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PART I: KENDRICK MERCER ON GROWING UP

This video was shot at Mercer Advisors annual client convention in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on April 29, 2011. Kendrick Mercer was invited to deliver the keynote speech.

Kendrick Mercer has always had an intense love of freedom. Personal freedom. Financial freedom. Freedom of expression. Where and how did he begin his journey? In this speech, he describes it.

As a young lawyer in his 20s, Kendrick Mercer was sent to represent his law firm at a personal growth retreat with a group of more seasoned attorneys—men in their 50s—who were name partners in their own firms. He spent four days listening to their complaints:

“The first one opened up and said how depressed he was. Depressed? He's hit the top of the mark. He's depressed? Then he starts talking about how he doesn't like what he's doing; he doesn't like that he's not challenged by what he's doing anymore; his children are growing up and they don't even like him very much; he doesn't like his wife. God, he was just totally depressed. I figured, Well, this guy is going to shoot himself. I was about to throw up.

“Then the next one started talking about how he hated his partners, how he felt trapped in the law firm, and how depressed he was. Believe it or not, in two days we went through 14 of the most depressed people I've ever seen. About four o'clock I ran out. I was depressed. This was my career! I was walking along the beach at Salishan Spa & Resort, one of the most beautiful beaches in Oregon, and it was rainy and drizzly. I walked for two hours, balling my eyes out. I was just crying. I couldn't believe it.”

Kendrick had a remarkable realization that day that changed his life forever.

“At the time, I realized that if I became the greatest attorney in Oregon, my life would be a failure. That was a big turning point.

“From that point on, two things drove me. Number one was that I was committed. I didn't know how, but I was going to earn a hell of a lot of money and quit working within 10 years. That's funny, since I'm 76 and still working! But that was my commitment! The other thing was that I was going to grow personally and I was going to learn philosophy, I was going to read everything I could, and I was going to get a mentor, and I was never, ever going to be like they were, so depressed and unhappy. And I've never been. It was the beginning of two journeys for me.”

View Part III

View Part IV

THE MERCER MINUTE is a new email newsletter from The Kendrick Mercer Company that will help you reconnect with Whole Self in 60 seconds or less. Over 50 years of working with thousands of people on leading fulfilling lives has proven that our natural human consciousness is our most effective guide. Got a minute? Sign up below.

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