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Toastmasters
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 From Motivation to Aggravation  By Ashraf Youssef, ATM-B/CL

Area Governor, N44, District 30

In my frequent interactions with Toastmaster’s Club members I often observe the following characteristics/traits: high achievers, ready to help, involved in multiple activities, holders of track records of attempting and succeeding with many hobbies, a range of experiences and highly appreciative of discipline, fair-mindedness and a positive attitude. I also come across many who are driven, type-A personalities who enjoy a challenge, and are goal-oriented. Many feel proud to face the most-dreaded situation of all… public speaking. If you read this paragraph and feel motivated or feel that it describes you, you are a typical toastmaster.

When I think about motivating Toastmaster’s Club members it feels like the easiest yet the hardest task. A highly motivated group of people, who push themselves beyond their comfort zone, is hard to push any further. This made my task of thinking about how to achieve the President’s Distinguished Club Award very challenging.  But remember, as a typical toastmaster, I felt this is motivating enough and worth the effort.  So, I selected from the Excellent Speakers Series the topic of “Motivating People” to present to the Northwest division of district 30 in 2004 winter TLI in Illinois.

I got the package with its three transparencies and as soon as I opened it, I felt unmotivated. It was dry information about how to motivate Club members. But, I also knew that this presented a great opportunity for improvement.  And that is motivating.

A well-thought out title will motivate an unbiased audience to select your speech

I started thinking: “why not make this presentation “motivational” on itself instead of just communicating the information?”  How could I change it to a topic of discussion?  And experience sharing? And how could I motivate people first, to attend it? And second, to enjoy it, then third, to become motivated to apply it.  So, I started thinking about the rules for motivating people to attend, arouse their curiosity, use branding or wit to get them to attend the speech, which would be competing with at least 3 other speeches running in parallel. I picked the title “from motivation to aggravation. The right title is one of the most motivating factors that influences people who has a choice to attend a talk, however, it is one of the most ignored. There is an Arabic proverb “the letter can be predicted from its title” or in the electronic language era “the e-mail can be predicted from its “subject”.

So, if I’ve gotten you hooked so far, let me share with you more of the tips that I though of regarding my presentation. I do not mean to be critical of the current material about motivation, but I was motivated to try to improve the material with a step-by-step explanation that can help you and your teams understand and recall the information and more easily apply it.

What is in a name?

It is M.O.T.I.V.A.T.E.

M  Motivate

O Open

T   Teach

I      Inspire

V      Vitalize

A      Act/Assist

T   Track success

E      Eliminate de-motivators or aggravations

[Or, after you’ ve selected an attractive title, motivate your audience by promising them success through providing a memorization technique and entertainment]

Motivate: Motivate yourself. As many authors have stated you cannot motivate people. Everyone needs to think how he/she gets motivated. Is it money? Reward? Guilt? Mistakes? Figure out what works for you, and try to figure out what may work or has worked for others. Make it a habit to encourage people, comment on the most successful areas of members’ presentations.  Make it a habit to put thought and innovation in your feedback and make it a message of encouragement. Find a common denominator for motivation, be it club success or personal achievement.  But, always remember, you have to motivate yourself first, and that for most people it is the hardest task to be able to motivate others as much as they want and when they want.

Open: Open your eyes and ears. Watch and listen to your team or club members. Get closer to them through active listening, do not judge, focus on what you can learn about each and every one of the member you are trying to motivate. Let them speak freely and express their feelings, and encourage honest feedback.

