In becoming forward pushing people

Most of the time, we are either forward or backward pushing people. To make my case, I bring to your attention my two equally important friends. Let's call them Mr. Boo and Ms. Foo. They provide me two opposing and contrasting perspectives and views. Today, I am going to introduce them to you and hope that they will do the same to you too.

First, let me introduce to you Mr. Boo. He describes himself like this: “I am a very practical, grounded, and realistic guy.” He celebrates his past and measures his progress based on his previous accomplishments. Likewise, he values people according to their past performances and judges them based on the mistakes they have committed. He is skeptic about people who are optimistic, positive, and visionary. For example, he complains about my other friend Ms. Foo by saying: “She is unrealistic, out of touch, and a dreamer.”

On the other hand, Ms. Foo explains herself proudly as follows: “I am a reasonable, optimistic, and visionary person.” She takes lessons from her past in order to help her better perform now and most importantly in the future. She strongly believes that her worst days are behind, and her best days are ahead. When she relates with others, she focuses more on their strength, where they are going, and in their future. If she ever goes back into someone’s past, this is to point out those weaknesses, failures, and mistakes to help that person draws lessons and uses them to push himself or herself forward. Ms. Foo doesn’t normally complain about others. However, I pushed her a little bit and asked her to express her views about Mr. Boo. Finally, she gave up and said, “You know him. He is a status quo maintainer, pessimistic, and picky.”

If we want to be successful, we should be people who have positive outlook about others. We should also become forward pushing individuals. Rather than focusing where people have been, and what they have done wrong, we should focus on their passion and help them achieve their dream. We should also hang out with people like Ms. Foo who stretches, encourages, and supports us as we pursue our vision.

I truly believe that Toastmasters are like Ms. Foo and hang out with people like themselves such as positive, encouraging, and visionary people. We should be grateful since Toastmasters has given us this wonderful chance to be with people who are like Ms. Foo. Twice a month, positive, visionary, and reasonable people gather to support one another focusing on their future and vision. We have people who provide us positive and constructive feedbacks that would improve our speaking skills.

Of course, there are people in our life who are like Mr. Boo whom we cannot do anything about except loving and serving them. They could be our relatives, neighbors, and colleagues at work. We were born into a family and we cannot change that. We are working in an organization and we should have wisdom on how to cooperate and get along with such personalities, at least, until we change the job.

As I prepare for this message, I asked Ms. Foo to give me three tips that may help develop a personality like her:

·  “First, to become positive,” she said, “Audit your personality continually and turn negative and pessimistic characters into positive and optimistic.”

·  “Second,” she pointed out, “It is possible to turn around back-pushing people into forward-pushing. To achieve that, someone should be a positive influencer!” By the way, she doesn’t mind for my being a friend of Mr. Boo. For that matter, she encourages me to take him to Toastmasters so that he may turn from backward to forward pushing person. I heeded to her advice, and therefore, I am planning to bring him here one of these days.

·  “Third,” she stressed, “Association matters. It isn’t enough to be in a positive atmosphere once in awhile. Attract and maintain friends, colleagues, and partners who are positive, constructive, and visionaries.”

Don’t you like Ms. Foo? Hope, you do. If that is the case, let’s apply Ms. Foo’s advices and become positive and forward pushing people here at Toastmasters, in our place of residence, work, and wherever we find ourselves. Let's also use all the available opportunities here at Toastmasters and become extraordinary forward pushing people.

Club 1314 Does it Again

WOW,

Let me tell you if you missed last night’s Toastmasters meeting, I just want to let you know that you missed a great meeting. Silver Spring Toastmaster 1314 did it again.

First the mini storm had me wondering if there would be a meeting, would we have power? would there be down trees and power lines surrounding Marvin Memorial? would we have to swim to get there?  Then the rain stopped and there was still power around four corners and we proceeded with our meeting.  

A few highlights;

·        Mike Nolan as always did a fantastic job as TMOE, he pulled it all together so that we all enjoyed the meeting

·        Congrats to Mike Nolan on his Life Time Achievement Award, this a special award given to Mike for his tireless commitment to Toastmasters

·        Congrats to Una Kettering on her award as Division Governor of the Year

·        Congrats to Mel Bayo on his award as Area Governor of the Year

·        Four great and informative speeches, thanks Una, Assegid, Fiona and Clarence

      Merlyn's  unique approach on Table Topics had us all thinking about Toastmasters

·        Fiona completed her 10^th speech last night and in a few days will be known as Fiona Morrissey, CC

·        Clarence is on his way to Orlando, FL next month to compete at the Internal Convention,  Good Luck Clarence

·        We had our new Area Governor in attendance at the meeting, Welcome Andrea Tolbert

·        Welcome our newest Toastmaster Yanique Redwood.  Yanique has already signed up for an agenda role for our next meeting, YEAH!

The snacks was very healthy, except for the oatmeal and raisins cookies, wait a minute, there was oatmeal and there was sraisins, in my book that qualifys as a snack healthy also!

A special thank you to all the Super Sports and you know who you are!

