Dan M. De Nose is a Youth Leadership and Community Development Speaker, Motivational Life Coach, and Mentor. He is also the founder of “Leaders of the 21st Century,” which is in the development stage of becoming a non-profit whose mission is to provide high students in urban communities with leadership and professional development skills to positively impact their local community

Even with all the difficulties he faced in life, Dan never imagined he would be where he is today. He never envisioned himself making it through middle school, high school, or even college and now, he is finishing up his last semester in graduate school at Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. He now understands that his responsibility to others is to give back, pay it forward, and leave our community better than we found it.

“Success is determined by faith, hard work, and believing that all things are possible. Despite all the negativity of our environment, success can be achieved through the understanding of “positivity is the key for success.”

Learn more about Dan in this week’s Spotlight Saturday.

WHAT D. M. DE NOSE DOES

D. M. De Nose provides services for professional adults, college students, high school students, and all who have the desire to live out their dreams.

“I am a motivational, inspirational speaker and a worldwide connector. The company not only unlocks the untapped potential in high school/college students, but we also cultivate life skills, leadership skills within our young people.  We host professional networking events to enhance professional opportunities as well, which allows professional adults to connect with leaders throughout different careers.”

D. M. DE NOSE’S BUSINESS NICHE

“I believe what makes my business unique is the social entrepreneur business model which I designed.”

“ D. M. De Nose is a social enterprise and has been created to inspire our next generation to impact the world, but to also provide financial support to the development of a non-profit I have founded called “Leaders of the 21st Century.” LOT21C’s mission is to provide high school students in urban communities with professional and leadership development skills to positively impact their local community.”  

HOW D. M. DE NOSE GOT STARTED

“After attending graduate school at Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration and based on my experience working in a nonprofit I have learned that nonprofits cannot and should not depend solely on grants/foundations to fund the organization.  Due to this fact, as well as my belief in the vision of “Leaders of the 21st Century,” I am committed to build a social enterprise to help supplement the cost for programs we will offer to our students.  A percentage from the revenue of the professional networking events, the speaking engagements, and seminars I provide will help support “Leaders of the 21st Century.”

ADVICE TO SOMEONE PURSUING THEIR DREAMS

“Trust in God; through Him he will make the impossible possible.”

“Maintain a positive attitude despite the outcome.  It is okay not having all the pieces to puzzle as you are building. Many times as you are building you will discover the right people will come on your path. These people I believe are destined for you to connect with and to teach you. Once this happens you will gain a new piece to your puzzle. This cycle will continue and soon you will have all the pieces to the puzzle.”

“However, the true secret to pursuing your dream is sharing your knowledge and giving back. The more you give and share is the more you will receive and gain.”

GREATEST INFLUENCE

His parents.

Dan explains: “My father and mother have given me the best example of living a selfless life, what it means to serve people, and how to live without fear. When they came over to America they did not speak any English. They taught themselves. My parents sacrificed much for me and my siblings.  They were the first people who demonstrated how to exercise your faith. For this, I am extremely thankful and wish to provide my future children the many lessons they have instilled in me. Although I know I will never have enough ink in a pen to write a novel of thanks, I am committed to continue to make them proud”

FAVORITE QUOTE

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” - Matthew 25:21

FAVORITE PASTIME

Dan’s favorite pastime is traveling to new places for getaways.

Dan says: “I love meeting people and learning about their culture and story. I find people to be very interesting. I have been able to travel around the world. To list a few: Haiti, South Korea and South Africa. One of the main key factors that I learned was that people are people despite where we are from, or what language we speak. We all want to be loved. We all want to live a comfortable life. We all want to provide the best to our children, family, and live in a safe community. We are the great human race.”

IF HIS LIFE WERE A MOVIE

If his life were a movie it would be titled, “The Mantle On His Shoulders”.  

Dan explains: “I sometimes feel the weight on my shoulders of the future I see. I think the movie will provide the viewers the layers of my life, and how blessed I am. I do not consider the weight that I feel to be a negative. The weight keeps me grounded to remind myself that I am man, and never allow myself to lose site that I am only man. My mission in life is to change the world., and to live a life where I am able to build a bridge for millions to cross over. Let it not be about me, but about the work. If there is a legacy that is created, let the legacy be a story of inspiration for others to continue building the bridge of access. I am only one person, however collectively we can make a global difference. There is a world that does not yet exist, but I believe together we can build this new world. ”

ADVICE TO YOUNGER SELF

“I would tell the younger version of me to read more, write more, and learn more.”

“I believe some of the greatest life lessons are within books. I thought of the many other things I could tell myself, but I honestly feel the most important lesson I could tell myself would be to invest in myself at an earlier age. I completely understand in order to have progress you must go through a process. However, I also understand that some lessons could be avoided if we knew the end results prior to doing it. Books allow us to see the past, and learn from others mistakes and accomplishments.”

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FUTURE

“In the future I believe D.M. De Nose and “Leaders of 21st Century” will become a key ingredient in global impact in shaping the minds of today’s generation in becoming world changers themselves. My hope for those who I come across in this journey of life is they will surpass any success that others think I have gain. I want them to accomplish greater things than I. The truth is, “I am because you are.” Therefore, when one of our fellow brothers or sisters does well, we all do well. When one of our fellow brothers or sisters does not do well, we do not do well.  I love to see people win, and my hope is I can assist them inspiring them through words to accomplish their purpose, and achieve victory.”

To learn more about Dan M. De Nose follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. To learn more about 21st Century Leaders visit them on Facebook.