On Sept. 27th, I attended the SoCal Conference that was located in Los Angeles and presented by Startup Grind. When I arrived at the conference, I noticed there were over 100 people attending and Startup Grind personalized a sign for me at my table.
When I got to my table, I immediately began setting up my Sony Tablet showcasing a slideshow of pictures from when I was in the hospital, taking my first steps with my prosthetic leg, images from the inFAMOUS videogame franchise, inFAMOUS and inFAMOUS 2 videogame cases, business cards and the sign that was provided for me.
When I finished setting up my table, a woman who worked at the conference approached my table and she took one of my business cards. She asked what my startup was about, and I told her I am an inspirational speaker. I told her about my story and she congratulated me on being a two-time cancer survivor and making it to the conference (I told her I was also a hip amputee and walk with a prosthetic leg, and she gave me a chair to sit down because I had to stand up for most of the conference).
The second person I met was similar to me in terms of being at the conference by herself without any team members. I told her about my story, and she congratulated me on being alive. She also said that she came all the way from Australia, and she traveled all the way to the USA for the conference. I told her I have family members who live in Sydney, Australia and she said she is from Sydney also.
I met another guy who works for Startup Grind and he asked about my startup and I told him I am an inspirational speaker, two-time cancer survivor and hip amputee. He congratulated me on being alive, and I told him about my connection to the inFAMOUS videogame franchise. While I was talking about inFAMOUS and superhero Cole MacGrath, he noticed the passion I have for the game.
He asked me if I reached out to PlayStation (the inFAMOUS videogame franchise is developed by Sucker Punch Productions, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and I told him I reached out to them in the beginning of my journey, but they never responded back to me. I explained to him the time I reached out I wasn’t ready, but now I’m confident to show the world my vison.
He told me if he was PlayStation, he would be honored to have somebody like me who has overcome many adversities in life and noting the inFAMOUS videogame franchise and superhero Cole MacGrath as inspiration.
He also said there is a lot of negativity surrounding videogames, and my story could help bridge the gap to help people understand how positive videogames could be for those who are open-minded. I showed him a video montage I made from different scenes from inFAMOUS 2, and he got an understanding of what the game is about and why I have a deep connection with superhero Cole MacGrath.
I was approached by a few women and their company was entitled, “Godtreprenuer.” They focus on inspiring entrepreneurs from all backgrounds to devote their work to a greater cause. Check out their website: http://godtrepreneur.net/
When I told them about my story, they said I could inspire many people because I have substance behind what I’m talking about. One of the women explained to me that she is also a cancer survivor and is also 31 years old (she is the second person I met that is also a cancer survivor and is or around my age).
The women from Godtreprenuer were really nice, down to earth and said I am a walking testimony, because only God could save me from cancer twice at such a young age.
I met two guys who were also from the Inland Empire, and once we realized we both were from the same area, we embraced each other because we live over 100 miles from Los Angeles. They asked me about what I have to offer, and I told them I am an inspirational speaker, two-time cancer survivor and lost my right leg to cancer when I was 17 years old.
When I told them I lost my leg, I had my slideshow playing while we were talking and one of the guys noticed the picture of me doing my first physical therapy session when I became a hip amputee at 17 years old. After they seen the picture, they both looked at me and congratulated me on being a cancer survivor.
They also asked me what does the videogame inFAMOUS have to do with my story, because they were confused. I explained Cole MacGrath was an ordinary bike messenger who delivered a package and a huge explosion happened, and then he was able to control electricity.
I also explained I only went to high school the first week during my freshman year, and after that I was in the hospital for a year doing chemotherapy treatment. I also said Cole was forced to control electricity, and I was forced to have knee cancer twice as a teenager.
I also said Cole looked at being able to control electricity as a burden, but he dealt with it the best way he could. I related and connected with how he dealt with his burden because I also looked at my whole cancer experience and losing my right leg as a burden, but I dealt with it the best way I could.
When I got done explaining the similarities between Cole and myself, they understood where I was coming from and got a clear understanding of why inFAMOUS was showcased at my table. They expressed that they were interested in contacting me in the future for speaking engagements (one of the guys also told me about Abraham Hicks, Inspirational Speaker. He said I should look him up because I may be able to connect with Hick’s “Law of Attraction” series).
Another guy approached me and was confused about why I had videogame cases at my table and he asked me what my startup was about. I told him about the adversities that I was able to overcome, then I gave him an overview of what inFAMOUS was about. He said how I was able to connect my realities and experiences to the digital world of the inFAMOUS videogame franchise and superhero Cole MacGrath was amazing.
He also said I was a warrior and told me to never give up because somebody will eventually invest in what I’m doing.
I have spoken to many more people who approached my table. For example, I met a guy who invited me to talk about my story on his podcast show, I met another public speaker who gave me useful advice about public speaking and I met a guy who couldn’t help me personally, but had a connection that does speeches surrounding a superhero vibe.
In my opinion, being able to showcase screen shots from inFAMOUS that I connected with made it easier for people to see why I’m going to talk about the game and Cole MacGrath during my speeches.
Overall, I had a great time at Startup Grind and met many nice people at the conference. Out of all the companies present at the conference, I stood out because I was just talking about my experiences and realities which happen to be about being a two-time cancer survivor and becoming a hip amputee.
Thank you again Startup Grind,
Darryl C. Richie – “Nothing is More Powerful Than a Made up Mind”
Disclaimer…
I don’t own any content from the inFAMOUS videogame franchise. No Copyright Intended. All inFAMOUS content is copyright to their respective owners.
All inFAMOUS content is property of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), developed by Sucker Punch Productions.
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