Local students were told to dare to be different, to be creative, passionate and be like “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” and dare to fly a little differently at the Future Leaders Conference, which took place at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel last week.

Top management guru and best-selling author Tom Peters spoke to business executives on Thursday and to teenagers on Friday.

Mr. Peters asked students how their tombstones would read, saying: “Would it say, ‘He woulda done some pretty cool stuff, but his boss wouldn't let him'?”

Mr. Peters told them they should not be afraid to do something different, that they have not lived if they have not been fired from a job at least once, adding that those who make the most mistakes win, and making mistakes are the paradox of innovation. He told them about a great job that he had when he was 28, and told youngsters of how he quit that great job.

Mr. Peters told the students that when they return to school they should spend ten minutes going through a history books, adding: “You will see that Mahatma Ghandi had an idea, a little man without a gun, managed to get the English out of his country and in turn created one of the largest democracies in the world.”

He told them about Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, French President Charles de Gaulle, Italian physicist Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus, the Polish astronomer, adding: “No one who ever made their mark, made it easily or without opposition!”

“Dr. King and Mr. Ghandi paid the most incredible price - an assassins bullet. Let's make a dent in the universe.”

Throughout the speech Mr. Peters quoted several famous people like comedian Roseanne Barr who said “No one gives you power, you just have to take it!” to which he added: “Powerlessness is in your mind.”

He also quoted Sydney executive, Phil Daniels who said: “Companies should reward excellent failures and punish mediocre successes.”

Mr. Peters said: “The worst thing is if there is nothing special about your work, because no matter how you apply yourself you won't get noticed and that increasingly means that you won't get paid much either.

“You are the story teller of your own life and you can create your own legacy.”

He spoke to the youngsters about finding mentors, learning to brand themselves, and about networking.

“We have to invest in ourselves; I don't think there is anything worse than being ordinary.”

Mr. Peters added: “If you want to go into medicine, perhaps it's because you watched your mother suffer with multiple sclerosis and you want to help other people or you want to invent a cure. Whatever it is, be passionate!”

Mr. Peters spoke of the importance of taking the time to remember someone's name, and of using manners. He said: “It is important to take two seconds to say thank you to someone. It goes a long way.”

Speaking of children on behaviour controlling drugs he said: “Many children today are being classed as ADDHD, it seems if a child is sitting there doing nothing, it's okay. These kids cannot sit still, and it seems the only option is to put them on drugs.

“In turn the children then just do what they are told. If a classroom is quiet, then there is something wrong.”

He stressed that he was not talking about disobedience, but of active creativity.

In budget cuts in education, the first thing that is cut is drama, music and the art departments. He said: “I would like to cut the maths department.”

During the question and answer forum one young man asked Mr. Peters to close his eyes and to imagine that he was a Bermudian kid who had just heard Tom Peters speak. Where would he go from here? What would he do in a country that is almost entirely business oriented and the likelihood of making it as an alternative artisan is not only slim, and also where the cost of living is astronomical.

Mr. Peters said: “My hope is that you will continue to do your math assignments. Look for an opportunity and pursue your passion. If you love to ski then become a ski instructor. Find a mentor to help you to get where you are going.”

Another person in the audience asked Mr. Peters: “What was the craziest idea you ever had?”

Mr. Peters said: “Many ideas come from being seriously pissed off. Walt Disney could not find a place where he could take his children, so he created Disneyland. Mickey Drexler could not find simple good quality clothing for his children and he started Baby Gap.

“Mary Baechler, designed the Baby Jogger because she wanted to go jogging and couldn't find a suitable stroller.”

A teenage girl in the audience asked: “Bermuda is so closed minded, how would you combat that?

Mr. Peters replied: “Where do great ideas come from? That's simple. From differences, creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions. If everyone was open minded there would be no room for entrepreneurs. I think this is an advantage. When there is no suffering or pain, there is no gain.”

A teacher asked: “What do I say to a child that has been negatively branded?

He said: “Call them Sir or Madame, because they are the leaders.”

Mr. Peters spoke about his father who did not enjoy one job, saying his father had to take a bus twenty miles every day. He said: “As my father walked out to the bus stop, I would watch him look greyer and greyer.”

He said his mother has never lost his curiosity and urged the youngsters never to lose theirs.

Minister of Education Paula Cox told students to believe in themselves, brand themselves, that they are the future leaders that will be crafting the future of Bermuda.

The sponsors and organisers, Ernst Young, Bank of Bermuda and XL Capital will now continue the programme in schools to ensure that the message reaches the masses.

Mr. Peters said: “The great danger in life is not that we aim too high, but that we set a goal that is low and we actually achieve it.”