Teach: (PSMART). You Are a Leader. Leadership means that you know what you want to achieve, you are the “reference” on the final goal, how to reach the destination and what needs to be done. You have to communicate the vision, mission and specifics of the goal (SMART), specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed (e.g., finish 2 CTM and 1 ATM by June 30th). You have to develop your teaching/instruction skills to communicate the information, and use your coaching skills to achieve the buy-in, understanding and digestion by your team members. In this stage you are still neutral, and you are the tool to provide understanding in an unthreatening environment. However, I would like to add to it the “P” which is for “personalize”. It is one of the most successful techniques to teach and eventually involve your team, is to make the goals personally relevant, and to answer the question “What is in it for me?” for each member.  I made sure in my goal setting plan for achieving the President Select Club Award that I spoke to every member regarding the point that he/she will have associated with his/her name out of the 10 required points.

Inspire: if you have done your job correctly in leading, teaching, modeling, explaining and planning, people will start understanding the goal and visualizing the outcome. People will start being attached to and excited about the possibilities and the prospective for achieving and reaching the target. Your own spirit, enthusim and motivation will ooze out and will be sucked spontaneously by your team members. They may even use their own inspirational ideas since they will start to own the goal.

Vitalize and Visualize: make the inspiration, the dream and the vision a reality through providing support and guiding each team member to the point that he/she starts acting on and executing tasks that may be simple but real. Your team member is inspired to finish with his CTM in one year. The next step will be to vitalize this dream by planning all the sessions to sign him/her up to give his/her speeches.

Act/Assist: At this stage you will find a lot of help from members who have already been hands on, sharing the vision and owning the goals. You will be the mentor, coach and provider of light touches/comments for best evaluations, techniques and tips for speeches and proper conduct of club meetings, supporting outreach to other clubs and following up on progress.

Track success: Use encouraging genuine feedback from your evaluator as an affirmation. Keep strong statements about your performance under your pillow. Read them repeatedly and make them resonate in your mind. Live them and remember them whenever you are discouraged. As a club leader do the same for your members. Write down special moments for their achievement, and remind them. Track success goals to achieve club goals, and celebrate with the members whenever a milestone is achieved.

Eliminate de-motivators and aggravation:  team leaders recognize the strengths and weakness of their teams. They need to direct their teams to achieve the goal with the least of interruption. For instance, an evaluation of a speech needs to follow the guidelines for evaluation. There is no room for criticism or harsh comments. On the other hand, an evaluation without enough thought of the speech pros and cons may result in a disinterested speaker to pursue improvement.

When you are driven and goal-oriented, you may come across as an obsessive-compulsive, sometimes paranoid or pushy. This is also called “focused”.  But many of your club members, even fellow officers may not feel comfortable or obliged to support your approach.  At this point, you need to work on aligning them with your vision, and work one-on-one, or elect to become more generic in your message. Take care to avoid using honey to attract fish.

I was motivated by an opportunity to improve a presentation, by my need to do the best job in a presentation to an expectant audience, and by my desire to communicate my great experience with two clubs Talk of Lincolnshire # 6624 (as a VP Education) and Daniel Wright #1605 (as a VP Membership). Both clubs of District 30 achieved President Select Club Award in 2004.  The bottom line is that motivation is mainly about motivating yourself.

 

bullet I Remember--- In Memory of Beth Steel    By Jan Johnson, ATM-S/CL  President of Daniel Wright Club

This was Jan’s final speech for ATM Silver and she dedicated this accomplishment to Beth.

I remember the first time I met Beth, She and her husband Mike came to visit our club and they sat right over there. When she rejoined Daniel Wright Club my thoughts were great…a new member, now we are closer to our goal, and wow…she is experienced and will add a lot to our already wonderful club.

Then I really got to know Beth as a person and a friendship grew.

I remember…We were having a speech contest and we needed more speakers. Beth volunteered to do an impromptu speech. She got up and did an incredible job and took 2nd in the contest…that got my attention. I said this is a lady I want to get to know better. Her confidence and the reality of taking a subject and then to get in front of the room and spend 5-7 minutes sharing with us her thoughts in an organized manner to cause us to see her value on the subject and to take 2nd place really impressed me. It gave me the confidence to do the same thing at a later date. I took 2nd as well but I only had one competitor. For me it wasn’t about the winning it was about the confidence she shared that day that encouraged me and I want to say…Thank you Beth.

