The product Zoop, from the Denver Zoo, represents creativity at its best. Zoop is nothing but manure made from animal droppings at the Denver zoo. It is dung! Information on the 3-lbs. container says that, “ZOOP is an exotic manure-based compost produced from the waste of conscientious recycling-minded animals residing at the Denver zoo.” The cost for 3 lbs. of Zoop is about $10 and when you add shipping and handling, you are paying approximately $20.

I first heard about Zoop from Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE. I just had to hold it, own it and keep it in my office as a constant reminder that all one needs to thrive in any endeavor is creativity. Suffice to say, creativity need not even come up with something new, but can find new uses for whatever is already available.

As a native of Kenya, the world’s premier home of wildlife, I couldn’t help but think of one fact: some portion of ZOOP is from exotic animals originating in African lands millions call home. However, we never made a dime from wild animals’ manure.

Looking at this Zoop thing from another perspective, I realized I am a seasoned backyard gardener who for years have bought steer manure (don’t ask me why they call it steer manure not bull or cow manure) about 20-30 lbs. for $1.99. Yet 3 lbs. of Zoop costs a whopping $10.

Creativity in this case is packaging an existing item in a way people will purchase (at a premium price) out of curiosity (in my situation), emotional attachment, or pure ignorance. Manure from any herbivore will most likely give you the same results, whether from a cow, moose, or impala. Manure is manure.

What differentiates ZOOP from the rest, in my opinion, is how it’s presented with an angle to increase its perceived value. It is a small package with a simple appealing marketing pitch: 100% ORGANIC… MADE FROM THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE ANIMALS AT THE DENVER ZOO.” Another section reads, “A LITTLE ZOOP GOES A LONG WAY.”

Do you have an idea, skill, talent or product that can be presented to people in a new form? It is astonishing how people get rewarded for turning ordinary items into products people want to buy. Animal dung anywhere is still animal dung; yet Zoop is capturing people’s attention.

What can you do with what you already have? Are the resources (skills, talents and experiences) that you already have being used in the most rewarding manner? If not, what can you do about? What are you waiting for?

Zoop reminds us the old wisdom that mashed potatoes anywhere is still mashed potatoes. What people change is the gravy. Add the best “gravy” to whatever resources you have and begin your journey of fulfilling endeavors.
 

They are not on front pages. You may never read about them or hear their names in their playing days. But you will know their attachment to the sport they love long after those who had names on the front pages are long forgotten. Their spectacular performance in something they believe in and are passionate about is evident in their contribution to it long after the days of their obscurity are gone.

Take Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who died at 74. The AP Sports, last December quoted Woody Johnson, New York Jets CEO saying, “In creating the AFL, he likely did more to change the NFL over the last half-century than any other single person. Without Lamar Hunt, there would be no Super Bowl, a term he originally coined, and there would not be a New York Jets Franchise."

The article written by Doug Tucker revealed that Lamar Hunt played football at SMU, a third-string end. In college his name and his abilities were largely unpublicized. After his college third-string days were over, Lamar’s abilities and love for games needed no publicizing.

Two people in my life, both third-stringers, prompted me to research a bit on the thinking and circumstances that brings forth attributes so special during what many may consider as their prime time.

Bryan Harsin, the offense coordinator of the Boise State Football Team, was a third-string quarterback when I started giving motivational speeches to the team in the late 90s. I can’t recall talking with him. I can’t recall hearing his name or reading about him in the Idaho Statesman, the major local daily newspaper. But what Bryan has done, within the shortest imaginable time, with his offensive mastery has landed his name where his playing days didn’t. I had to interview him.

“What motivated you to stick with a sport that you didn’t get playing time during your college days?” I asked Bryan. “I love football and devoted my energy and focus in practice every week as if I was the starter…and you never know when you might end-up being a starter” he answered.

What got my attention most was Bryan’s description of how the coaches treated him. “I was treated as the quarterback, not as third stringer. In practice we were equal and on game day we all wore our uniform” he said. We visited for about 45 minutes. I learned about his transition from a third-string player to offense coordinator.

Bryan said, “I mentioned to Dan Hawkins, the head assistant coach that I had thought of being a coach. Dan closed the door and talked with me for about 90 minutes. I couldn’t believe it.” You had to be in the office to see Bryan’s expression as he recalled that visit. He finished his undergraduate and Dan Hawkins became the head coach of the BSU Broncos Football Team.

Bryan told me that he stopped by the football office and found Dan making calls to recruit a graduate assistant. When Dan saw Bryan, he stopped making the calls. He had his man. The rest is history. We all saw the calls Bryan made at the Fiesta Bowl game as he and the 2006 Broncos established their presence in the world of elite football teams.

A third-stringer, who turns into a spectacular performer, has to believe in what his is involved in. Positive treatment and encouragement are crucial. He has to take advantage of the opportunity to further his craft.
 

What you may know is that my mother bought me my first underwear at thirteen (a milestone I celebrated by putting that thing on and pulling it up to make sure my peers noticed that social promotion—that is once she told me that the tag goes on the back). You also may be aware of how she came to visit me at Kangundo Hospital, where I was admitted suffering from Malaria, and then she removed her shoes and handed them to me—I was 17.

What is astonishing is how much my mother, a sixth-grade dropout, influenced my life—a revelation I am going through since she came to visit my family early this month. It is our first time to see her since our ten-year-old son was one month old. I was still employed in the corporate world. It was before I had a weekly column and I had yet to become a professional speaker and a coach on professional and personal endeavors.

Her father’s decision to educate sons rather than invest in a daughter who would eventually marry ended mother’s future in the academic world. She, however, had acquired an education that would jumpstart my learning experience. Mother used to prepare a small portion of the ground outside the mud structure we called our house and used it as blackboard or writing pad to teach me A-B-Cs, 1-2-3s, and simple words. If there was wind, class was cancelled. If it rained, it was an holiday.

The East African Folktales book that I wrote in 1997 was an extension of my mother. She taught me stories and listened to my childish stories. But in that basic existence, mother passed on to me what I now do in my calling as speaker, writer and seminar leader.
 

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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