BAD BAD Apples Newsletter

Every Quarter, Rodger and I will be writing a newsletter to share with our family and friends. Here is a photo copy of this quarters edition of "The Slice!"

Speech Coaching

“Selling your Apple” – Delivering Speeches with value and impact!

Weather you are preparing yourself for a Wedding Toast, Work Presentation, Acceptance Speech, Award Ceremony, Graduation Speech or a Keynote Performance, Glossophobia can strike…the fear of speaking in public. Public speaking is the number one fear of people worldwide.

Apples are like speeches. They have value and impact. That value and impact are recognized when presented clearly and passionately.

Speaking in public can be very rewarding. To have a great experience, you need the proper tools, practice, time and engaging teachers. You need someone to take you from fearing public speaking to enjoying the sweet success of presenting.

The BAD BAD Apples have traveled the world delivering messages that have inspired, educated and entertained thousands. They will design and customize a program that provides you the opportunity to shine the next time you deliver a speech, lecture or presentation.

TESTIMONIALS

Karen Boswell

My name is Karen Boswell. I have worked with Frank Kitchen at the Phoenix Zoo for over 2 years now since 2009.

Frank was asked by management to help observe and train the Trail Guide staff. When my turn came up he was smiling while I gave my talk on Elephants. When I was done I asked for his comments. He smiled wider and said "Karen your content was excellent. No problem there, but what I saw surprised me. You are shy! You are not comfortable promoting yourself! The public needs to know why you are here, who you are, and where your next talk is!" I laughed too, because he was SO right! I was not aware of my shyness, but when he brought it to my attention he was spot on!

I am your Experience Guide at the Phoenix Zoo! My name is Karen Boswell! After we talk about Elephants I will be available to answer your questions! My next talk will be at the Flamingo exhibit at 11 AM. See you there!

Thanks Frank, your advice was so simple yet so effective!

Frank Kitchen CAN help improve your public speaking skills! I highly recommend him!

Oloho Delano

I remember when I first started college, I didn’t really know what to expect. When I was in high school, I believed that college was something for the really smart kids. For me, going to college to accomplish my dream of being a doctor seemed impossible, because I stuttered. I was raised to work hard, get a factory job, and pay bills, and ultimately that’s what I did. I got into a great company, making great money, with great benefits, but there was one thing wrong, I wasn’t happy. Deep down inside I knew that the factory life wasn’t for me. It was great work, but it didn’t utilize the skills that I believed I had somewhere inside me. I knew that I had to go to college, but how do you quit a great job? Where would I start? Could I do it? I didn’t know, but something drove me to figure it out. I told myself that if I was going to do it that I was going to give it my best effort, and whatever happens, happens, and I went for it.

One of the first people that I met was Frank Kitchen. Here’s this tall, slender guy who was always smiling and always positive. I was like, what’s wrong with this guy no one can be that happy all the time! But there was one thing that really drew me to him, his genuine love for people. And that gift that Frank has inspired me to perform my first speech ever in my entire life. Actually it was a speech that I wrote for him to speak, but he wouldn’t do it. He told me, “You wrote it, you have to do it,” and he just stood there smiling. And I’m thinking, “what an ass! I don’t do public speaking.” But deep down inside I really did want to do it, but I conditioned myself so well to fear speaking because of my stutter that I really believed that it was impossible. But Frank worked with me, coached me, and told me to go do it! Well, I did it, and then went on to do several more speeches, and today I coach and inspire high school students to be all they can be.

What Frank did for me, he can do for anyone who attends his coaching seminars. Whether or not you believe you can do it or not, just show up, and let Frank do the rest. If you really have a desire to get better at public speaking you won’t be disappointed! Just show up, smile, and start speaking. Like Frank told me, just do it!

From a lifetime friend,

Oloho

Danny Fortes

I was scared to do a Best Man's speech at my friends wedding. After watching Frank give an awesome speech at an event I attended. I asked him for a few pointers because I was dreading the whole experience the wedding was less than a month away. Frank gave me a half a dozen solid pointers from start to finish. From there I drafted my speech and implemented every tip he gave me. My speech was awesome!!! I got so many compliments from people who were in attendance. He has now given me the confidence to do public speaking. Thanks Frank you have a talent for teaching.

Emily Awbrey

Ever since middle school I have had a fear of getting in front of people to present information or give a speech. I even avoided taking speech class in high school.

