In this compelling episode of Life in Transition, "Recognizing Your Worth When Others Don't: Leroy Roberts' Life in Transition," Leroy shares his remarkable journey from a poor Jamaican village to international impact. "There is a spirit of containment that keeps a lot of people trapped," he explains, recounting how at just 13 years old, he made the decision to pursue education despite ridicule and resistance.
What invisible forces keep us living lives that are too small for our potential?
In this compelling episode of Life in Transition, "Recognizing Your Worth When Others Don't: Leroy Roberts' Life in Transition," Leroy shares his remarkable journey from a poor Jamaican village to international impact. "There is a spirit of containment that keeps a lot of people trapped," he explains, recounting how at just 13 years old, he made the decision to pursue education despite ridicule and resistance.
How do we break free from limiting beliefs passed down through generations? What happens when we carefully choose who influences us? Through stories of determination, setback, and reinvention, Leroy offers profound insights about recognizing our inherent worth. "Wherever you are now, you were led there by your consent," he challenges listeners. "Who are you allowing to lead you, and why?" This episode will inspire anyone facing transition to take ownership of their circumstances and embrace their true value.
Leroy Roberts grew up in a small village called Grey Ground in rural Jamaica, where he became the first person in his family to attend high school—a decision that required immense courage and defiance of cultural expectations. His journey took him from law enforcement in Jamaica to military service with the British Army's Royal Engineers, where he traveled the world before a work-related injury ended his military career. Now based in the UK, Leroy helps others break free from what he calls "the spirit of containment" to recognize their inherent worth and lead more purposeful lives.
About The Show:
The Life in Transition, hosted by Art Blanchford focuses on making the most of the changes we’re given every week. Art has been through hundreds of transitions in his life. Many have been difficult, but all have led to a depth and richness he could never have imagined. On the podcast Art explores how to create more love and joy in life, no matter what transitions we go through. Art is married to his lifelong partner, a proud father of three and a long-time adventurer and global business executive. He is the founder and leader of the Midlife Transition Mastery Community. Learn more about the MLTM Community here: www.lifeintransition.online.
In This Episode:
(00:00) The Spirit of Containment and Self-Worth
(01:17) Most Meaningful Life Transitions
(04:45) Breaking Free at Age 13
(07:37) Facing Ridicule and Finding Inner Strength
(10:57) Moving Beyond Negative Motivation
(16:41) Midlife Transition Mastery Ad
(20:18) From High School to University
(28:59) Taking Bold Risks for Education
(35:07) Finding Purpose After Military Injury
(37:16) Summit and Pinnacle Coaching Ad
(41:08) Discovering Self-Worth Through Community
(52:13) Who's Leading You and Why
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00:00 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I have come to recognize over time that there is a spirit of containment that keep a lot of people trapped. I think my work now really is to shatter that awareness and for them to be able to integrate their self-worth, self-concept, self-esteem and self of significance and value. And once they can integrate that and become aware of that, I think that lays the foundation for them to lead more purposeful lives, even after crisis and disaster.
00:48 - Art Blanchford (Host)
I'm Art Blanchford and this is Life in Transition. Welcome back to the Life in Transition podcast. I'm very excited today to have with us Leroy Roberts. Leroy helps others overcome obstacles and find their true worth and I'm really excited, leroy, to have you here on the podcast with us today. Most welcome.
01:09 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
No, thank you so much, Art. It's really a pleasure and a honor to be here with you and your amazing guests, and I'm looking forward to it.
01:17 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Awesome, thank you. Jumping right in Leroy, what would you consider to be, or what has been, one of your most impactful, most meaningful transitions that you have been through in your life?
01:29 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
That's a very, very deep question which requires a lot of thought and reflection, and I think the most meaningful and one of the deepest transition that I've experienced is getting to that place where I recognize my true worth and value and the contribution that I know I can make in my own immediate surrounding and beyond, and a part of that also has to do with encouraging others to do likewise.
02:01 - Art Blanchford (Host)
That is a huge transition to really understand your worth. For me, to understand my worth, I didn't have it at your age, I can tell you for sure. So I'm curious, like what brought you to that understanding? How did you come to realize your true worth? Because I think that's something that's, um, I'm still in the progress of and it's really beautiful to know, and I'm curious, what. What brought you to that, what led you to that? What transition did you go through where you started to understand your true worth?
02:31 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Leroy, when I say that I've come to this place where I'm gaining a greater appreciation for and understanding of that worth and value, it is still an ongoing process. It's not that I have arrived near my Sure I mean we never arrived.
02:45 - Art Blanchford (Host)
But there's still big steps and clearly you've had a big step. And I'm curious what led to that big step? How did you know? Is it something that you felt like you were born with or raised with, or was there a point in your life where something's happened that really brought you closer in that regard?
02:59 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
This is where I have to tell my story, because this goes way, way back to my time in the Caribbean. My parents go way back. As I said, my dad was born in 1941. My mother not too long thereafter. These were colonial times and Jamaica at the time was still a colony of Great Britain.
