You Are Not Desperate
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
One fateful morning, while I was a young undergraduate student at the university, many years ago, I was embarrassed when the hostel warden, seething with anger and spitting fire, forced his way into my room and kicked me out for failing to pay rent in time. It was an undesirable way to welcome a new day. The unwelcome visitation reduced me to a picture of despair and clouded my day with gloom. My pride was battered, but the warden wasn’t in the mood to play nice. Whatever lingering hope I might have had to convince him to reconsider his decision and give me a little more time, all but evaporated. I was left with no further energy to try talking him down. 4 You are not Desperate You are not Desperate 5 I accepted to cut my losses as my pride sank to the bottom of the sea of shame. At a time when I was supposed to be preparing for my exams, I found my ‘broke-unable-to-pay rent’ self heading back home, in the hope that my old man would find some quick solution to my predicament. Reading the indignation on my face, as I narrated the ordeal to him, my father responded: “We are not desperate!” That was all I needed to hear for my ego to rise again. Once more, I felt the pride to stand tall and feel rich. Dad went on to explain that the shortfall in the cash flow had been caused by a debtor who had failed to pay back in time as agreed. He reminded me that we owned houses, pieces of land, a farm and a construction business, though our debtors were at times unfaithful. The discussion went on and on, with him assuring me that within two weeks we would have the money to clear the rent, before concluding with his favorite saying: “You are not desperate!” This was one of the moments that dad spoke to me at length on a subject that later proved to be a lifelong lesson. Well, he had always done the same with every other member of the family. He was always positive-minded and took advantage of every opportunity available to infuse that positive-mindedness into, his children. Whenever any of us was depressed over anything, dad would encourage us to look at the bigger picture, pick up the broken pieces and move on. In most cases, he would labor to build on our strengths before making his trademark conclusion: “You are not desperate!”
Select Format
Book Details
About the Book
You Are Not Desperate is a book written in a unique style, each of the seventeen stories presented for the purposes of teaching a different lesson. The reflective questions at the end of each lesson have been carefully thought out to equip the reader with priceless individual benefits from the applied lesson. Indeed this book comes as a torch to a generation that has all the reasons to wander in the darkness of negativity.
As evidenced by the messages in this book, Stephan has purposed to empower individuals to soar beyond their past and present limitations in strategizing for their preferred future. In this, his debut book, he makes use of a unique storytelling technique to drive various lessons home.
“Stephan is an acclaimed expert at dealing with life’s negatives in an authentically positive way,” commented one of the fans who was touched by Stephan’s poetry performance.
One of his inspiring philosophies is that “when we keep going, we find ourselves headed for great things.” —David Job Kabbala; Area Marketing Manager, British American Tobacco, Uganda
About the Author
Over the years, Stephan Kiyemba has been involved in marketing, branding, customer coverage models, and strategic planning for several multinational companies in Uganda. During this time, he also pursued his passions in the areas of Christian mentoring, motivational speaking, and teaching through various platforms such as poetry clubs and church meetings. Stephan is married to Winfred, who has played an instrumental role in creating time for his writing.