Now, as a business professional, I have been requested to give presentations and I would continue to pawn it off on someone else to avoid the spotlight. Naturally, I have an outgoing personality and believe I could actually be good at public speaking. I was ready to face this fear and give public speaking a shot, so when I was asked to participate on a panel discussion at a state-wide conference I felt it was time to step up to the plate.

About a month prior to the panel discussion, I discovered Frank Kitchen, a friend, was a professional speaker and coach, and kindly asked for assistance. Frank was more than happy to help me and actually got me excited about the event.

He worked me one-on-one to discover my root issues with speaking and designed a plan to conquer these issues. Working through this process allowed me to properly prepare myself and deliver a thoughtful, informative discussion with no voice quivers! It was a great success and I really could not have done it without Frank!

Thank you Frank for your encouragement and determination in seeing me through this process!

End of the Line

Kelly and I have been spending more time lately finding interesting documentaries to watch. It's fun to learn about other parts of the world.

This past weekend we watch the documentary "End of the Line." It focuses on how we are over fishing our oceans and how greed and looking at the short term will hurt future generations.

If you're looking for something interesting to watch. Click on one of the links below.

End of the Line Website
End of the Line Movie (FREE to WATCH)

Birdie!

I'm have a long list of goals I want to achieve and experience.

I call my list, my Grocery List. Its a life time list of wants and needs. It's a cool feeling to cross off items on the list.

One of my goals this year is to play more golf. I moved the golf mecca of Phoenix about five years ago from Ohio. As soon as I moved here I stopped playing. One reason was golf is expensive. The other reason wadi had no money. No money no golf.

I'm working on both situations this year. My grocery list has a several golf accomplishments on it. One is to score a "birdie" on a hole. That means I score one under par on a given hole. Which means it takes me one stroke less than what is expected for that hole.

Last week at the Mountain Shadows Golf Course in Paradise Valley, Arizona the golf gods smiled on me. After not playing golf for almost two years, I scored my first birdie ever. I've come close before, but nothing.

My friend Ryan and my father-in-law were there to witness my triumph. They also saw me loose about 6 golf balls, hit a hotel, hit two streets, hit a wall, hit a ball on the driving range when I wasn't practicing and double hit a ball. All the bad shots went away when I accomplished my dream in Hole #15.

Good Luck achieving your dreams!

Best Buddies R-Word Video

Last month I got a chance to shoot a video with my friend Dakota. The videos educate people about the use of the R-Word. Watch, learn and enjoy!

Inspring Review

I get the opportunity from time to time to inspire and motivate people. I encourage them to achieve in creative ways. It 's a passion and something I enjoy doing.

I recently had someone ask me, who do you go to for inspiration. I go to my wife, family members, friends and I read interesting stories. Hearing people say thank you or showing signs of appreciation are very inspiring too.

This weekend I was inspired by an e-mail I received from a young woman in Arizona who purchased me book. We used to work together, but hadn't seen or talked to each other in about a year.

We met at a local Starbucks to catch up and for me to give her a signed copy of my book. We didn't have much time to talk, but she thanked me for the book.

To my surprise, I found a nice e-mail waiting for me the next day.

Here's part of what Sara wrote:

I read a lot, and the thing that keeps me most interested in a book is when it speaks to me on a personal level. I sense that your book has done that for a lot of people. You speak the truth in a way that isn't harsh or condescending, and instead gives hope that life can improve, and that the reader is more than capable of making the necessary changes on their own. It's fun, honest, and heartfelt. I feel privileged to know you, and grateful to have my very own copy of Fresh From the Kitchen! I hope that you are able to take the path you want in life, as I'm certain you've led many to their own desired path. Take care, Frank, and stay in touch.

If you ever feel like you're not going in the right direction; something will appear to let you know which way to go.

For me, I'm going to keep using written and spoken words to assist people find the right path and head the right direction.

Thank you Sara.

Arizona FCCLA Conference

Yesterday I was given the great opportunity to attend the Arizona Family, Career and Community Leaders of America State Leadership Conference. My good friend Dakota Johns was invited to speak. I help coach Dakota with his speeches and at 17 years old, he his blowing people away with his abilities.

Dakota invited me to the conference to give his introduction and pump up the audience. It's fun being a part of his "entourage." I kind of feel like a crops between his hype man, manager, coach, friend and tech crew.

There was a lot of energy for the speakers and Dakota's parents sitting in the front row made things perfect.

Dakota is an advocate for people with disabilities. He's been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, but he doesn't let his diagnosis prevent him for pursuing his dream to be a speaker.

After Dakota spoke we got to watch Keynote Speaker Justin Boudreaux speak. The keynote was amazing. His three points in life were spot on.