03:18
Yes, and so once I love my parents, and I love them dearly, and there are many values which they have bequeathed to me and my siblings which has really helped to shape us into the person we are today. But they have also transmitted some beliefs that were, let's just say, greatly limiting. Sure, and I've come to understand, from my own interaction and seeing this within my immediate surroundings at the time, that beliefs are not only transferable, they're also generational. Now, it's all well and good if those beliefs serves you well, but if they don't, then you have to break ties, and I had to do so quite ruthlessly. To do so quite ruthlessly, and that was a painful process, but in the end I did, which brings us to the point now of the why and how. Did that transition happen? And that takes me way, way back to age 13, growing up in the rural countryside in Jamaica, in a town called Grey Ground, where I was surrounded by people who had not broken out of the sea of sameness, so to speak.
04:33 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Right. So there are a lot of people that were stuck in the same paradigm that they had been raised with, that their parents had been raised with, maybe their grandparents and being surrounded by all of that. It's easy to just take that on and think that's all that there is.
04:45 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Correct. It was a vice-like grip of conformity and that's what the environment was like and, like I said when I made that decision at age 13, that I want to go to high school. That might seem like a simple thing, but at that time there was no one in my family that has ever done that, so that was a bold move.
05:05 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Wow, and in your community was it also not normal for boys to go to?
05:07 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
high school, there were a few that were able to break out, but you did not identify with them because you would consider them to be in a different class, so to speak. Okay, and that is a whole nother subject for a whole nother time, because the society at the time-.
05:25 - Art Blanchford (Host)
But in the village where you lived it was called Gray Ground. Is that what it was called Correct? So in this Gray Ground, in the class that you were working class or poor class Correct People didn't go to high school. At least boys did not go to high school.
05:38 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Most people didn't, and for me and my family, I was the very first to be able to do that. In my family, I was the very first to be able to do that, and that was quite a struggle.
05:44 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And what drove you Like. What was that spark inside you, leroy, that said I need to go to high school? Like, how did you come to that understanding?
05:52 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I was being offered a different future because my mother was a vendor Of course they work in the marketplace and it was my duty, as well as my siblings, to go around and we would assist her with the sale of these produce on a weekly basis and I could see very clearly well that a future life was being painted and shaped out for me. That just did not sit well with me at the time and I wanted an alternative because deep down within me, of course, at that time I didn't know what it was, but I knew that I was destined for more and I felt contained and that was the push really to break out and I recognized from then that there's a lot, much more to my life.
06:40 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So you had this understanding. You could see from working with your mom that if you continue on this path, her life is your life Correct. And you were forced into this life that you realized you did not want to have and that you need to do something different.
06:55 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
It was severely limiting and you could tell, because I could see my end from that very time, because you were being compared to what you could be like, and I'm saying in my mind at the time is that it Surely there got to be much more to life than this.
07:14 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Interesting. So there were people that had a vision for your life that was much less than what you thought was possible, and you were willing to, which is really it's actually quite courageous. You were willing to break out of the bonds of community, which community is super valuable, but it also can be super limiting, right In order for you to live a fuller life.
07:37 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Yeah, perfectly right. And of course I was mocked. I was ridiculed for wanting to do so. How dare you create waves and break away from the norm? And I think some would go as far as to say get back in your box and know your place. But there was something much, much more powerful deep down that was driving me for more Whilst. It was not extremely clear what that entailed, but at least I knew that where I was at the time was not where I needed was to be in order to live this type of life, that I was sensing much, much on a deeper level.
08:18 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yeah, so it's interesting. So you had people probably people that were quite close to you telling you to be in your place, accept the life the way that it was, and these are probably the people that had the most influence on you at that point in your life. And yet you had something so strong inside you that knew that there was something more for you, without knowing what it was. And I think that's a good distinction, because a lot of people maybe think they have to figure out what it is before they can move toward it, but actually you can follow this energy, this feeling, this uprising in you without knowing exactly where it's taking you.
08:51 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
You're perfectly right. And one other thing too whenever you are in a situation or circumstance like that, where the people that are painting for you this life because they are so close to you, it is very, very difficult to not take on board their advice. Of course it can be seen as rejection, it can be seen as being disrespectful or defiance, but for me to have accepted that that would have pretty much been sealing my fate. I could have already seen the type of life that was being offered and that didn't rest well with me at all. Now, the good thing is, many, many years after I persisted down an unusual path. For example, considering that it has never been done before In your family, for example, considering that it has never been done before In your family.
09:44
I never had any immediate examples to say oh, you can follow Tommy, or there is Brad over there, he's doing that. These are not Jamaican names, obviously, but yeah, it was really tough, but I'm happy I did it. And I would have had the wonderful opportunity to sit down many, many years after to hear people congratulate me for having been quite recalcitrant, to stick to that path and to persist down that way, and having done so, I have basically set an example for others to follow, to let them know that guess what it's possible. You can accept, and this is the key principle. You can accept what people put on you or you can be yourself, and I would say, go for the latter.
10:31 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yeah, absolutely so. When you were making that choice at 13, I mean, this is also quite a tumultuous age without having to make these huge life decisions Were you driven more by the fear of what life was going to look like in the future, or were you pulled by the courage to do something different? And what gave you the power to overcome these very strong community and family bonds that were pulling you in a different direction?
