AFUWI 2021 Commemorative Message
Last night, February 21st, I was award the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Business Leadership by the American Foundation of the University of the West Indies. I am humbled to be included amongst some amazing awardees as seen on the flyer below.
The last recipient of this award was JMMB, a large and well-known financial institution in Jamaica. You can watch my acceptance speech here. This is the message that I wrote for their digital programme. I hope that you find it inspiring.
Most people do not focus on building a sensational legacy. Many are often asked to small up themselves and told that the nail that sticks out will get hammered. Don’t climb too high because you expose yourself.
That is not how you inspire others.
You inspire others by pursuing excellence, by pursuing worthy fantasies and ignoring the naysayers. You inspire others when you think bigger and persevere.
Your mindset will determine how you elevate yourself and elevate others. My parents, my brother, my wife and children, my team at Blue Mahoe Capital, my friends, Michael Lee-Chin and my wider support network have always encouraged me, regardless of the setbacks, to pursue excellence.
Life is simpler than we realize but it requires a few failures, a few knockdowns, a few U-turns in order to find your true path. I kept my eyes on the prize with my 15-year plan through to age 30 and then my 20-year plan through to age 50. Believe that you are worthy and others will too.
We people from the Caribbean have a culture that allows us to punch way above our weight and that is carried with us anywhere we move to.
We should be more united. We should be more collaborative and we should be more open to individual countries of the region.
UWI is unique in being a multi-country university system that allows people from different Caribbean countries to spend significant time getting to know each other and the various cultures. My time as a member of the Caribbean Students Association at the University of Miami made me realize that when we come to America, we need to be united because we are seen as one group. Limited power means limited voice and we cannot contribute to changing the world for the better if we continue the silo mentality that has prevailed in the Caribbean for generations.
Unity is also required between locals and their respective diaspora groups. True unity would double the population of the people speaking truth to power to ensure that the atrocities of colonialism are never repeated. Caribbean people are smart and resourceful.
The Caribbean Diaspora needs to ensure that we do not look down on our brothers and sisters. Also, we in the diaspora need to be seen differently. We are not merely a source of capital to send back via remittances. We are not merely a market to be exploited and pushed to buy locally-made products. We should be more than consumers of products and services. We should be owners by investing into Caribbean companies and helping to improve the region, to transplant our knowledge, capital and networks.
My life’s goal is to play my part in strengthening ties between Caribbean countries and between the Caribbean and the Caribbean Diaspora because I firmly believe that we are a great people with an even greater destiny. I am just one person and this goal may seem distant to many people but once you know your purpose, you should embrace it fully.
My close friend Cezar Cunningham wrote a song titled ‘Rule your destiny’ that says:
In order to achieve, you’ve got to take the chance…You can because you grow your dreams as if life is a field in which you plant your seed. You cultivate it into your realitree then reap the fruits of being who you want to be.
One Love,
David Patrick Alexander Mullings