I remember when she would do an evaluation…she always would say…thank you Master Evaluator, fellow Toastmasters, honored guests but especially You _______.
With such eloquence she would really build you up and cause you to feel so good about what you just did and then would end with If there was anything that I could say to make it even better it would be…..and then she would give a bit of advice to help each of us improve for the next time.

I don’t recall how I heard that Beth was in a battle for her life against Breast Cancer but I do know that I reached out as I had a very dear Aunt who was also battling at the same time. With a caring word and some encouragement I saw our friendship begin to grow. I have been close to several people who had been in the same battle and wanted to help in anyway I could. We shared information and spent time together on the phone and at the meetings. I kept her in my daily prayers and offered any help I could at what ever she needed. With that I learned so much from this remarkable woman.

I was fortunate enough to work with Beth and Sam [Valanti] in putting things together for our 50th anniversary party [for Daniel Wright Club]. I learned so much probably more than she ever knew I learned.

She taught me how to put together a time line and how to work it to cause everything to fall into place with out worry or complication and your best is always good enough. “Don’t worry,” she would say. It is all going to turn out wonderful as long as you persevere and do your best.

I remember the 3 way calls we did to put together the agenda for the evening and theme for the event.
And then the title: Reflect, Celebrate and Aspire!
Reflect on where we have been and what we have accomplished.
Celebrate where we are today.
Aspire to bigger and better things in the future.

WOW…I thought what brilliance.

We talked about how we can get each member to be a participant in some way. From writing out the invitations to decorating the room, greeting the guests, and doing the registration to the seating, who was going to speak and the group picture.

She had it all listed and time lined out as to when we needed to have each step completed. Then she got pretty sick and had to have a surgery. She asked me to help with more than decorating but could I please help in tying up the loose ends. It was an honor, and together we all made it an event to remember. In retrospect I see this event as a two fold event…

One a celebration of our club and the other as a time for Beth to get together with old and new dear friends as well as a chance to give each of us a message that said…life is not always about quantity of time but quality of time well spent. The party turned out to be an incredible event and we will all remember her in a very special way as she left an imprint on each of hearts that evening. One that said never ever give up.

I had the honor of taking her to some of her appointments. Some were to treatments and others to clubs and classes she was involved in.

I remember sitting with her and writing out all of her questions so we could write down the answers so she could remember them to tell Mike and her family. We were in this small conference room and she told the Dr. that I was her assistant and friend and that she gave him permission to discuss her care and treatments with me. We began. He was not a very friendly man nor did he seem to have any answers or suggestions other than we will stay on task with what we are doing in terms of the radiation to her hip after several short and very tart answers she looked at him and with a touch to his arm she reassured him that she was a fighter and she wasn’t giving up and for him not worry about the mistakes that had taken place in the past. She was not going to sue him her words were “you see, I don’t need more money…I need more time”. The tears came to my eyes and I remember my thoughts at that time…WOW what a confident and truthful woman you are and what courage you just displayed to this rather callous Doctor. He seemed to soften a bit and looked into her eyes and said we are doing everything we can. As we will continue to do everything that is available.

She taught me about living in the moment and never stops dreaming about what tomorrow can bring. She had her trusty little notebook that she kept all of her appointments in and the second page was everything she needed to accomplish. She said, “no matter what you must always know what to do next.” Never ever give up on your goals.

One of her goals was to go to visit her family one more time. She wanted to revisit where she started. Beth had worked very hard on a book about her experiences in attending that one room schoolhouse in Lockport, New York. With her family’s help she was able to fly to New York, spend time with her family as well as do several book signings and sold out of all the books she had.