Alright now that you see what you missed, don’t miss the next meeting, August 1^st, the agenda is already posted and roles are being filled as we speak, do not miss this opportunity to get your speeches in, there is a lot to tell us about, Did you lose power in the storm?  How was your 4^th of July?  Did you catch the bouquet at the wedding? Are you getting married soon?  Tell us your stories they make great speeches 

Oh one more thing our Club Contest is just around the corner,  Table Topics and Humorous Speeches, stay tuned for the date and don't be late.

New beginnings for Silver Spring Toastmasters Club 1314

Mel thanking Club Officers (2011-2012) for the job well done

The meeting on Wednesday June 20, 2012 was a new beginning because:

1. New Club Officers were inducted, and

2. Two new CC’s were achieved by Drew Kolody and Renee Davis. 

Congratulations to Drew and Renee!!!

What a fantastic year it has been, thanks to Club Officers of the year 2011-2012. Lots of milestones were achieved including the most prestigious award: President's Distinguished Club.

Mel inducting the new Club Officers (2012-2013)

The new Officers of Silver Spring Toastmasters Club 1314 for the year 2012-13 Pauline Brown, President; Renee Davis, VP Education; Desiree Payne, VP Membership; Shirley Jarvis, VP Public Relations; Mel Bayo, Treasurer; Ellen Segal, Sergeant-at-Arms; and me Assegid Habtewold, Secretary installed by immediate Past Area 62 Governor, Mel Bayo. 

Una-Mae Kettering, immediate past Division F Governor, took the turn and inducted Mel. The ceremony was terrific and full of fun.

Una inducting Mel

Representing the previous leadership, Joan Phillips- the immediate past President of our Club beautified the event by awarding orange flowers to both past and newly inducted Club Officers. Joan’s color choice was purposeful. It was the Club’s color- orange which, according to Joan, is “a powerful color evocative of activity, fun, socialization, and more.”

Mel Bayo, the Toastmaster of the Evening, artfully led the event and made it colorful. Below are the three inspirational speeches from three great communicators:

1. “Give One Piece a Chance” by Drew Kolody
2. “I Have a Dream” by Renee Davis
3. “Be the Spark” by Myrln Kettering

Every new beginning starts with a “Dream”, says, the new President of our Club Pauline Brown. Both Renee and Merlyn made reference to Dr. Martin Luther King, who is synonymous with the word “Dream”. Drew also motivated us to listen NPR and some of us have already begun a new journey to listen Channel 88.5 FM.

What is more? We all profited from evaluations given by the Master Evaluator Myrln Kettering, and Evaluators of the three speeches enlisted above Fiona Morrissey, Desiree Payne, and Una-Mae Kettering.

We also received valuable feedbacks from our Timer Andy Jacobs and Grammarian/Wizard of Ahs Ignatius Cobb.

Many thanks to Mike Nolan and Una, we enjoyed your delicious refreshments during our social time. 


We were also so much happy to have three wonderful guests-Rebecca (from the neighborhood), Rebecca (from New Mexico), and Rich. We hope to see you again.

Thanks to Ignatius for the pics.


Keep your fingers crossed for another exciting and new Toastmasters year ahead...


Keep dreaming for another great new year: 2012-2013...

See you all on July 18, 2012. 

Living each day with a sense of urgency

When it comes to time management, there are three kinds of people: a) Those who abuse time as if they live forever, b) Those that live with a sense of urgency, and c) Those in between. I have been in these categories at some points in my life. What about you? In which category do you find yourself in this season of your life?

Time is one of the scarce resources in this world. We all have 24 hours per day and how we spend it determines our status in life now, and most importantly in the future. Paradoxically, whether we are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, known or obscure, we all have equal amount of time per day. If we lose the time we have today, we lose it forever. No rich, title, money or recognition can buy us back a fraction of second we have already spent.

On the other hand, if we lose our money, friendship, or health, we may get it back. That is not the case when it comes to time. Time is none renewable. That is why we need to enter into a sense of urgency to use our time on a daily basis wisely, effectively, consciously, and by pursuing those important things in our life, for which we care deeply.

We should also know that there is a direct correlation between using time efficiently and success. Successful people live with a sense of urgency and as if each day is their last. Accordingly,

1.   They allocate the chunk of their best time towards the accomplishment of those things they care the most.

2.   They don’t just make the time available though; they maximize it by investing their scarce resources.

3.   Not only that, they remain continuously aligned with those main things closer to their heart and exploit the time they have now and today regardless of so many distractions they may face every now and then, especially in this information age.

Unfortunately, we don’t find many people living each day with a sense of time. The majority of us fail to adopt this lifestyle and remain there for a very long period of time. There are, at least, three compounding factors that may disallow us from living each day with a sense of emergency and at the end of the day deny many of us success, significance, and most importantly fulfillment in life. These triads include but not limited to:

1.  Preoccupying with the past in the expense of the moment at hand. Talking, celebrating, or complaining about the past takes the majority of our time, focus, and energy. 

