Articles ~ Reality

Even the memory that I stood, not once or twice but numerous times, in front of audiences and trained or taught them how to not just survive but thrive in the new millennium, makes me chuckle and wonder, “did someone pay me for that?”

I am of the age when I look back at my own stupidity and the audacity of encouraging others to live untested theoretical lives. Now when I tell people that there are times when life does not make sense, that’s not theory. It is real. When I say depression can and does affect people, that is not from a book or from a conversation with someone in my audience. When I say our choices and actions can thrill and/or hurt us and others, that again, is not from third parties.

It is humbling to tell someone that they can be more than a career, touch lives and make a huge difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities, even without the necessary skills, resources and connections initially—and know that is the truth.

Back to the late 1990s, as an aspiring motivational speaker and author I had solutions for every human challenge, even for problems that didn’t exist and others that I had no clue what I was talking about. Who writes and faxes articles to a Boise State Football head coach on how a team can win games he never knew about while growing up in Africa? Who has the courage to accept to speak to a team of large youthful men all in one room?

While that boldness led to 20 years of speaking to the team and other teams in different universities and high schools in the country, the thought of how it happened still chills me.

That was also the time when the whole world was petrified by the thoughts on what could go wrong at the moment, we entered 2000. Religious opportunists, as usual, capitalized on the fears of unsuspecting followers. Merchants had all sorts of products to make life in the new millennium bearable. I had a full day workshop, where I trained participants on how to thrive in the new millennium.

None of them ever I asked me where I learned to live in a millennium that had never existed. I am not sure if they knew I had grown, harvested and refrigerated collard greens and tomatoes as well as goat meat and edibles in preparation for my family to be able to survive for at least 6-8 months as the world figured out what to do with all the unknows.

Now, when I tell people that the blessings of living for many days, tenderly referred to aging, comes with packages of once unknown challenges, physical, mental, spiritual and a myriad of others, that’s a reality.

And while I may not have known all the variables of how we as a community would navigate the unknowable future, it is humbling to say that what I taught about playing a small role in lessening other people’s sufferings still holds true. When we help others, we begin experiencing fulfilment beyond imagination which allows us to have a purpose. This allows us to look forward to another day, even in the darkest night of our soul—that’s a reality.

Now, I coach individuals who want make a difference and live their lives with a purpose.


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