Two-time Amazon No.1 bestselling author and TEDx speaker Dwight Taylor Sr. delivered a presentation titled “Domin8 Your Day,” at Skyline College Thursday, March 27, to share information on how students can empower themselves and others to push through their semester and take control of their image and actions, among many other topics.
Taylor was invited to Skyline again by the Black and Brown Scholars program and the UMOJA-ASTEP learning community after he worked with BBS by hosting a workshop during an event years before.
For 20 years, Taylor has traveled around and out of the country, presenting his advice to students on how they can be the best version of themselves. He started in public speaking when he was 19, when he talked to students at a Fresno Boys and Girls club about college and life after high school, after the original speaker didn’t show up. He recognized the value of public speaking and four years later began to take the practice more seriously, developing his presentations into what they are today.
Taylor explained, prior to the presentation, how he believes communication can be the key to helping people unveil what they are missing in their life, which can lead to overall self improvement.
“The foundation of everything that I do is effective communication,” Taylor said. “I truly believe that effective communication can change any situation and it leads to transformation.”
“Domin8 Your Day” — Taylor’s self-improvement book published in 2017 — is about how people in general should bring the best version of themselves to everyday life because there are people counting on them, and if not other people, it’s the individual themselves who they should be counting on.
“That’s what ‘Domin8 Your Day’ is all about,” Taylor said. “Bringing your very best you to every moment, second, minute, hour of every day, every week, every month, every year for the rest of your life because if we don’t do that then not only are we doing our self a disservice, but we are doing a disservice to those who are counting on us.”
Taylor’s student version of the book focuses on many topics, but the key concept of the presentation was to explain how students should “never settle for less than your best, when your best is achievable.”
Taylor also heavily emphasized the reason behind his purpose for doing presentations, which is all due to the inspiration from his grandfather. He said his grandfather kept pushing him to become the best version of himself and what he conveys during his presentations is simply “overflow” from what his grandfather taught him and told him as a young man.
After the presentation — Vanessa Galvez, an esthetician student — said what she loved most was listening to how he grew up, and the motivation for doing his presentations and spreading his message of empowerment, which was all due to his grandfather.
“What I loved most was hearing his background story, I think that was more motivating and inspiring and heartwarming,” Galvez said.
Galvez said she came to the presentation on Thursday after seeing promotion of his event from the Promise Scholars program and researching him online. She also said she is going to implement more of Taylor’s advice into her daily life.
Shermagne Gutierrez, who is part of the Barber-Cosmetology-Esthetics program and part of EOPS, said she loved Taylor’s advice about empowering one’s self, and to keep pushing through the hard times faced in life.
“Showing up for myself, being reminded to make the effort even though you don’t have someone to encourage you, but to remind yourself that you can pass that down and that you could also show a perfect effort,” Gutierrez said.