Opportunities are taken not given
Connect to your dreams
Accept yourself

Great points proved by people who inspire me, just like Dakota. He follows those three steps everyday.

Enjoy some pics from the conference.

Book of the Month

My goal this year is to read 12 books. I'm off to a slow start, but will be picking up pace soon.

My recommended read this month is "Delivering Happiness." It's written by the CEO of Zappos. Tony Hsieh. The book is one of the few books I recommend that people buy and keep.

It talks about how the Zappos company created a culture and environment that people want to work in and work with. The theories in the book are very straight forward and easy to understand, but give the reader a great perspective on life and how to find happiness.

To learn more about the book, click the link below

http://www.deliveringhappiness.com/

B.A.D. to the Core

I work as part of the Motivational Speaking Duo called "The BAD BAD Apples." We believe B.A.D. is a way of life! It means if you would like to achieve or be successful you have to be B.A.D. The means you have to have Belief, Action and Determination. You also need to Build And Develop.

Our mission is simple – Encouraging others to achieve in creative ways

We are B.A.D. to the Core! Here are our core values!

-Values to establish Belief Action and Determination and to Build and Develop

1. Create an environment of growth, which is rich in communication, creativity,

knowledge and fun.

2. Life Happens. What is good for family is good for business. Family is our highest

priority.

3. Always pursue positive life experiences.

4. All decisions will be short term focused with long-term perspective.

5. Customer Service will be relational focused and not monetarily focused.

6. Business opportunities will be aligned with areas of passion and interest.

7. Enjoy life, get the full experience and celebrate the little things

Great Quote

Photo from the White Tank Mountains State Park, Arizona

Been working hard lately to live the life Kelly and I believe we were put on this earth to live. It's hard work and sometimes we need some inspiration. Inspiration can come from many different places. I get a lot of inspiration from quotes.

This quote really inspired me today.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what make you come alive, and do that, because what the world needs is people who come alive." Gil Baile

Blast from the Past

Almost 5 years ago, I was invited to the University of Miami Florida to help the students in an attempt to break the Guinness Book world record for Simon Says. It was freshman orientation and we had almost 2,000 people in the area for the event.

We fell 70 people short of the record.

I think it's time for me to make a second attempt at the record.

It fun to think that I've been apart of two attempts to break a Guinness Book World Record. The first two just missed, so the third time is probably the charm.

Read the link below to hear more about my attempt 5 years ago!

http://www6.miami.edu/news/everitas/2007-08/08-23-07.html

Don't be a Victim

I was recently speaking with a group of friends and we started talking about life. We discussed how people of action truly live life.

We also discussed how people who complain and blame never go anywhere. We said they become victims. I had to look up the definition.

victim |ˈviktəm|
noun
a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.
• a person who is tricked or duped : the victim of a hoax.
• a living creature killed as a sacrifice.

PHRASES
fall victim to be hurt, killed, damaged, or destroyed by : many streams have fallen victim to the recent drought.

ORIGIN late 15th cent. (denoting a creature killed as a religious sacrifice): from Latin victim.

This is when I made the quote:
"Blaming and Complaining allows us to be victimized"
My friends had me improve the quote:
"When you Blame and Complain you victimize yourself!"

The American Way has become to blame someone else or complain. We don't take any personal responsibility for our actions or choices. We just blame and complain and go no where. The people of action do something to make a change. They don't allow themselves to be hurt, duped, fooled, injured or sacrificed.

The next time you spend a huge amount of time blame and complaining, realize all you're doing is make yourself the victim. You are allowing yourself to be hurt, duped, fooled, injured, sacrificed or killed!

I don't think you want those things to happen. Turn and face the dangers don't allow yourself to be a victim.

Do you Dread Life? (Part II)

dread |dred|
verb [ trans. ]
anticipate with great apprehension or fear : Jane was dreading the party | [with infinitive ] I dread to think what Russell will say.
• archaic regard with great awe or reverence.

Has life turned out the way you expected? Do you like your job? Do you like your situation in life? Do you feel things are harder for you than others? Do you have a hard time getting out of bed? Do you constantly ask yourself, "why me?" Do you feel your job hinders your life more than making it happen?

I can truly type that I ask and answer the questions above. Most of my blog posts show off the good points of my life, but every now and then I'll post something about the not so good.

Today is the not so good, or the truth about being an aspiring professional speaker.

