“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
You have decided to pursue what you know to be your purpose in life, but the path to that purpose isn’t quite clear. You encounter obstacles or you have not come across favorable circumstances that will result in you achieving that purpose, that dream. As George Bernard Shaw stated in the previous quote, make them. Make your circumstances!
This means you have to be courageous and have a strong belief in yourself and your dreams. You must think of the ways you can connect to the people, places and things that will create those favorable circumstances. Ask yourself: 1) What actions do I have to take? 2) With whom do I have meet/talk? 3) Where do I have to go to be in the right place? Notice that “make” is a verb, an action word. Successful people often have to make the circumstances they need to fulfill their dreams. Make your circumstances!
Over the Holiday Season, I had the opportunity to assist the Sunday school teacher, Ms. Jeannie, at the church I attend with the children’s rehearsal for the Christmas play. She had me work with the kids that were assigned major roles in the play. I was very impressed by the children’s ability to memorize their lines in such a short timeframe. We practiced off to the side of the stage until they were called onstage to practice there.
It was interesting to see that onstage they became very shy and their voices and delivery were off-key. Ms. Jeannie stopped them in the middle of the first session and told them that what they were doing was not good enough. She proclaimed that how they practice would be the way they would perform the day of the event. She challenged them to give it their all. These words seem to hit the right note with the kids. They improved their performance in speaking their lines and using body language to match their words.
Ms. Jeannie’s proclamation struck a chord in me as well about how we approach some situations in our lives. How many times have we, you and I, simply approached a task half-heartedly when we are practicing them? On the day we have to present before our managers, customers, family, and/or audience, our performance is also half-hearted. We don’t give it our all; thus, we appear to be unprepared. We don’t shine like we ought to shine. Perhaps we may follow the advice of the old poem:
“If a task is once begun,
Never leave it till it’s done.
Be the labor great or small,
Do it well or not at all.” ~ Anonymous
I wasn’t present when the children performed the Christmas play, but I heard that it went well. The children received great accolades from their proud parents and those that attended the event. Ms. Jeannie set a high bar and the children raised theirs to meet it. We can do the same. The next time you approach a task that you really don’t enjoy, either decide not to do it and give it to someone that has the passion for it; or change your view and decide to do the best you can. You never know who might be watching you and will be impressed by your performance. You may shine bright like a Diamond!
Dawnna St. Louis at D47 TLI. Picture by Jesus Diaz.
When planning an event for Toastmasters, I wanted to select the Keynote Speaker that would get the event going with the right tempo. I wanted the person that would understand the audience and would get them excited about the event and the upcoming workshops. As I thought about the folks that I know as great speakers, I thought who better than someone that has been a Toastmaster. Someone that I have been impressed with the way she/he delivered her/his message with such bravado and energy.
An image of Dawnna St. Louis popped up in my head. Dawnna works as a Keynote speaker for International Organizations, Private Corporations, and Direct Marketing companies. She has inspired sales teams and entrepreneurs to have the confidence to close bigger deals, women’s groups to shameless self promote, and executives to become confident leaders and strong decision makers.
I was worried that she may not be available because Dawnna’s schedule has been jam packed with her travels around the USA and abroad. With fingers crossed, I typed a short email message to her: “Keynote, TLI???” She responded: “When?” I replied: “Sat. Jan. 4, 2014 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.” She sent: “For you, anything!” I jumped out of my chair and yelled “Yipeeee!!!” I have known Dawnna for a few years now and she has been my business coach. I know how busy she normally is and I was quite happy that the event was scheduled on a date that she was available.
Dawnna asked me before hand what message I wanted the audience to take away with them. I told her about the theme: “New Year, New You.” I wanted them to learn something she did to improve herself or overcame an obstacle; letting them know that they too can do the same in their lives. The day of the event, Dawnna delivered a motivating and inspirational speech. Her speech did just that and more. She had the audience laughing with her skillful use of humor. She had them empathizing with her when she opened up about her fears. She had them celebrating with her when she faced and overcame those fears. She left them with hope that they too can overcome obstacles and their fears.
Dawnna set the right tempo for our audience. They left out of her session with smiles on their faces and headed off to the other workshops with enthusiasm and great anticipation. Dawnna did not only gain more fans for herself, but she set the stage for the other presenters to shine. Dawnna is a fantastic example of a talented Diamond Cutter! Leave a comment and share this article.
“New Year, New You,” exclaimed Maria as we both walked through the parking lot to our cars. I had shared with her that we needed to come up with a theme for the Toastmasters Leadership Institute. Every six months, Toastmasters International mandates that at least four of the seven club officers in each club (over 14,000 clubs world wide) in the organization should receive leadership training. This training is called Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI). It is not an easy task to pull together a training session for the amount of people that required training. We wanted a theme that would attract folks to sign up for the event.
As the Division Governor of Division A, one of my duties is to ensure that the officers receive this training. Currently, there are over twenty clubs in the division and this equate to a minimum of eighty officers. I enlisted Maria’s assistant in coaching our newly appointed TLI chair, Carmen, with organizing the event. Maria had previously done this and I thought it would be great to have her share her knowledge with Carmen. It was a way to help Carmen develop her leadership skills while helping Maria develop her coaching skills. I am happy to say, “Mission accomplished. “
These two women collaborated with each other on the theme; they came up with great ideas for memorbilia for the attendees to purchase, special raffles, and much more. They visited the venue to ensure that the facility will accommodate all the workshops, the space for the sponsors and for the food. They enlisted the aide of many people to cover registration, hospitality, facilitators, etc. During the planning stages, they conducted conference calls with the major coordinators and kept me updated with their progress. When they needed my assistance, they pulled me in to help guide them when necessary.
I learned a lot during this process as well:
Learn to delegate and not take everything on myself
Assign the tasks to someone that you know has the potential to grow
Provide this person with a partner that can coach him/her through the assignments
Give him/her the power to be creative
Encourage him/her along the way
Recognize him/her for a job well done and allow him/her to shine
The event was a great success! We had over 200 attendees. The presenters, facilitators, club officers and guests gave rave reviews of the event. My mentor, Norman, who has been a Toastmasters for twenty-seven years, came up to me and said it was one of the best TLI he has ever attended. I was beaming like a proud mom for Carmen and Maria. As I read through the evaluations of the workshops and the event, I realized that the theme was perfect. Many of the respondents stated that the presenters, the keynote speaker and the event impacted them in a positive way. They learned new things and left with great ideas for themselves and their club members. What can you do to become a New You in the New Year?
“You make life meaningful by choosing to do meaningful things.”~ Dana LaMon, J.D.
Welcome to 2014! The New Year is a time when most people make decision about new goals, desires, jobs, relationships, etc. It could also be a time to reflect that life is finite in the physical world. The choices we make determine whether we have a life of purpose, meaning and joy; or whether we see it as worthless and without purpose. Ultimately, the choice is yours or mine in how you or I choose to live our lives.
As you build your list of goals, your vision boards or whatever method(s) you utilize in planning your life’s path, choose the ones that lead you to develop your skills, talents and gifts. It will benefit you and those around you! As the quote implies, choosing to do meaningful things will result in a meaningful life…a life of purpose onpurpose!
