Issue Number: Volume VIIII No. 8 Publisher: Kituku & Associates
Date of Issue: August 2010.  © 2010—Overcoming Buffaloes in Our Lives. All Rights Reserved.

Job cuts, salary reductions, mandated furloughs, foreclosures and an unmoving cloud of uncertainty have dominated our lives for several years. The speaking, training and consulting industry has not been spared the pain of lost business. Even drastically reduced fees are not incentives to make the phone ring. I used to receive about six requests a month to offer speeches pro bono but even those requests have almost disappeared. How is that for your ego?


When we lose our jobs and the sense of identity and belonging that comes with them, we also risk losing the awareness of our infinite potential for facing the challenges of the new normal. Yet we have to seek not only survival opportunities but also to use untapped creativity with renewed energy, hope, and focus and propel our personal goals and those of the organization we work for to new heights.

You have to know that regardless of what you are going through, you are way better off than millions of people. Escape your “me” attitude and find ways to help those who are in worse conditions than you are.
 

 
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My shrinking business became secondary within a few days after my arrival in a recent visit to Kenya. I encountered a man with only two teeth, sunken eyes, unkempt hair and clothes literally hanging on his skeletal frame who opened his arms to hug me as he asked, “Do you remember me?” I could not recall ever seeing him in my life. After I confessed with embarrassment that I didn’t, he told me his name. He was one of my 7th grade best friends. I had even informed him that I was leaving for the USA in January 1986. Poverty had reduced him to a walking object.
 
The following day I saw a 17 year-old high school senior student who had been suspended from school because he had an unpaid balance of tuition and fees totaling $106. When I asked his mother what she planned to do about it she said, “Nothing.” She and her two sons receive about $50/month from her working daughter for their sustenance. On February 2nd the Daily Nation newspaper reported a mother of six who committed suicide because she lacked $250 her daughter needed to attend high school.

I am not a stranger to the vulnerabilities of life. I had experienced the deaths of five younger siblings by the time I turned forty. I know the deep darkness of a dysfunctional polygamous family and the humiliation of being labeled an underperformer after spending six years in three grades. Yet the suffering of families and the condition of my friend forced me to question the meaning of life. My desire to wake up declined and I experienced nightmares I was not used to.

After weeks of carrying the burden of the emptiness in life with prayers and fasting, it occurred to me that if nothing was done, other mothers would kill themselves, promising students would wind up in wasted condition like my childhood friend and many girls would turn their bodies into commercial commodities of survival. I committed to seek help for high school students who are orphans, children of widows and those from very poor families. By the end of April, I had secured financial support for about 30 students (we have more in need).

What had brought deep darkness in my life became the springboard I so needed to regain a sense of purpose. Doing nothing is not a recovery plan when things have gone wrong.

Help someone in worse condition than you
Volunteer at any charity program that is important to you
When at a restaurant buy a meal for a senior citizen
Teach at risk students something that can help them
Volunteer to coach youth sports
Offer free service to train seniors how to survive with technology
Ask for help—this is not a sign of weakness
Write down your experiences and expectations and share them with a person that you know will encourage you


NOTE: You can have Dr. Kituku provide his professional speeches and training to your organization and raise funds to sponsor orphans, children of widows and/or provide a means for predictable livelihood for single mothers. Or you can offer to sponsor a student. Sponsors (those who commit a minimum of $250/year, but any amount of contribution helps) get their student’s name, photo, school name, the address and principal’s contact (including phone number). The $250 is 100% used for tuition and fees while undesignated funds are used for operational purposes.

To help, mail a check to:
Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope Inc,
Idaho United Credit Union, P.O Box 2268, Boise, ID 83701.
(This is a non-profit program—Federal ID # 27-3127770)



 



When it happens, you remember it for the rest of your life. It is a moment when you feel like you have been given a new lease on your life. The cloud that has darkened your soul is lifted. You have a rekindled hope. A focused sense of who you are regardless of the prevailing circumstances. Your purpose in this world is renewed. You can’t lie low any longer. You hold your head up once again because there is a tomorrow to look forward to.


I was serving Eve of Thanksgiving dinner at the Boise Rescue Mission when one of the Idaho’s elected officials happened to be there with his wife. The director of the Men’s Program at Boise Rescue Mission showed me a copy of the Mission’s Book that I wrote a few years ago. In that book was a page with an old photo of the elected official serving food at the Mission.

During a short break, I showed him the photo. His whole body responded the way one reacts after meeting with a loved one who had disappeared and left no hope for his coming back. With unreserved excitement, he called his wife, “Honey, come see this!” As she was admiring his youthful appearance of years gone by, he said, “Vincent, thank you for showing me this photo. I came to serve food but left feeling like I had a moment of self-redemption.”

Out of curiosity I asked him, “Why?” What he said and how he said it left a mark in my heart. “Vincent, that moment occurred at the time I was going through a divorce and I had just been arrested for DUI.”

His shining face explained what else he didn’t say in words.

As I drove home I recalled experiences of unexplained fulfillment even when not assured of the next meal as I left a prison where my mother had sent me to give some food to an incarcerated relative. That experience reappeared in high school when I helped raise money for youth activities or after teaching adults how to count from 1 to 10 or to say their ABCs.
 