Over five years ago, I began the adventure to pursue something I am truly passionate about. I'll admit, I've done things right and I've made more than a few mistakes. Through it all I was working towards my passion. The problem is, there are lots of roadblocks, detours and natural disasters that occur when you are chasing after your passion. These are days when you can't work on your passion. These days can lead to you dreading life. The question is, what will you do to change that dread.

Many people have heard the comment "starving artist" or "struggling artist." They are so true. When I have to the opportunity to speak and perform, the feeling is amazing. They pay is "really" good and I feel alive. Then just like that, I can go weeks or months before I feel that way again. As I said, the pay is and can be "really" good when you are working, but when you're not working, you're not getting paid. The fear of how do I live and support my family become very overwhelming. I am forced to find other forms of income.

Life is not easy. We have responsibilities. Many of them are financial. When you're not getting paid you have to find ways to pay the bills. For me, this means looking for work or in many cases Part-time jobs. Everyone thinks I should be able to get a great job with not problem. I wish that was true. I can't even get an interview. Over the years, I've chosen to accept a variety of part-time jobs. Many of these jobs make me feel less than I am because there is no sense of satisfaction, no real purpose or goal, the pay stinks (Companies, minimum wage doesn't meet minimum living standards) and motivation to enjoy life is very low.

I have a great resume, college education, great references, a ton of experience and a proven track record of successes. But, just like so many, I'm left scratching my head wondering why I can't find something satisfying and will pay the bills and allow me and my wife to save for the future or treat ourselves to the occasional treat. I often think how can we have a family living this way.

When I'm not speaking, I put us situations that allows unsatisfying jobs to dictate our lives.

Over the years, I've applied to work several jobs. Some, I said I would never work or apply for. Some have been better than expected, but most have been what was expected. A few examples are below

I spent time renting cars for Enterprise Rental Cars. It was advertised as management job. it wasn't. They may go down as the worst employer I have EVER worked for. If you're ever thinking about working for them, don't do it.

I worked for the Phoenix Zoo. It was a good three years. I learned a lot and met lots of good people, but working for a non-profit doesn't pay your bills and the commute was just too long. Thank you Oil companies for affordable fuel.

Right now I work at Bed, Bath and Beyond (BBB). I stock shelves, work a register and clean toilets at night. I feel really glamorous after performing in front of hundreds of people one night, I change lives. The next day the ego takes a hit by working retail. I get tired of hearing why are you here, you could do so much better. Or I hear "why aren't you a manager, you act like one." (I teach and train managers and leaders nationwide) I often ask myself. "Why am I here?" BBB has proven to me why I got out of retail so many years ago. Retail is not fun to work in. Customers aren't happy because of poor customer service and low quality merchandise. Retailers say they believe in "customer service," but most of the time they just want you to push items on customers that are poor quality and no one wants. Which is the opposite of customer service. There are many times where corporate decisions leave employees performing damage control while being yelled at by customers. I'll admit BBB is flexible with my schedule. Most jobs probably would have fired me by now, but to be honest I have no motivation to go to work other than collecting a check in the attempt to pay our bills (my college loan and other bills I racked up pursuing my education.). I have no long term future with BBB and it will probably be shorter after posting this blog. But, the honesty really makes me feel better.

I do have two things I enjoy doing. I'm working as a Food Tour guide in Phoenix, Arizona and working as Respite Care provider for a local non-profit. I really like the work I do for them, but the hours aren't consistent, which means I'm always on the lookout for other ways to fill the gaps. That's right, outside of speaking, I'm working three jobs. All of this just to attempt to pay the bills. I'm not complaining, but I do expect more of myself. I know I can do so much more.

I've applied for hundreds of jobs in the poor economy with no results. I've appeared on CNN and submitted articles to magazines. The rules of work hard, get an education and be rewarded are quickly becoming a fantasy. Truth is you can't just expect to be given a job. You can't rely on people you don't know to care about you. You can't put your fate in the hands of the wrong people. The United States wasn't built by people who said, "I'm going to the US to find a job." it was built by people who said they were going to make something happen.

I'm learning that you have to work hard and pursue what you are passionate about. The days I get to coach, speak or perform in front of people are the days I wake up ready to live life.

The days I have to wake up wondering what bill collectors is going to call, I go to jobs I don't like and I expect things to just happen that don't happen are the days I end up dreading.

The rules are changing. We all have to adjust to a new world. The days a good education leading to a good job are over. That expectation is greater than reality. When your expectations are greater than reality you will live a life of dread. We have to adjust to new realities and start making things happen. You have to pursue work that is satisfying and allows you to pursue a passion. This will motivate you to live life and not to live a life of dread. Learn from my experiences. Everyday I look for a job or perform just a job, it's not a good day. When I rely on people who don't know me or care about me, I get let down and dread what's next.

