to Make a Difference!” – Tayo Rockson

[spp-timestamp time=”59:35″] What are we doing with our voice?
[spp-timestamp time=”01:01:40″] Final Words

Be Grateful for the Now – Tayo Rockson

[spp-tweet tweet=”Put a smile on five people’s faces a day. @tayorockson @LIVETHEFUEL “]

[spp-tweet tweet=”Use Your Difference to Make a Difference! @tayorockson @LIVETHEFUEL “]

Links and Resources:

People Mentioned:

Final Words:

Take risks in your life. If you win you can lead if you lose you can guide.
People are not what they say but what they do. So judge them not for their words but from their actions.
Take whatever you can from life because when life starts taking from you, it takes even your last breath.

Action Steps:

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Be sure to check out our Resources and a reminder to “Keep Living The Fired Up Epic Life everyone!” #livethefuel

About the author, Scott

Tagged Art of Diplomacy, Differences, Diversity, Diversity Inclusion, Hard Work, Inclusive Leader, Inspiration, Inspired, Leadership, Millennial, Nigerian, Philosophy, Social Justice, Take Action, Tayo Rockson, TedX, TEDx Talk, UYD Management, Wisdom