10:57 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I think the fact that I was laughed at and I was being derided that it could not have been done there was also a strong desire to prove them wrong that I know I can do this, and that was one of the primary thing. As, of course, I grew and I progress, I've come to realize that that's not an appropriate means to remain motivated in this pathway, because once I found myself getting into new spaces and new areas, where I was around other dreamers and people who were forward-looking, the negativity began to die down and I had to recognize that I could not rely on negativity to motivate me. I needed to know how to collaborate with people who will praise me and who will support me along the way, and that required a mental shift.
11:48 - Art Blanchford (Host)
For sure, for sure To go from sort of the pushing away from something toward the pulling toward something. But I wonder, this is the first time I've thought of this and, like in the people that were in your community, they were telling you that it couldn't be done. I'm just imagining in their mind right now they're thinking, well, I didn't do it and I sort of wish I had done it. But since I didn't do it, then it's easier to just say it can't be done because I didn't do it than to acknowledge that I didn't do something maybe that I wanted to do.
12:19 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
You're perfectly right and I think that's a great analysis and I like the way in which you have really approached that discussion and I came to recognize really I was fair. It was fair knowing that they too, deep down, had dreams and goals, but they didn't go for them.
12:35 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And they regret that.
12:36 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And then project that onto you Exactly, and it's a form of justifying where they are. Because how could they maintain the stories that they have told about the challenges and the closed doors? That narrative no longer fit and it will not be. It will no longer pass the common sense tests. Because here it is. Somebody who have been widely rejected as not going to make it has actually made it quite at a very young age. So it's interesting position whereby they had to find some means of covering for themselves.
13:14 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Right, but once then they see it, then also, too, maybe they have a chance to be inspired by it themselves as well. Right as well. So take us back a little bit. So at 13, you decided to go to high school, and then now I'm really curious, I want to hear the story. So what happened Like? So you made that decision, what happened in your family relationships? What happened in your, let's say, professional development as a student? And going farther, to take us down the road a little bit from 13 until where we are now.
13:38 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Yeah, so 13 was a very interesting time. Once I decided to go down that pathway and I passed the exam, people were very, very much proud, even though they did not openly acknowledge or celebrate the achievement with me, but they, let's just say, sang my praises in my absence.
14:01 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So when you were gone to high school then they talked good about you.
14:03 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Oh yeah, my cousin or my neighbor, that type of thing. So those bells were coming out. But I really needed that to have been said to me personally, because it really does mean a lot to hear it personally from others. But I got it secondhand, which it counted for something as well. At least I was getting some feedback as to what the thinking was and the general atmosphere and mood was like and I could tell that there was a mood shift. So high school it wasn't one of the most prominent, but nonetheless I worked very hard to achieve that and I'm grateful for that.
14:42 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And was it a boarding school or was it a local school that you could go to?
14:45 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
It wasn't local. It was two taxis away, which was quite a far distance, so it wasn't within my immediate neighborhood. It was quite a good stretch away.
14:55 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So how long was the commute back and forth? So you lived at home, but you commuted back and forth every day a couple of hours or.
15:01 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Considering the means of transportation that we have there, you're talking about probably oh and a half each way, so you're talking about three hours. That's quite long. Wow, that's quite long. And then the funny thing is where the high school was located. It was in a more rural town, so it's almost like I was being taken back years into the past Because I had one high school teacher just talking about where the school was located at the time, because the other students who came from the nearby villages were even further removed from the amenities. That was around the high school and in that little town, and I can't remember him making the statement at the time. He said this is the only form of civilization miles from here, and I remember those words to this day.
15:53 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Wow, wow. So you started that high school when you were 13? Correct? And where did that lead you to? What was next?
16:02 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Five years went by quite quickly and the high school had some challenges, and you could have predicted that based on some of the backstory I was given. Not many of the subjects were offered and, as a result, we never really had much of the trained staff that you would expect. So that presented some challenges and limitation, but I think I did fairly well. Coming out never had all the subjects I needed to go beyond high school, and so it was my duty now to make up for the gap. And one would think that all right, fine, you've been to high school, you have achieved so much. I guess you could stop here because you achieved that. But I still wanted more, because I was opened up to more possibilities, and that led me on to a further quest where I saw that going to uni was definitely one of the things that I wanted was to achieve.
16:54
So I had to use that window period from high school to make up for what was lacking, to meet all the matriculation requirements to make it, in, which I managed to do within a two-year period, and did you do that on your own I did that on my own and just to put things into perspective, what I paid for one year of evening school whilst I was working because once I left high school I went straight into work and I did night classes for that two-year period what I paid for one year of night classes was equivalent to almost five years of high school. So that was exorbitant and that was all on me and I decided to fund that entirely.
17:41 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So you were working, basically living on nothing and paying your education with what you were making from working.
17:46 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And to make matters worse, you didn't even get the pay sometimes when you work. So that's another story. But at least I paid attention because I had skin in the game, so to speak. After all, I was investing my treasure, my time, everything into it.
18:03 - Art Blanchford (Host)
For sure, for sure. So you did this two years of catch-up classes, of community college or whatever you want to call it, to get ready for university. And then where did you go to university? And how did you get into university, coming from that background? And by then, was your family supporting you or still not supporting you emotionally?