I was told recently that JOB = just over broke. I was also told to look up the definition of job in the dictionary. It said, Hebrew word meaning persecuted. I also have a friend that says we are meant to work, not to job.

The days I don't dread waking up are the days that I am chasing my dreams. They require a lot of work. The days I am working to make my dreams happen are fulfilling. I enjoy the days where I am rewarded spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically and fiscally for that work the I have done and believe in.

When none of the above happens, that is when we dread life. For me dreading life is about being forced to work jobs that don't advance me personally or professionally.

Don't be a victim of dread! Look yourself in the mirror and make something happen. Everytime I do that, good things happen!

Hudson Valley Community College

Next Wednesday, February 29th, I will be in Albany, NY to speak at Hudson Valley Community College. If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by and here me speak with my speaking partner Rodger Campbell. We are the BAD BAD Apples and we inspire people to experience success.

Get Naked

In December, I did a speech at Grand Canyon University in Arizona. The speech was on Drama and how it effects your life. During the speech I showed a slide that read "Get Naked."

Get Naked meant that we had to be honest with ourselves and the people around us. We often hide behind smoke and mirrors to make things appear real or better than they are. This false front supposedly will make us feel better, but all it really does is make us feel empty and causes us to lie to ourselves.

During my blog writing experience, there are times when I have been very "naked" and shared my true feelings and thoughts. There have also been points where I have only shown the good things. I did this to keep people motivated and inspired. I've learned over the years, that when I'm am truly honest and naked, people connect more with me and this blog. People are attracted to genuine people, thoughts, ideas and experiences.

Typing this blog is a little bit of therapy for me. When I'm feeling down, I can go and read the blog to lift my spirits. I can also use this blog to express my feelings in cyber space to clear my mind and not choke people or lash our in anger/emotion. It can be very calming.

I'll admit there are a lot of mistakes in spelling and grammer, but no one is perfect. We enjoy seeing that people are not perfect. I am far from it. I'm just good at being me and I thank all of you for reading about me to see what I'm up too. As always this blog is typed so I can Educate, Inspire and Entertain. There will be good days and not so good days that I will share, but it's me showing who I really am, sharing my thoughts and ideas. You may connect with some, you may not, but at least you'll know I'm being real.

Thank you for continuing t read. My goal is to post at least two blogs a week this year. Sometimes there will be more, sometimes there will be less. As long as I hit 104 by the end of 2012, all will be good. Feel free to suggest blogs for me to write.

You can e-mail me at Frank@badbadapples.com

Talented People

There are times we meet talented people in our life.

My neighbor Mike is one of those people. Everyday I come home I see him working on artwork for his brother. His brother is a children's dentist. Mike has been painting different Super Heroes for the office for the last year. It's fun to watch him start and finish. I've seen him make drawings of Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern,Superman and now Captain America.

Check out Mike's website to see more of his work. Http://www.kahlmike.com

Question for the week

I pose this question to all of my readers:

"Do you dread going to your job?"

I work several part-time jobs. One of them really drives me "CRAZY." I know I'm not the only person who feels this way, but after talking with other people recently, I realize how big a problem this is worldwide!

Be on the look out for my thoughts on this subject......

To Be Continued!

Fortune Cookie Quote of the Week

Went to dinner with Kelly to our favorite Chinese restaurant. At the end of the night, we got our fortune cookies and I read this great fortune.

"Discontent is the first necessity o progress."

Ready to Nosh

A few weeks ago, I responded to a posting for a Culinary Food Guide. The opportunity sounded fun. Company was looking for outgoing people to entertain and host groups on a guided food tour of downtown Phoenix. What does that mean? It's simple. Take people from restaurant to restaurant to show them a great time while enjoying GREAT food.

I take people to one restaurant for appetizers, then to another for dinner and finally end at another for dessert and "beverages." My job is to keep the conversations going. Make sure everyone has a great time and to order the food.

I'm not sure who has more fun the people who come on the tour or me. My rules are pretty simple, eat lots of food, meet and talk with new people and have fun.

The tours are put on by "Ready to Nosh." The company offers different tours around the United States. You can learn more about the tours by going to clicking HERE.

If you would like me as your tour guide, be sure to request me. We'll have a good time and have some YUMMY eats!

Radio Broadcast Part 2

Here is the rest of the interview from the "Breakthrough Thinking" radio on January 23, 2012.

Enjoy!

Click here to listen