Serving meals for the homeless or visiting a veteran or raking the yard for a senior citizen or doing anything that brings hope to the young is the cheapest and yet most effective way of not only learning the joy of living but living your life
to the fullest.

Your faith starts having a new meaning as your perspective of life reaches new horizons.
You can never suffer from low self-esteem when serving someone in worse condition than yours.
You experience an inward rejuvenation that an outward appearance can never substitute for.
You don’t have to be told what fulfillment means in life—you experience it.
Your desire to make your own life better becomes a natural thing.
Whatever challenges you are facing seem smaller when you compare them with what the folks you serve are experiencing.
You don’t have to spend a penny to know the meaning of a rich life.
You don’t have to worry about your worthiness.
The best gift you can ever give is your time.
You experience the fullness of life that comes when your gain outweighs what you give.
You learn that doing a good thing makes you want to do more.


The moment the official experienced, and other such moments in life, are the oil that keeps you young and provide the wings you need to reach new heights of spiritual, personal and professional growth. Those moments cost you nothing more than your willingness to bring hope to a friend in need. And as strange as it sounds, you benefit in ways that tangible rewards can’t pay for. You know the meaning of a blessed life.

That official had served Thanksgiving dinners before. But when he did it at one of his darkest time of life, that act brought a new meaning to his life—again affirming that good deeds are rewarded.
 


 

100% of your registration investment
will be used to help pay tuition and fees for orphans and children of widows (victims of AIDS) in Kenya who are in high school.
 

If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.

Gerald R. Ford. U.S. President.


 

How to never let fear of public speaking stop opportunities from coming to you


 

Tips on speaking in ways all people want to listen to you and act on what you say


 

How to speak well to get a job, promotion or your colleagues’ respect


 

Why and how effective speaking will change
your world

5 proven ways to create a platform image that captivates audiences
all the time

Top must know steps on how to make each of your presentations memorable

11 must know keys aspect that motivate audiences to want to listen,
learn and act

Why and how to turn your fear of public speaking into a rewarding possession

How to gather information and tailor it to relate with your audience expectations

Organizing your information for maximum audience learning experience

How to use your uniqueness and deliver presentations skillfully

What, why and when to use visual aids and when not to

9 Must know tips that will help you avoid presentation pitfalls

What stories, humor and props will add to your presentation and how to use them as an expert!


 
WHEN:
September 21st at 8:30- 4:30pm (Thursday)
Where:
Towneplace Suites by Marriott
1415 S. Eagle Road, Meridian, ID
To Register:

Online by clicking Here
Or call 1-888-685-1621
Download the PDF form (Click Here) and fax (24/7) to (208) 323-7612
or email Vincent@Kituku.com
Email vincent@kituku.com or kasiva@kituku.com



 

 

Native of Kenya, Africa, and resident of Idaho since 1992, Vincent has been a featured speaker and trainer at numerous Real Estate conferences and training programs. An award winning speaker and writer, he is one of the less than 7% of all professional speakers to earn a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), the highest award for professional speakers. Dr. Kituku has worked with championship sports teams and trained leaders on how to inspire productivity all the time. What sets Vincent apart is his ability to weave life experiences in Africa with corporate America and culture in providing solutions for personal and professional growth.


Dr. Vincent Muli Wa Kituku is known as a research-based motivational speaker. He presents motivational keynotes and training programs on leadership, employee motivation, overcoming buffaloes at work (change), customer service and living and working with cultural differences. Vincent is the founder and president of Kituku & Associates, LLC, a business that is dedicated to developing leaders and employees in business and in life.

What has set Dr. Kituku apart is the ability to use his experience in research to evaluate/assess client needs and then tailor his keynotes/training presentation to meet their objectives. Harold G. Delamarter, President/CEO, Prestige Care Inc. said, "Before the Retreat, Dr. Kituku gained as much information as possible about our company and the industry we are involved in. He made telephone calls to management team members to tailor his seminar very closely to the needs of our employees and the circumstances they face each day in the present economy. Dr. Kituku was so widely received in July, the decision was made to ask him to return to again present to our company in October."

Vincent's clients list includes Cisco Systems, Micron, Hewlett Packard, Genworth Financial, US Fish and Wildlife, US Air Force, Women Council of Realtors and National Association of Mental Health. He has been the motivational speaker for the successful Boise State Football Team since 1998. Dr. Kituku works have been featured by numerous publications including the Presentations Magazine, SkyWest Magazine, National Speakers Association Magazine and many newspapers which publish his weekly columns. Vincent holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation that is earned by fewer than 7% of all speakers worldwide.
 


If results are important to you, then
Dr Vincent Muli Kituku is the speaker/trainer for your group.
Call (208) 376-8724, or email Vincent directly at Vincent@kituku.com



Read Dr. Kituku’s newest articles online at: www.kituku.com, Idahopress.com, Casper Star Tribune Idahostatesman.com, Argus Observer, Business IQ, Post Register, Idaho Catholic Register, Idaho Press Tribune, Idaho Senior Citizen News, and Presentations Magazine.

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