I remember when I would go to pick her up to take her to her designated appointment she would ask me to help her get dressed. One of the things that were hard for her was to bend down and bath her feet. She would say I am so sorry to ask you to help me with this but could you? My response was Mary Magdalene did it for Jesus then it is my honor and pleasure to do it for you. She would smile that big Beth smile and hand me the wipes.

She helped to make our open house a success by personally calling previous guests and old members. When I saw all the people there that evening and heard so many say that they got a call from Beth I just smiled and thought with everything she is going through she thinks way past her self and reached out for our club to do everything she could to make an incredible event.

I took her to a writing class at the cancer wellness center one afternoon. Now you must understand it was very difficult for her to walk at this time and we used the walker to get her to the car and on the way to the car she noticed the spouts showing itself to spring. When we got to the center I got a wheel chair to get her to the classroom. I was introduced to some truly remarkable women that day. They greeted her warmly and the class began. We introduced our selves to each other and the Dr. spoke for a few moments about our topic “My cancer Journal”.

I brought my journal that I write in everyday and even though I wasn’t writing my cancer journal I wrote during the writing time. The Doctor wanted the group to write about their journey and that they were putting them in the library for future readings by future patients. He wanted it to be there so others could see that we all go through many of the same thoughts and stages and how each may have dealt with it differently and that was OK.

After we wrote in our journals everyone was asked to read what they wrote out loud. I didn’t know I was going to have to read mine. This is what I wrote that day:

When I did read what I wrote the questions and compliments came from the group that caused me to so appreciate being in their presence. I was honored to be Beth’s escort and friend. I also realized that this class wasn’t just for Cancer patients but for those who have lost a loved to cancer. I will visit again and allow these brave women to touch my heart again with their incredible will to live and their reconciliation that life is for the living and we should live everyday to the fullest. Live in the now.

I would like to share one of her writings with you as well: Pageantry

Many times we question God about the Why’s in life and so often we don’t get an out and out answer but I know he is in control and everything happens for a reason. Nothing is chance. I know that I learned a lot from my friend Beth.

I learned You can do anything when you set your mind to it.
I learned you can do more than you think you can.
I learned we are valuable to each other even though we may only know each other for a season or a lifetime, there is truly a reason you have touched my life.

I learned that life is about the quality not the quantity because you see death is a part of life. So live each day in the moment. Appreciate your time with your family. Tell those you love how much you love them. Become all that you can become because you are special and God is there to lift you up when you are down. Fill your time with that which is important to you and you will feel accomplished. Lord, help me to know my priorities and to be focused enough to avoid distraction.

I know my dear friend Cindy was Beth’s caregiver. Beth has no idea how much your zest for life impressed her. Your friendships, your love for nature and history. For you to write the poem that talked about the fact that we all have imperfections so love each other in spite of it all,

And above all else…LOVE. Mike, Beth said she was so thankful that you taught her how to love… She taught me that and so much more.

As I remember Beth!
 

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From the Middle East to the Midwest        By Ashraf Youssef, CTM      

      VP Membership, Daniel Wright Club & VP Education, Talk of Lincolnshire Club        (Humorous stereotypes; keynote speech to Toastmasters)

Ladies and Gentlemen, residents of the Midwest, I come today with a simple message. My message to you is to “Wake Up!” to assume your role in the new global village.  Today, we are able to see through satellites, hear through the devices in our pockets, and read through instant e-mail messaging from and about people around the world instantaneously.   In a "Star Trek" terms we are the crew of the Enterprise, and we have the wonderful ability of beaming back and forth to any planet on the earth’s global galaxy on a moment notice.

But, how that is related to my title “from the Middle East to the Midwest”? a title that was snickered at by the reference desk librarian at the Northbrook Public Library, IL, when I mentioned to him that I was looking for a reference that could help me explain the similarities and differences. I will try through my speech to explain this connection and how it relates to our global citizenship.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I spent almost all of my adult life between the Middle East and the Midwest. I learned, traveled, conducted business, exercised, taught, published, got mugged, had my cars stolen and found, watched fraud in elections, hated and dated in both middles.

