Setting the Right Tempo

Posted on January 13, 2014 by MarleneMB

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.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7205kFUPmY#t=23]

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New Year, New You – Starting the Year Successfully

Posted on January 11, 2014 by MarleneMB

“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?

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

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The Choice is Yours

Posted on January 1, 2014 by MarleneMB

“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 on purpose!

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

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Be Careful What You Wish For – Part 1

Posted on December 28, 2013 by MarleneMB

The snow was swirling around the street as I tugged on the leash to keep Ramadan from pulling. She was a mixed breed that we rescued from the animal shelter. Her black coat was covered with the snow. The temperature was in the low 30s but it felt colder because of the wind. Ramadan seemed happy to be in the snow. I wasn’t. My sister was inside the apartment nice and warm and our mother was at work. It was my turn to walk Ramadan…it was one of the worst snow storm in New York and there I was at 7 p.m. walking this dog that wouldn’t listen to me.

Suddenly, Ramadan gave a hard jerk on the leash and broke free. She saw a stray dog down the block and she ran towards it. I called out: “Ramadan, no. Come back.” I chased after them, but the snow made it difficult for me to keep up with them. They ran around the block and I lost track of them. I got so mad and I shouted: “You stupid dog. I wish a car hits you!” I decided to go back to the apartment and ask my sister to help me find her. My sister got dressed and we went out to find Ramadan. We walked around the block that I last saw her. Off in the distance we saw something moving in the road. As we got closer, I told my sister that it was the dog that Ramadan chased. It was tugging at something lying in the road.

The closer we got, the harder my heart was beating in my chest. I was praying that the thing the other dog was tugging at was not Ramadan. But it was. To my horror, Ramadan was not moving; her body was motionless on the cold street with blood coming from her mouth and the leash still tied around her neck. The other dog was trying valiantly to awaken her. It was too late. It seemed my wish had come true. A car did hit Ramadan. Guilt and sorrow immediately flooded my being as I grab my sister’s hand and started running back to the apartment. I kept repeating: “It is my fault. It is my fault,” as the tears stung my half frozen cheeks.

We rushed into the apartment and I dialed my mother’s work number. When she answered, I blurted out what happened and ask her to forgive me. She calmed me on the phone to the point where I wasn’t gasping for air between my sobs. Once I calmed down, she told me: “You must be careful what you wish for. Wishes are powerful and they do come true.” Whether you are I believe in wishes, I know that night in the late 1970’s taught me to be very mindful of the words I utter out to the Universe, especially when making a wish. Now I channel my words, desires, wishes, etc. into positive visions with positive intentions towards Living a Diamond Life. Somehow this works for me. How about you?

Live a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

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Stop Slip Slidin’ Away

Posted on December 11, 2013 by MarleneMB

Yesterday, while channel surfing on the car radio, I stopped to listen to Paul Simon’s song “Slip Slidin’ Away.” I never really paid attention to the words, the hundreds of times I have heard the song. Then, I truly listened and felt the note of caution the words expressed. At least that’s how I connected with the song. The thought of life’s dreams, goals or purposes slipping and slidin’ away from us, the closer we get to them, is a scary and a real one.

So many times we allow our dreams and aspirations to get away from us. We learn to settle in jobs, routines and self-doubts, instead of implementing: persistence, being consistent in the resistance of imagined trepidations. The haunting lyrics of the song popped into my head at 5 a.m. as I woke and prepare for my morning exercise. I headed to the beach to see the beauty of the sunrise and the magnificence of the ocean waves. They reminded me of the possibility of achieving greatness, if we just decide to be consistent in our resistance of our fears and the persistence of our purpose. Stop slip slidin’ away and start believing and living your Diamond Life…your Life of Purpose!

Take a listen to the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_H-LY4Jb2M

Keep Living a Diamond Life! Live a Life of Purpose!

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