Speaker Works To Bring About Positive Change In People’s Lives

Motivational speaker Joshua Coburn engages OMS students at a recent assembly at George Daily Auditorium.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Kindness and acceptance of one another can be easy to talk about, but finding a way to implement those actions into everyday life can be difficult.

Motivational speaker Joshua Coburn brought those topics to a real world level for the Oskaloosa Middle School population this past week.

The series of area events was hosted by the Kindness Revolution, and includes Kelli Steil, State Farm, Legacy Real Estate, and Bank Iowa as financial sponsors to help make the conversation happen.

Coburn’s speech and demonstrations, helped OMS students understand that they are not as different as they may think themselves to be, or, just as importantly, others are not so different from them.

OMS Principal Andy Hotek said, “the message of kindness and treating people with respect is the best message we could give our young people.”

“We have great kids in our school and Mr. Coburn’s message was just really well received,” added Hotek.

Steil said that the Kindness Revolution has been focused on “paying it forward, doing nice things for everybody in the community, and rewarding others who do nice things in the community.”

Steil said that many parents have reached out indicating that bullying was a big issue, “not just here but all over”.

“We decided that bringing a motivational speaker in and not really talking about bullying, but really talking about being kind would be a good place to start,” added Steil.

Steil said that she’s seen Coburn “connect” with students at his events. Crying and laughing and smiles were a common sight during the speeches. “Even if helps just one child, it’s worth it.”

Connecting with his audience, Coburn says that he was middle-school-aged when he saw a speaker who had a good message, but couldn’t relate. “I knew what I was feeling at that age.”

Coburn says that he goes back to that time in his life, “and I pull those stories forward. I remind them that I’m there, I get you. I put myself back there. Sometimes I cry when I’m on stage.”

Coburn said that during his speech at North Mahaska School the night before, he cried on stage while sharing his message. “It’s real, it’s honest. Peel the scabs back essentially.”

“Pulling the emotion into this is really how it works,” says Coburn. “I tell stories.”

Today’s work can be a little toxic, even among adults, when he shares his message of positivity in a world of great divide. “I think it’s more important than it’s ever been”, says Coburn. “I’m not diminishing its importance from the past, but now with social media, you can’t leave a toxic workplace and go home and have it end. Or a toxic school and have it end. It’s at your fingertips all over again.”

“The more we put out, the more positive we are, the more good we put in the world, the more we get back,” said Coburn.

Coburn’s time in Mahaska County marked the end of his current speaking engagements, as he prepares to travel to various destinations to, not only recharge himself, but to gain a better understanding, and to be able to speak about different cultures. “I need to get immersed in those cultures, because we, as Americans, think we have it bad because we have a flat tire or our iPhone screen broke.”

Coburn said that when he has completed his time speaking, he’s exhausted. “I leave everything on the stage. It use to be I couldn’t even do more than one event in a day, because I would ache. My body would physically ache. I’d be sick for 2 days. It use to be I’d give everything, so much, I couldn’t self-regulate.”

Coburn added that he’s learned how to regulate himself while giving presentations, “but it really is about giving everything when I’m out there. That’s why sometimes I cry. I’ve told the stories thousands of times, but it still hits me, because I’m reliving it in those moments that I’m giving it away.”

“So when I’m done, I’ve given my energy,” says Coburn.

You can learn more about Coburn at his website – http://www.joshuacoburn.com/ or on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorjoshuacoburn/

Posted by on Mar 30 2017. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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