18:21 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
They were supportive because at least I now had evidence to show that I can do what I said I was setting out to do. Right, but whilst I came from poor but dignified family background, I never knew what it's like to go to bed without food. So those things were taken care of, but we were classified as still poor. Now I knew they couldn't have afforded the cost to cover those financial commitments and that's why I went ahead and I did it myself. Now university was a total different thing, because at the time we had three universities other colleges, but mainly three universities on the island at the time the two main ones. They're in the capital. Now what is the likelihood of me going to the capital and to be paying for room and board and tuition? That's very unlikely.
19:16
Luckily for me, the town that I was in the main town had the only university in the midsection of the country, but also that presented some challenges. It was one of the most expensive and so, whilst it was much closer to me and I never had to worry about accommodation, you're talking about twice the amount for tuition, and so that presented its own challenges. But thankfully I was able to matriculate there and I was able to complete my program there within roughly three and a half years because I decided I couldn't stay here for four years. This is too much and, of course, throughout all this time I worked and studied throughout the entire period, so I do not know what it's like to have ever been out of work from. I've left high school. Plus, I worked alongside my mother in their business before high school, so I've always been involved.
20:18 - Art Blanchford (Host)
This episode of the Life in Transition podcast is brought to you by Midlife Transition Mastery. If you have reached midlife and you are successful, you have checked all the boxes, you've done everything you thought you should do and especially pleasing everybody else, doing what you think everyone else needs you to do, but you still feel like something's missing, like you're coming up empty, feeling alone, feeling misguided or lost. Midlife Transition Mastery Explorer community is for you. Here we will build authentic community, we will learn about the eight steps to mastering midlife transition and we will learn and execute living life with no regrets in our second half. Please check out the community on lifeintransitiononline slash MLTM Midlife Transition Mastery and I look forward to seeing you around the fire in this community. So then, what happened when you graduated from university? So you've made it I mean, much farther, and no one's even been to high school in your family. Now you've graduated from, you know, the interim college plus university, and where did that take you?
21:29 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And then from uni I decided to go into law enforcement. And you might ask why. Why did I do that? Because during my time, whilst I was studying at uni, the main job I was doing I worked alongside the campus safety department, where I got involved in the whole loss prevention, risk management type of thing. This was a good university Combined, I think. Their student population at the time was close to four and a half thousand, so it was quite big.
22:03
And we had student population represented from over 35 different countries, which was quite massive, oh wow. So one thing that did for me it gave me exposure and I was able to interact a lot with these international students and just get a feel for what their culture was like. So, of course, becoming culturally aware was one of the things, and because I was not only there as a student but also as a worker as well, and part of my role was to ensure that these students, especially the ones coming from other countries, they were felt, you know, they were being properly looked after and we were creating an environment that will ensure that they have a really good university experience during their time living and studying in the country.
22:56 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So, while you were still living at home. You had windows brought to you from 35 countries of the world into your life, so you got a very global perspective, even though you're still living at home in a small town where you have been raised.
23:09 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
That's correct, and one of the things that that did for me was it really made me become far much more curious. I was no longer thinking of oh, once I'm through here, I need a job. I was thinking, well, oh, once I'm through here, I need a job. I was thinking, well, Doral is a massive place and here I am on a tiny island of just over 2.8 million people and we have far much more people living in the diaspora than that live on the island. Clearly, I must travel some days and see what life is like and also just to get a chance to experience other people, other cultures and other way of thinking. That would be something great to do. After all, I'm getting a taste of what this is like, albeit a small scale version of that, on campus. So that created a natural next step for me and I ventured straight into law enforcement because of my expertise and experience working with campus safety.
24:08 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And was that law enforcement still in Jamaica?
24:11 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
That was in Jamaica at the time.
24:12 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yes, Okay, and but you're not in Jamaica today. No, I'm not, so take us to the next step. So, from there, you started in law enforcement in Jamaica. And then what? What was the next step? What door opened to you next, or what window did you climb through?
24:25 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
So I worked during law enforcement. Of course, this now moved from brought my experience from a tiny campus. Now I was working in a parish at the time which had a population of over 230,000 people.
24:41 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Okay, so now we're a pretty big metro area.
24:49 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Very, very big and there was a lot to respond to, and I became more aware of the challenges that the country was facing, particularly when it comes to areas of crime, other issues, various disputes and conflicts and just how to deal with that.
24:59
And these were many of the things that I had to address at the time.
25:03
So I became increasingly concerned about the quality of life that was being experienced by just ordinary Jamaicans and ordinary people and of course, they are disproportionately affected by the crime and it then led me to think about how can I be of greater service to these people. And that's when I was in studies overseas, in international studies, and the place of choice for me was the United Kingdom. And just that thought, when I looked at the challenges that the country was facing and the fact that if I was going to be equipped enough to be able to respond to these challenges appropriately, I knew that I needed was to invest a whole lot more in me. And so I started to scan and to look further out to see how best I could equip myself with the necessary knowledge to ensure that I could give back, and to look further out to see how best I could equip myself with the necessary knowledge to ensure that I could give back and to be of better service. And how old were you at?
26:06 - Art Blanchford (Host)
this time Leroy.
26:08
I was in my early 20s during this, so that's really interesting because you know there's not too many people in their early 20s thinking a lot about giving back. I mean, if you look at life in sort of three phases learn, earn and return you know most people in their early 20s are still very much in the learning phase, if not starting in their earning phase, but you are already thinking about returning as well, like what can you give back? It's quite unusual and commendable, I would say, to think about how you can be serving others at that point in your life.