So, I asked myself, who could be more able to speak about the Middle East, convey its values than myself? I asked myself, who could be better able to explain the differences and similarities between the two Middles than myself?

My answer was:    many many people who are more knowledgeable, more qualified and more articulate than I.  However, Ladies and Gentlemen, I came up with this title and you are my captive audience and you have no choice but to listen to me. So, please hold your applause or tomatoes for that matter and enjoy

Let me start from the beginning:

In the beginning…. Yes, really, I was born and raised in Egypt by a businessman and a teacher of English language.  My mother has higher education than my father and still eager to learn in her late 60th.  My dad is a pragmatic, honest businessman with solid work ethic.  Our family values included honoring the parents and conserving resources.  One of the historical quotes of my mother was “ do not waste food, people in China are starving”.  I am sure that China could be replaced by other countries based on were your mother comes from.

I was also raised to revere justice, education, helping the weak and the poor and honesty in dealings and to abhor politicians.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Our values, like most of the Egyptians and Middle Eastern are derived from religion, the sense of belonging to the rest of the world and ultimate accountability to the Creator.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

I was raised in an extended loving family of the upper middle class in Cairo; a city that represents the Middle East as much as Chicago represents the Midwest.  Here is Africa (my left hand), Egypt is the Index, and in my right palm, Illinois is in the middle.

But, again is there anything in common between the Middle East and the Midwest. The short and the long answer is … but let us start with the short answer “No”, but the long answer may take more time to explain.  Let us take it one step at a time.

Step1: Definition: what is the Middle East? It is the middle of what is to the East of the USA. It includes countries from Turkey, Egypt to Iran and Lebanon.  People come from different ethnic backgrounds, religions and speak many languages.

Step 2: What is in common to all middles? In the "middle", you can be confused, taken advantage of and undecided.  On the other hand, you are at a crossroad, you are flexible, you are generous, you can develop understanding and knowledge; you may also be good in trade, diplomacy and negotiation. These features were as clear to me in Cairo as they are in Chicago.  I had my first foreign exposure when I was 6 years old, watching “I love Lucy” and “Superman” with my dad, and whenever, Chicago was mentioned, everybody would stretch his two index fingers and thumbs out and make the noise “Bang.. Bang”.  This still exists today, since people in Egypt believed that Al Capon is the mayor of Chicago, as many people in the Midwest thought that people in the Middle East have no disabled ramps for the injured camels in the parking lot and that Ben Laden is the President of Saudi Arabia.  In other words, both middles are/were stereotyped.

Step 3: Who are the Middle Easterners in the Midwest? Where do they come from and why are they here?

I will let Franklin Delano Roosevelt answer part of the question:

“They come to us speaking many tongues, but a single language the universal language of human aspiration” 50th commemoration of the statue of liberty 10/28/36.

The Middle Easterners arrived in the Midwest in 4 main waves of immigration since the end of the 19th century. They were Christians and Muslims, mostly Lebanese and Syrians, than recently more from Palestine and North Africa. Today, they are more than 2 millions in the Chicago land area.  Many more are concentrated in Detroit, MI and other midwestern states.  Many joined the US armed forces in WWII and one of them was General Patton’s, first general.  Many have supported the US invasion of Iraq and have never been to the Middle East.

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” The famous quote by an Irish American J.F.K. , who inspired generations, was written by the Author of “The Prophet”, Gibran Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese 80 years ago.

Casey Kasem and Don Bustany, the co-creators of American top 40, American country countdown, Casey’s top 40, Casey’s countdown and Casey’s top 20 are of Lebanese origin.