2.     Procrastination. By waiting too long until pursuing those crucial things in our life becomes too late or impossible. We pause or slow down today for better days ahead.

3.    Skepticism about the future. Some people have a very gloomy picture about the future that they forsake making each day count.

But, we should be careful from making a big mistake in the name of living each day with a sense of urgency. We shouldn’t make a blunder of entering into a pseudo sense of urgency. Therefore, we should familiarize ourselves with what is not a sense of urgency? For instance, sense of urgency doesn’t mean, we:

1.     Do things with a fast pace and all the time, without rest, and by ignoring some important tasks such as learning and growing on a daily basis. Sense of urgency doesn't mean that we do certain things in a fast paced without rest & in the expense of other important aspects of our life.

2.     Avoid our obligations in serving our communities, churches, and nations.

3.   Undermine other important aspects of our life such as our relationships, health, spirituality, and social life.

In conclusion, time is none renewable resource that we should maximize the time we have at hand and each day towards those things that are at most urgent in our life, things that matter the most. Yet, we should be cautious not to enter into a state of pseudo sense of urgency. We should also know that our success here at Toastmasters is determined by how much time we allocate for it and whether it is one of our priorities. We should also use every opportunity here in our club to improve our skill on how to use time wisely.

Prices of leadership

“No pain no gain!” You most probably heard this popular saying more often. It is universally accepted that if we desire to gain something, we should be ready to pay its worth. This is so true when it comes to leadership. If we desire to enjoy the full benefits of leadership, we should be ready to pay the attached prices.

We joined Toastmasters and started a rewarding journey towards becoming great communicators and leaders. It was a very smart decision. Toastmasters is the right place where one can improve his or her leadership skill. Indeed, the sky is the limit.

Yet, expecting to enjoy the accompanying advantages of leadership alone is never enough. It requires us to acquaint ourselves with the prices of leadership, and remind ourselves about them once in awhile. As we all know, anything valuable has a price tag. We even become suspicious if something valuable is available for free. Leadership is one of those worthy things that demand paying its dues. There is no free ride in leading our glorious destiny.

For that matter, when we look back in history, we notice that those successful leaders we admire shouldered the burden of leadership and passed through lots of challenges. These leaders, not just lived a quite and smooth life all the time, they also experienced chaotic moments and spent some time in the wilderness. Not only they drove on the highway, but also they walked through the valley at some points in their leadership journey.

Unfortunately, many people appreciate successful leaders, and the recognition, wealth, and power they possess and aspire to become leaders without counting the prices of these possessions. Many times, those who are inspired by the bright and good sides of leadership may find themselves shocked when they are confronted with lots of challenges they never thought exist. What is sad is that when they are faced with consistent obstacles as they lead towards achieving their dream, they think that it is odd and only happens against them. They may think that something isn’t right or they start to doubt themselves and whether they are capable to lead. They don’t consider passing through these challenges as part of the process. Some may even quit when the going gets tough.

Therefore, it is important to acknowledge the burden and count the prices of leadership ahead of time. When we do so, we are immunized and prepared to shoulder the various prices of leadership that may come in our way. When we actually pay the prices of leadership, we would become battle-tested leaders.

Leaders who impacted the most and left legacies are the ones who endured lots of challenges that shaped their character. While they were passing through challenges, they persisted till the end and that is why we admire and adore them. If we aspire to become great leaders, there is no short cut. We should be willing to pay the prices of leadership and get shaped in the process.

There are numerous prices of leadership. The size and magnitude of these prices may vary from person to person. We may face one or some or all of the following prices of leadership, and even more:

•       Scrutiny,
•       Ridicule,
•      Rejection,
•      Intimidation, and
•      Assassination.

When we were living without taking leadership in the area of our passion, no one cares. The moment we step out and take leadership initiatives, that is when some people may start to scrutinize us. They question whether we are capable and qualified to lead. They may go back in our past and try to find some dirt and weaknesses. When they see that we are firm and continued to lead regardless of intense scrutiny, they step up their price and start to ridicule us.  If we are persistent, some people reject our relationship to show us how much they distaste our life style of leadership. Many people reject you and leave you alone but some people are not nice. They may intimidate you using various mechanisms. You may not get thousands of intimidation letters per year like US Presidents that threaten their life but you may encounter some forms of intimidations.

If we are persistent and continue to pay the aforementioned prices, we may be challenged to pay the ultimate price. It is like in bidding. You should continue to pay until no one is matching your bid. Many great leaders we admire such as Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. paid the ultimate price, assassination. Nonetheless, many of us may not face assassination but at least, we may encounter character assassination. People may assassinate your character so that you may not have credibility. Without credibility, our leadership is lame.

The good news is that Toastmasters gives you the platform to equip yourself to lead. The environment at Toastmasters is supportive where you may begin as no body but ended up a great leader. You gain practical experiences of leadership and develop the necessary skills and character you need to endure challenges you may face outside of Toastmasters. There are lots of leadership opportunities that would prepare you to pay the prices of leadership while smiling. You will be shaped to endure challenges, and finally become a battle-tested leader.