26:38 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I know my story is quite long and because, whilst I was studying at uni, one of the things that I did in order to fund my tuition because of course, I couldn't fund that purely from what I was working, after all I was making about, I think when I did the calculation, just for the benefit of your viewers was 10 American cents an hour. Oh wow, but that's really, really bad. So I usually volunteer. There's this national program that they call the JAMVAC program, which assists tertiary students with their tuition, but you have to give back. I think it's 200 plus hours.
27:16
I could be off in terms of community service Right, yeah, could be off in terms of community service and I had chosen to work in the area of, I would say, social care.
27:27
Particularly, my interest was given back to that segment of society that was, let's just say, socially challenged, and that's one of the issues again, when it comes to matters of mental health. There is still so much stigma that surrounds that, and I was able to work in these spaces and I think probably that's where I might have caught the bug from, just that, the empathetic listening and just to be there to support people within that space, and that is something that has never left me, and just hearing the incredible stories and the challenges that these people faced that made me recognize how fortunate I was and just that one slight injury or misfortune could put me in a position that is so similar and I could be totally abandoned by family, because that was the case for so many in that place. So I think that too helped to create within me that desire to give back and that strong commitment for service was always there.
28:32 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So then you got into additional education over in UK.
28:37 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
So that was the plan, because this was going to be entirely self-funded. Now, right, and had to come up with creative and innovative ways as to how am I going to be able to fund this? And it was during that time I came across an advert that the British army at the time they were recruiting from the Commonwealth, and I said, okay.
28:59 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Here's a way to fund the university.
29:01 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
There is an opportunity for me, and I had already been accepted by a university to do a master's program in London, so I already had that. I just needed was to find the funding to do that, and so I signed up and I came over. Now let me say this this was the most expensive job interview I've ever done in my entire life. Now here it is that I'm leaving from Jamaica, tiny island in the Caribbean, poorly paid, the economy is not the best and I'm coming to the UK. I've been training for months to prepare for a selection exercise. Now I had to fund my entire way to get the selection and I have to be responsible for my own accommodation, feeding everything Right.
29:53 - Art Blanchford (Host)
The entire time and, at the time, probably quite a strong pound as well.
29:57 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Quite a strong pound. Now just to find the money to cover the flight alone. You're talking about many months salary, wow, gross salary, not even the net, right, right, yeah, I was able to come and make that bold decision, of course, to win family over and to be able to get to that decision center, did the exam, passed everything, and that opened up a whole different chapter and life from there onwards.
30:31 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So you joined the military.
30:33 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I joined the military, the army to be exact, and the Corps of Royal Engineers, to be more specific and then also completed your master's at that time.
30:45
So that presented a bit of a challenge because, as you could tell by the initiative to recruit from the Commonwealth, they were down on the numbers, and so at the time I got in and this was the same for most of my colleagues as well one member of the service was doing three, four other people's job, because we're talking about an army that went from hundreds of thousands, and at the time when I joined they were way below a hundred thousand. So the strain was really there. So that made it extremely difficult for me to study, because I was away for the most part at the time. So that posed some significant challenge. And then also, whilst there were some other study programs which were available at the time, you had to do something that would directly benefit your present work.
31:42 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Military engagement right yeah, Okay.
31:44 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And this was not something that really aligned with my overall initial interest to pursue that initial route and plus one other thing that I didn't get a chance to do, because if I was doing something that was more closely aligned with that, then that would make those skills directly transferable. Then I could see how I could make that fit. So that took me on a totally different path. So here I was being tripartite trained as a soldier, obviously as an engineer and as an engineering logistician in three areas. An engineer and has an engineering logistician in three areas. So that shifted my focus quite a bit and that pretty much painted the picture for the rest of my military career, which saw me traveling to different continents, working with different people, of course.
32:34 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So then you got to see the world that you were curious about Exactly 35 countries that came to your island. But then you got to go out and see how many countries did you visit in the military.
32:43 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Quite a lot across different continents and just to be able to meet face-to-face places that probably on my own I would not have gone to Right, and to be able to see that and to be able to mix with the local. And that's when I recognized that the life I had whilst growing up, it was not unique only to me, because I have been to places and I'm talking about developed part of the world especially when you look at Eastern Europe you'd consider it to be quite developed and I mean in some instances and places the living condition is worse than what I experienced whilst growing up. And then I recognized that there is a general challenge that most people face and if you really take the time to really get to know people and to hear their story, you recognize that there is a common thread that runs through most people's lives, and the challenges are quite common.
33:39 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yeah, it's not so different like what you experienced in your village in Jamaica and what might be going on in Estonia or Romania. Right In a small village is quite the same, and it's an age old question, right as far as the independence that we want to have and the belonging that we want to have to our community where we were born. Right, and how much you know how good or bad the situation is when you're growing up determines on how far you'll push away from it. Two things that I want to circle back on. One is you've talked about in the beginning that the transition that you made is to understand your own worth and value. Do you remember a tipping point where that became clear, like where you said, wow, I really understand my worth and value as a human being. And what gave you that? Like? Where does that value come from? In your experience?
