Devon Harris

Devon Harris is an original member of the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team that inspired the beloved Disney movie Cool Runnings, and one of the most powerful voices on the speaking circuit about pursuing impossible dreams and overcoming every obstacle in your path. His journey from the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, to the Winter Olympics is one of the great underdog stories of our time.

The Real Story Behind Cool Runnings

Harris grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica, and earned his way to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in England through sheer determination. When the opportunity arose to join Jamaica’s first-ever bobsled team — an island nation with no snow, no ice, and no bobsled track — he seized it. The team competed in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and captured the world’s imagination. Harris went on to compete in the 1992 Albertville and 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

Defying Expectations and Inspiring Millions

Harris is the author of Keep on Pushing: Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings and Yes, I Can!, a children’s book that teaches young readers about resilience and belief. He has become one of the most popular motivational speakers worldwide. His keynotes draw on his extraordinary journey to deliver unforgettable presentations on teamwork, pursuing impossible dreams, overcoming adversity, the power of belief, and defying every expectation to achieve what others say cannot be done.

Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings – Coaching for Personal and Professional Success

This program addresses the powerful role teamwork plays in both your personal and professional life. A high level of team work has been responsible, in part, for a great home environment, miracle drugs, breakthrough technologies, Olympic medals, and conquests of space and sea because these teams have the ability to synergistically harness their members’ talents and energy. As the Captain of the Jamaican Bobsled Team and a former Sandhurst-trained Captain in the Jamaica Defence Force, Devon knows what it takes to develop, inspire and direct a winning team and translates the challenges and triumphs of the first Jamaican Bobsled Team into easily applicable lessons for today’s managers and tomorrow’s leaders.

The Power and Magic of Teamwork

This program addresses the powerful role teamwork plays in both your personal and professional life. A high level of team work has been responsible, in part, for a great home environment, miracle drugs, breakthrough technologies, Olympic medals, and conquests of space and sea because these teams have the ability to synergistically harness their members’ talents and energy. As the Captain of the Jamaican Bobsled Team and a former Sandhurst-trained Captain in the Jamaica Defence Force, Devon knows what it takes to develop, inspire and direct a winning team and translates the challenges and triumphs of the first Jamaican Bobsled Team into easily applicable lessons for today’s managers and tomorrow’s leaders.

Out of many; One: An Olympic Athlete’s View of Diversity in the Workplace

A fresh look at how diversity in the workplace is not just a legal mandate or corporate ethic – it is fundamentally practical, and brings the best teams to the playing field. Devon brings a creative and inspiring look at how at work, as in the Olympics, what really matters is performance, attitude and teamwork. With humor and understanding that comes from living what he believes, Devon delivers a compelling message to groups of all sizes about how to be more bottom-line successful by embracing and applying the innate strengths of a diversity philosophy.

Keep On Pushing™: An Olympic Athlete’s Message of Persistence

Devon brings his entertaining and effective message of how to ‘keep on pushing’, how persistence is a key catalyst in any success formula. Devon’s presentation blends the need for every part of an organization to have the ability to persist, but not without good doses of wisdom, preparation, talent, teamwork, humor, passion, hard work and smart planning. Devon illustrates his presentation with his improbable story of a road that took him from the violent ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica; to Sandhurst; to the Olympics; to the hit Disney film Cool Runnings. With humor and compassion and real-life how-to guidance, Devon inspires the audience to ‘keep on pushing’ – his distinctive phrase when asked how he gets that bobsled down that run.

School Runnings: The Power of Teamwork in Schools

As the Captain of the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and a captain in the Officer corps of the Jamaica Defence Force, Devon knows what it takes to develop, inspire and direct a winning team under the most high-pressured circumstances. As a parent and a volunteer in support of children causes around the world, Devon is acutely aware of the level of cooperation and teamwork that is necessary not just to groom successful students but to develop productive members of society.

In his customized keynote presentation, The Power of Teamwork in Schools, Devon draws on his wealth of experience to creatively challenge administrators and teachers to be at their best by having a clear vision, embracing diversity, and working as a cohesive unit. Devon uses his book, Keep On Pushing: Hot Lessons from Cool Runnings to bring specific ideas to the entire school community of administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents. He teaches how effective teamwork between administrators and teachers positively affect the student body and inspires them to do their best. Punctuated by humor, Devon’s keynote will give audience members the practical tools they need to develop a first-rate classroom and school.

*This program is also available as a half-day Workshop

School Runnings: Yes, I Can!

Based on the story of the first Jamaican Olympic bobsled team and Devon’s popular children’s book of the same name, administrators and teachers and staffers are encouraged to see beyond the challenges of their current situations to the possibilities that lie within each of them. In this program Devon skillfully draws analogies between his personal experiences and the challenges the audience is facing. His poignant stories of triumph over adversity illustrate Devon’s belief that each person has the right to say “Yes, I Can!” to their dreams; to believe in themselves; to plan and work towards these dreams; to persist – despite any and all obstacles. By the time Devon is finished speaking each audience member will know that they have the obligation, the right and the ability to live the best life they can.

This program is not only awe-inspiring and highly motivational; it leaves audience members with practical tools they can immediately apply to both their personal and professional lives.

School Runnings: Success Through Diversity

From the violent neighborhood of Olympic Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica to competing as a member of the only all- black team in the Winter Olympic Games, to the prestige of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and the Officer corps of the Jamaica Defence Force, to being an immigrant and now a citizen in the United States – Devon’s life experiences provide him with a unique view of how an individual as well as an organization can succeed by embracing diversity.

Success Through Diversity allows the audience to see that everyone’s unique perspectives and talents and their particular way of doing things give them something significant to contribute not only to their particular organization but to the entire community.