Rich Cannon (aka Rich In Spirit), is a creative entrepreneur and motivational speaker based in Hamilton, Ontario. Originally from New Zealand and after spending several years in Australia, he has recently set-up camp here in North America to expand his Youth Outreach program. He is currently the CEO of Humble Kings Entertainment (aka Humble Kings Worldwide), a record label and media platform, as well as Young Visionaries Incorporated (YVI), which is his Youth Outreach Program.
In 2020 during the height of the pandemic, he set up YVI as a means to reconnect with young people who had become disconnected during the pandemic; particularly aimed at those who were having struggles with their mental health. YVI’s sole focus was to cultivate a spirit of inspiration and motivation amongst young people, by using creativity as an outlet to find a sense of vision/purpose for their lives. Music, media, graphics, and dance were all used as avenues to connect with teenagers and get them involved in a creative outlet that kept them away from the streets and self-destructive habits. HipHop and R&B were primarily vehicles used to cultivate the program.
“We believe that potential is only released when demand is placed on that potential. So rather than trying to ‘teach them to be ready,’ we place responsibility in their hands (responsibility that is already aligned to their personal vision and passion),” Rich recently stated. Rich believes that Young Visionaries and programs like it, are an essential part of ‘reconnecting young people to their sense of vision and purpose.’ Rich also recently stated “we believe young people today are not suffering from a lack of motivation or a lack of moral direction; at the core root of the problem, young people are suffering from a lack of vision. All those negative attributes in their lives’ are simply the result and bi-product of not having a strong tie to a personal sense of mission.”
The Young Visionaries crew have been successful in helping many young people find that sense of mission/vision for their lives. They’re metric for success is measured by very tangible results, such as helping a young person start a business, or shoot a music video, or record a demo, or start a clothing line, or start a podcast. The program is incredibly hands-on and practical.
Although there are some baseline workshops involved, the major segment of the program focuses on their individual goals (and helping them discover what they are passionate about). The ultimate goal of YVI is to introduce young people to a complete mindset shift; where they are no longer affected by their environment, but where they are affecting their environment, in a positive way. YVI teaches young people to use creativity as a vehicle to influence the world around them in a positive way.
“We want young people to be successful so that they can use their platform as an avenue of initiating change. What we teach at YVI isn’t success for personal gain, but rather success for the benefit of humanity and for the empowerment of the community around us. Bottom line, there are too many wealthy, influential, famous people who are full of selfish motives and who are impacting the world in a negative way. Our goal is to raise a new generation of young entrepreneurs, influencers, actors, musicians, creators who are morally sound and who will use
their position of influence to uplift and empower the world in a positive way,” Rich recently stated.
Rich Cannon is currently working with the Salvation Army in Canada to replicate the results of YVI in Australia and build a successful outreach program in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). Rich also has begun motivational speaking, sharing his story of overcoming anxiety and even temporary homelessness. He is available to speak at schools and youth programs across North America, and you can book him, usually at no cost, via his website.
https://youngvisionariesworld.square.site/
https://linktr.ee/humblekingsworld
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnld4SCPlVtamQeuWIEHUNw
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