34:24 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
So much. Early on, there was that belief and conviction that I was of value to the world and I had something to give. But as I progressed through life and I've had many different experiences, I think once I got into the uniform service particularly the police, and then definitely the military the very thing that I was trying to escape all my life that's exactly what I found myself in, and you know, it can be very rigid, very rigid yeah so that's okay.
34:59 - Art Blanchford (Host)
I just want to clarify. That's what you're trying to escape. Is this rigid expectations and following the rules and so forth, and now you find yourself in that? In that?
35:07 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And again in a position where you are not naturally aligned to a role that allow you to flourish and to use your natural skills and abilities, and so that can be quite frustrating because, of course, you know the needs of the service. Of course they will say come first. But I think more work can be done to ensure that people are rightly aligned with their skills and their passion so that it can be a better fit. So that presents some challenge, some additional challenges. Of course, whilst I did my very best to excel in these areas and I did perform, I would say, quite well in these areas but at the same time that old feeling from 13 was coming back to me, and that was this is just not it.
35:58
There is much more to this, and once it came to the point where my military career actually came to an end and it came to an end, sadly, by a work-related injury which pretty much bring that to a close it brought me to that place where I had to think now deeply what is going to be my next step.
36:30
And here I was, having had this wonderful opportunity to see a lot of wonderful places, to work with a lot of great people and to be a part of a wonderful community where I've made friends for life. And now I am at this place now, where I'm seeing my peers move beyond me and I've been stuck, not because I want to be, but because of a change in circumstance and then some of the experiences that I would have seen from my time working with people who were trapped due to some of these life challenges. I have now found myself in a similar position, and then the question was what's next? What's going to be the next step for me and how do I now navigate this transition from service and to lead a more fulfilling and successful life thereafter?
37:16 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And I think that's where most of the searching and the pondering and the thinking came about, because, in a sense and you are going through transitions in your life- in your business, in your career or in your organization and you're looking to master those transitions, to make the most of them, to accelerate into the next phase of your organization or your life.
37:53
If you're facing challenges in your business, challenges in your relationship, challenges in your health, and you really want to transition those quickly, I'm here to guide you for that and I look forward to working with you. And you can sign up for either Pinnacle Transition Coaching or Summit. Please go to lifeintransitiononlinecom and scroll to see the Summit and pinnacle coaching, or reach out to me directly on my email art at artblanchfordcom and I look forward to connecting with you and helping you to accelerate your transitions to achieve what it is that you want to achieve in the second half in your organization and in your life, so you can live your whole life with no regrets. So you had an injury. So you're going to be honorably discharged, we would say in the US, but for injury right, honorable, and it's good to mention that.
38:52 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
But as good as they can put that and as much of a softer landing it can be with the right words, and you know, saying that, as nice as you have just put it, and they did the very same. But it's very difficult not to be able to see a sense of you moving from a place where you were in high demand to you no longer being needed. And what I find rather funny to me was the injury being physically a physical thing. But I'm saying, what about my experience? What about the knowledge and expertise I have? And I know I can still contribute? That's not what they wanted. They wanted somebody who can be able to perform on a physical level Right, wanted somebody who can be able to perform on a physical level right, and it asked me. It led me to ask the question now. At the stage I'm at now, and with most people as the clock ticks on, you're naturally in a state of decline anyways yes, physical decline for sure so, whether or not it was this injury or something else, this time would come.
40:01
So I have the benefit now, with the insight, to reinterpret what had happened, to say, hey, I get a chance to experience at this stage what most people experience in the next 15 or 20 or 30 years, so use that positively and use that to your advantage. And I think that's where I recognize now I need to make the pivot. And what that meant was I had to reinterpret my experience, found out what exactly I can do to leverage my experience and the opportunities I would have had to build up so much knowledge and insight From all that wonderful time and the exposure that I was given with those many opportunities and just to use that, channel that down a particular path where I can solve a problem and meet a need. And I think that's where the new me was reborn.
41:05 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And what was that rebirth? What has come through that reborn?
41:08 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And what was that rebirth? What is what has come through that? So the rebirth was this and this comes from my almost two decades in the work world I have come to recognize over time that there is a spirit of containment that keep a lot of people trapped, and I think my work now really is to shatter that spirit of containment and to help people to recognize their worth and value. And how that can be done is to get to a place where they now discover that awareness and for them to be able to integrate their self-worth, self-concept, self-esteem and self of significance and value. And once they can integrate that and become aware of that, I think that lays the foundation for them to lead more purposeful lives, even after difficult experiences, which can lead to the ending of one career, the ending of a relationship or whatever the case may be, but to be able to pick up the pieces and to move on after crisis and disaster.
42:19 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yeah, and that makes sense. And I think underlying that is clearly this understanding of self-worth, and I'm still curious to come back on that question for you. Where did that come to you? Where did you realize that you have this self-worth that was bigger than what you thought or what you felt like you were being taught as a child in Jamaica. Where did that come into you? How did you have that realization?
42:42 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I wish I could say I found that by myself and that was not the case, and I think this is where we have to surround ourselves by the right people and the right community.
42:53
So, the moment I recognized that one phase of my life was coming to a close and I have the opportunity now to make something different, I had to be very, very strategic and choosy in terms of my closest five, because you know that scene where we become the average of the five closest people we spend the most time with. And I started picking my closest five and just to be able to find these people and to make that step and that decision and commitment to be able, if possible, to be mentored and coached by these individuals. And thankfully I was able, as a result of making that decision, to manifest these people. And I know for some people this might sound a bit woo-woo, but it's not. I definitely made that decision quite early on, when I needed to make that shift, when I saw people who were doing great work in terms of encouraging and motivating people and helping them to get to the next level.