Pat Donner, Congresswomen of Missouri, Ray Lahood, US Senator (IL) presided graciously over the controversial impeachment of president Clinton, Boby Rahal, the all time earning Champ of the Indy500 car races,  Jack Nasser, ex. CEO of Ford, and Danny Thomas the famous comedian and founder of St. Jude’s children hospital.  In government, Donna Shalala and Spencer Abraham are examples of Middle Eastern personalities with great impact on the Midwest, America and the English-speaking world. The only schoolteacher lost in the tragedy of “The Challenger” in 1986, was Christa McAuliffe, an Arab-American.  Ironically, the only causality of September 11th from Northbrook, IL was an Arab-American (Robert R. Talhami 1961-2001).

Conclusions

So my fellow Midwesterners, the short answer, which is naïve, stereotyped and hasty that there is no similarity.  However, the long and correct answer is that the Middle East and the Midwest are parts of the same universe. They have the same people with the same values, talents, struggles, stereotypes, and aspirations for justice, a decent living, and freedom and for the prosperity of the future for their children.

Today, we live in the best of times and the worst of times (according to Charles Dickens), but it is all within the same city, and not two cities!  We have the resources, the education, the speed to communicate and to connect globally, and yet we are vulnerable because of these blessings.  We are also threatened by our laziness and reluctances to use these blessings before the evil-doers do.

Let me conclude by asking every one of you to wake up, to work to assume his/her place in the new global village, to realize his/her status as a global citizen, to make the connection and to reach out to other people on earth-who are just like us.

 Let us try to understand them, talk to them, and share our family, work and life stories with them.  Let us expand the old hobby of pen-paling. Pen pals was our primitive way of fulfilling our curiosity about the others, feel important and may be collect some rare stamps.  Today, e-paling is essential for each and every one of us to connect and understand other human beings, and to avoid stereotyping the others and eventually to save lives!  “Theirs and ours.”

 

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A Dream is a Wish the Heart Makes     By Jan Johnson, ATM-B

      VP Public Relations, Daniel Wright Club

Good evening parents, faculty, friends, family, but especially you the class of 2004.

Congratulations and welcome the celebration. From kindergarten to graduation, 13 years have passed

You’ve grown from learning your ABC’s, coloring in the lines, reading and doing book reports, science fair projects, adding, subtracting, division multiplication, to algebra & geometry.  You’ve learned spelling, penmanship, English, giving speeches to writing thesis.  You’ve learned computers, woodworking, mechanics, home economics, as well as keeping yourself fit in P.E.

Some courses you choose for your self and others were chosen for you.  You’ve studied for tests and passed as well as not doing so well on others.  And that was just the curriculum.

You have also learned kindness, sharing, giving, team spirit, competition and taking turns.

You’ve learned the rules and how to break some of them.  You have learned the consequences as well as the rewards.  You’ve learned to be a part of a team and family and what responsibility is all about.

You have learned to control your feelings as well as expressing them.  You have learned the joy of victory and the sadness of defeat.  You know what it feels like to complete a project on time and the feeling of turning it in late.  You have learned what it feels like to put forth every ounce of know how in to something and also what happens when your slough off.  We have all experienced some of all of these feelings at one time or another.  You have made friendships that you will miss and you have created memories you won’t ever forget.  What seemed so important yesterday you will see was not near as important as what you will face and do in your tomorrow.

Remember the ball games, the dances, the many loves you have had, as well as the detentions, the lunchroom and all that got accomplished in that short time.  Remember the getting up early to catch the bus, or walking home because you missed it.  Prom, homecoming, field trips, the plays, the choir concerts, the projects and the reports, doing home work before you could do anything else, the presentations, the arguments, the clicks, the developing from children to the adults that are sitting before us here today.

All of theses experiences in your lives all of the creating who you are today, each experience, different for each of you each having contributed to the process of molding yours into the people you are and establishing a foundation for who you will become in the future.  The negative experiences cause us to work harder – the positive ones reinforce “WHY” we want to always do our best.

Each of you has spent the last 13 years developing, growing, and preparing for the rest of your lives.  Those 13 years are now past so what does your future hold?