43:56 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So you picked some of these people and put them on your personal board of directors.
44:01 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Yes, and I was able to manifest these people to the point now where I have direct contact, working with these people.
44:10 - Art Blanchford (Host)
And is that from that, speaking from them, speaking into you? Is that where you started to understand your inherent worth? Or was there something else where you could? And I'm drilling on this for for a strong reason, because I think it's really important and I think it's most people don't understand their worth and their belonging in human society. So I'm really trying to drill down on that to understand where did you, where did that come from for you? Because it's obviously very strong in you, but I'm still curious.
44:36 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I would describe it this way In life, it is said that there are winners, there are losers and there are people who don't yet learn how to win, and I think, to a large degree, the majority of people in life are in that state where they don't know how to win, but they think they are losers and they are not.
44:53
They just haven't figured out how to win yet. And I think I was in that same boat where I couldn't figure out what to do next whether to go left, right or straight on and having those people to be able to speak into my life and this is the key now they should not make you into their image Right, should not give you a life that they have designed for you. The people who you want as mentors are people who should help you to recognize your own worth and value and to be able to step into that. So they challenged me to see a higher version of myself and got me to dream more, and I think that's the major shift, and that is why I would encourage people to be surrounded by what most people call a different network, a different group of people who can challenge you to grow and to get from that place where you are just merely existing to be reliving and living purposefully so you have these people that Stephen Covey called you know that their job is to see for you what you can't see for yourself.
46:04 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Correct Right To see possibilities for you to hold up a mirror for a reflection of yourself that you actually can't see for yourself. Correct Right To see possibilities for you to hold up a mirror for a reflection of yourself that you actually can't see for yourself yet. And that's then the foundation from you. That's where you got this feeling of this self-worth that was bigger than what you had had before. Correct Very good. You know, I love this Brene Brown quote too. She says once we get that, our belonging is a birthright, our belonging and our self-worth is a birthright then anything is possible.
46:31 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And I'm really happy that you mentioned Dr Brene Brown, because one of the things and not having consulted her work, when he speaks to the man standing in the arena and that wonderful story that she pulled from and being vulnerable, and I think that's one of the key thing too is getting to that place where you can truly re-examine your story and to be able to pull gems from your life so far.
46:57
And I think one of the things that the group that I've been a part of, one of the things that they did so well, is to get me to that place where I revisited those painful moments or challenging moments, for want of a better word and I've come to recognize that some of the moments I've had in the past which I would have looked back on at the time to say these were quite tough periods, I have come to recognize that those points was where I would have grown the most. Those points was where I would have grown the most and that's where a lot of value was basically added to me personally, because I've gone through some very important crucibles, which has helped to shape and to deliver the me you see at the moment.
47:45 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yes, you know, when we can get to a point where we only appreciate the past, no matter how difficult it was for who we got to become through that process, through the crucibles, it's a much more liberating space, a much more resourceful space, a space with much more agency than if we're feeling a victim to our past. That's so beautiful.
48:03 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
I agree with that a hundred percent.
48:05 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So two questions that I have rattling around. Where would your life be if you hadn't like, if you hadn't had this feeling of self-worth already back at 13 and decided to go to high school? Where would your life be today If you hadn't made that transition? Where would your life be now, leroy?
48:20 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
It would have been totally different, and not only for me but also the many people whom I have personally touched and many people who have really breathed a lot of love into my life and I think we were sharing when we first met that. I am thankful for the blessing and the kindness and also the lessons from the blindness. The reason why I say that is because Greyground, that community I've grown up in, is really a tough place. Most of the people I knew whilst growing up they are no longer with us because their life was snuffed out. And when I really look back and I say I was able to escape that and I was able to escape that place mentally first and I think, having taken that bold step, it has not only changed life for me but for my family and my children and generations to come.
49:19 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So if you had stayed in gray ground, you may not even be on the planet anymore.
49:23 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Certainly not, Certainly not. It is sad to know how many of my what you call it.
49:29 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Contemporaries or people that you grew up with.
49:30 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Yeah, that you grew up with and I'm not just saying that because I want to sound cool, but that's an actual fact, right and many of them, they were cut down in the prime of their youth, which is very, very tragic, right.
49:46 - Art Blanchford (Host)
No for sure. So that's a very difference. If you would be dead and you cannot give the gifts that you're continuing to give to your family, to your community, to the community you live in now in the UK as well as back home, if you will, in Jamaica, what would you, looking back now so you have some decades of perspective now, since you were 13 and made that decision where you had this feeling of self-worth, where you felt worthy of going to high school and building something bigger with your life, contributing something more with your life, what would you go back and tell your 13-year-old self now, if you could go back and give him some advice, be part of his board of directors now. What would you tell him now?
50:24 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
The first time you had that feeling that there was more to your life. You were right and had I moved the very first time when I did, chances are I would have reached much further, faster and I would have been able to reach a lot more people my time. There are many people who I've been able to impact personally and I'm really thankful for that, and there are many people, too, who have deposited so much in me. I don't believe in the concept of being self-made and it's both ways. And sadly, because I delayed, there were some people whom I should have met I did not meet, and there are some people who should have met me, who that just didn't happen.