You were like a small seed planted in the garden of life. The choices of life were made for you, remember when you were 5 you were such a little thing, off to school and protected by the teachers, your parents or caregivers.  You needed to be cared for so tenderly, so the roots would take so a firm foundation would be laid.  Learning the basics…from your teachers, your parents, and even form your classmates.  The process was an easy one for some more difficult for the rest.

There were “Defining Moments” a long the way.  You know those words, deeds or situations that made such a difference in how you saw yourself and the choices you have and will make.

You know the fire that caused you to say…I am going to be a fireman when I grow up.  Maybe it was the divorce in your family that caused you to say… I am going to be a marriage counselor so I can help other families so they don’t have to go thorough what we did.  Maybe it was that special note on your report card or paper or that word of encouragement that caused you to work harder and become more.  That feeling of being proud of what you did.  Maybe it was the fact that you have a deep sense of pr9ide for your country and you have chosen to protect it form harms way.  Maybe someone said you can’t or won’t and you decided you could and you did!

We all have defining moments in our lives that cause us to reach higher, to do better and dream bigger.

Life is a choice as well as a challenge. You will experience many successes as well as failures.  Al contributing to the growth of that small seed planted years before.  Each contributing to the creation that stands here before us today.  Tall, accomplished, ready to go out and conquer our own world…our own space.

Let me ask you “How tall will a tree grow?”

As big as it can…No, you are not a tree as you can move and change and grow and become as well as you can stop, and do nothing.  You have choices…life is a choice.  Your choices begin today…

Now is where the Dream begins… Now, where is the passion in your soul drives you to become –who and what ever you choose to be!

Some of you have known your passion for a very long time….  Some are still in search for it right now.

Don’t give up…keep up the good fight!  Yu will never lose when you keep going keep searching and keep doing…you only lose when you QUIT!  So never QUIT!

You are the Writer, the producer, the director, and the actor in the story of your life…. You will create your own drama or success story.  One day there will be a biography of you.  How will it read?

You are going to experience fear.  Fear is a given. So, how do you push fear into a small corner? 

With a plan!  You know most people spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning their lives?  Create a plan.  Change it as you go.  Start today. I have heard it said it is better to start with an inferior plan today than a perfect plan tomorrow as tomorrow may never come.

Part of a good plan is furthering your education.  For some of you it is on to college, for others, you have decided to go to a tech school, for others it may be the armed forces or a family business. 

Where does your plan begin?

Each of you has been blessed with a talent- each of you has special skills and every one of you has the ability to turn your dreams into reality.

I once heard from a very wise man…Jim Rohn who said “If your “Why” is big enough, you will always be able to figure out “How”. He also taught me “what is easy to do is also easy not to do.” Most things in life are easy simple steps, taken in stride, will create the most incredible results.

Life is lived and built day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second… You will have the opportunity to make money but it isn’t how much you make that matters as much as how much you keep.  Each of you will have the opportunity to create many things…but will you?  Remember In the process of creating you can never create more time….  Each of us is blessed with 8,760 hours in every year.  When I first heard that it just didn’t feel like enough.  It seemed like there should be so much more.  Yet, that is what there is.  How will you spend your time?  How will you spend your life?

Keep in mind Balance.  I have seen many a person sacrifice more than they wanted to for something that in the end they really felt as though they lost more than they gained.  Don’t lose your family in the process of earning your fortune.  For what good is a fortune when you have lost all of the values in life.  Don’t lose your dreams to negative friends or family.  Dream big!  Reach for the moon and should you miss you will still be among the stars.

Life is tender…Take the time to read the books.  Study the experiences of others, not just the successes but the failures too.  We have a tendency to look only to the winners but the losers have a lot to teach us also.  Have lunch with someone who did nothing with his life.  Ask the questions…what happened that caused you to be such a loser.  Listen…now you will know what not to do as well as what works well.