51:11 - Art Blanchford (Host)
So the message you would give your 13-year-old self was trust yourself. The first time you have that thought, the first time you have this feeling of worthiness and expansion, to go for it. To not hesitate, to not worry about what other people think, but to trust yourself, to trust this inner guidance and go. Is that the right message? Beautifully said, wonderful, wonderful, leroy. If you could give and maybe that's it.
51:35
But looking back at this whole amazing story that you have, an amazing life that you're living now, what advice would you give somebody that's going through this transition, if somebody's in this containment you call it this containment or this constriction of a certain expectation on life, a very narrow way of looking at life as a whole, due to the circumstances that they're in, whatever they are, like you said, now that you see that they can be from all over the world and they can be a lot of different ways, what advice would you give them, what tool? If there's one thing that you could give them right now that they could hit pause on this podcast right now and implement, simply, anybody could do what would that one tool be?
52:13 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
There is a unique assignment that we all have, and we are always being led and we are always leading someone. We're always being influenced by someone and we are also always influencing someone else. Wherever you are now, wherever you are in your life, you were led there by your consent. So the question you have to ask yourself is who is leading you, or who are you allowing to lead you, and why? And who are you leading and where are you leading them? If you can really ponder deeply and provide an answer, not to me or to anyone else, but to yourself, as you listed those questions, and I think you're in the right place and you know exactly what to do next.
53:00 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Who are you allowing to lead you and where is that going? And then, who are you influencing, who are you leading and contributing to and where is that going? And to be really clear about that, are you playing to your higher advisors, your higher angels, your better self or not? And to really look at that and to recognize I think it's really important because it's hard to say, but to recognize that it's with consent that we and I don't remember who said this but until we can acknowledge that we are where we are today because of the choices we made yesterday, we cannot choose otherwise. That's beautiful and it's really important. As tough as it may seem, if we're in a very difficult situation, at some level or another, we've given our consent to be there.
53:41 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
Of course, and I knew a lot of people who would be angry now for me even saying that, because they can always point the finger somewhere else, of course, which are also true.
53:50 - Art Blanchford (Host)
There are a lot of outside circumstances as well, but we also have agency in any situation. I mean almost all of us. I can't think of anywhere, I mean there may be a few where it's really not, but we have some agency.
54:03 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
And I can sympathize with that position, because society has done a horrible job to get us to blame and to point the problem out and want to be solution centered. Yes, and even given my work, you know being heavily involved with teams all my life one of the greatest catastrophe I've seen in people who work with teams is that instead of helping people to be useful, they actually use people for their own ends. But the funny thing is, by helping people to be useful, naturally they are best able to serve you, but we take the wrong approach.
54:43 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Yeah, no, that's true, Leroy. Where can people find out more about you and the work you're doing today and how you're pouring into each other's and so forth? Where can they find out about you and connect with you and learn more about your story and the work you're doing now?
54:55 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
The easiest way for them to contact me. They can look for me on LinkedIn at my name, Leroy Roberts, LinkedIn, and from there it's easy to connect with me on all the other socials. Also, I will be sharing with you, or the show notes, my link tree, so they can connect with me there as well.
55:13 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Okay, no, that sounds great. Leroy and I first of all congratulations on understanding your net worth or your net worth, your self-worth, understanding who you are, clear enough at age 13 to break out of a very confining social arrangement right, and having the courage to do that and to also think about how you can still serve that organization that you had to break out of right, which I think is really especially at such a young age. To already be starting to think about that in your early 20s. It's really pretty amazing and I'm really excited to see how you continue to serve and grow and learn and serve all those around you. So thank you for sharing your story, thank you for helping us to understand self-worth and the tools that can help us drive in that way, and I look forward to continuing the conversation.
55:59 - Leroy Roberts (Guest)
No, no, art. You have been extremely amazing and I also want to take the time to celebrate you as well and for the incredible work you have done. And there are so many wonderful things which we share in common and I think this has been a truly amazing experience, and I also celebrate the fact that you have the ability to mine for the gems, and it's just like what Oprah said there is no, the price of the shovel can't be too much when you're digging for gold, and you're very good in terms of your methodical approach, in terms of asking the right question to ensure that your guests get the right answers, and it has been such a humanizing and wonderful experience and just to be able to be open and vulnerable and to share in such a way that other people can benefit, and I really appreciate you for doing so. Great job.
56:50 - Art Blanchford (Host)
Thank you, Libra. I really appreciate that. I love authentic conversations and I love learning and I'm curious to use one of your words and that makes for very good conversations, and I love to get to a place where I can really see people right and that's a great joy for me. So thank you for giving me that opportunity. You're very welcome. I can't wait to hear what action you are taking. Connect with me on LinkedIn or our website, lifeintransitiononline, and let me know. Let a friend know too. It could be a huge encouragement to them and keep you on the track. Thank you so much for joining me today. Make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would mean a lot to me if you left a review and shared this episode with a friend. If you want to learn more about me and what I do when I'm not podcasting, please visit me at ArtBlanchfordcom. Thank you for listening. No-transcript.