Share your knowledge. Give back.  That is when you will truly realize your own truth and that is when you will truly know what it means to be blessed.  Remember everything in life builds on the previous moment.  The action step take created the next moment and so goes life.

Yes a tree will grow as big as it can but unlike that tree, you have choices.  You are not stuck in one place and when one thing doesn’t turn out as you thought it would…move…you could do that.  You can choose a different way.  You have been given a will a drive to become more.  To find your purpose and grow as big as you want.

Some of you are sitting here in wonder.  I wonder how I got this far…. I wonder what tomorrow will bring, but the greatest wonder will be when you can say YES…I have found my passion.

This is my WHY!  I love who I am…I love what I do…I love what I stand for.

Package that passion with compassion:  For this is an understanding that will break the barriers that may stand in your way.  This will be the understanding that we all need some help, some support, and some encouragement along the way.  Be compassionate.

Integrity: This is that line you draw for yourself that says this is what I stand for and I never go against my own beliefs.  It’s answering the question: would I do this if someone were standing here watching, because this truly shows who I am.

Positive Attitude:  Life is so much easier and more pleasant when we look at the bright side.  This is seeing the cup ½ full instead of ½ empty.  Or partly sunny outside instead of partly cloudy.  This is seeing the reasons why instead of the why not’s.  This is looking at things with a brightness rather than life being dull.  This can make or break every decision you make.

Honesty. The world so needs the honesty that each of you can be to the situation.  Lies and excuses create lives of dissatisfaction and know this…you can never fix a lie.

Hard work:  Back every decision you make with strong effort and hard work.  Give more than what is expected and I guarantee you will never have to look for a job, it will always find you.

Take responsibility:  You can sit and blame every one or any thing else but it doesn’t change anything.  What causes change is when we take responsibility for our actions and for our future.  As much as we think it is the governments fault, or the Presidents fault, maybe we tend to blame our parents, or our teachers, maybe we blame our sister or brother, maybe we blame our co-workers, or boss.  The bottom line is we must take responsibility for the problems that occur in our lives as well as the honors that come from doing the best we can.  Be responsible and when you do you will see you can make a difference for all concerned.

And last, keep the faith: For when all else fails it is your faith that will give you the strength to carry on and will get you through the toughest times you will face. 

Yes we are here to celebrate our past accomplishments-but truly we are here to inspire the future vision of each of you sitting before me.

You will find the real value in what we do isn’t always the doing as much as what the doing makes of each of us.

It’s not so much how others see us, as how we see ourselves.

And always know-with each problem there is a solution- spend 5% of your time identifying the problem and 95% of your time on the solution, and you will have less negativity in your life, less complications and you will bring so much more the table.  You will be sought out in every place you position your self.

No one owes us anything.  No one is due more than the other.  Each of you has the opportunity to walk forward and create a life that someday will be written about.

Maybe it will be your grand daughter who writes about this wonderful grandpa she has, in school report, or maybe the news sun will write about the great deed you did, or maybe success magazine will write about what it took for you to create success in your business, or just maybe they will create a reality show with you as the star.

Each a different story, each accomplished in your own right.

Be proud of what you do, and take what you do seriously.

As life is not “just”

For you are not just an employee, or just a stay at home mom, or just a teacher, or just an office worker

“Just” does not define you

Say I am a part of a team in the office that makes it all work, or I am a mom, or I am a teacher,

You are what you are and your duties are important or you wouldn’t have been given the skills to take on the position. 

Never say just…say with pride what you do and do what you do well. You see this is where you are different than a tree…  .You can move.  You can change.  You can develop and grow in a new location

So dream big.

And remember as I once heard Stephen Scott say “A dream is a wish your heart makes!”

Dream from the heart and create whatever your hearts desire.  For there is non other, not one like you,

Anywhere.

And we are honored with your presence, for you are the graduating class of 2004.
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Last modified: 03/11/06